Pissed-off Generals in a Meaford snow storm

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by Dennis Cardy

What we are referring to. HMCS Bonaventure. The Canadian Navy's pride and joy.

Ex RN Majestic-Class, a sister ship to HMAS Sydney and HMAS Melbourne.

https://blog.xbradtc.com/2017/01/the...melbourne.html

[Dennis Cardy]

David Dunlop,
No, I don't think so.
The mid-life refit was done in 1966-67.
Took 16 month's, and cost north of 11 million dollars.
Billions in todays money.

Just three years later, July 1970, the ship was suddenly paid-off.
Then sold for scrap, at penny's on the dollar.
Your tax dollars at work...

[Darrell Zinck]

Hi

....and I shaved with her this morning....................as the old saying goes.

Hi Dennis

Was that Saint John or St John's. Folks out here are particular about that stuff! Writing "St John" is near sacrilege to some New Brunswickers!!

I imagine you meant Saint John.

Be well.

regards
Darrell

[Dennis Cardy]

Darrell Zinck. Oh yes, St. John. I've got family in Newfoundland and New Brunswick, so I'm aware..lol.. Dad was RCN during the War. He and his fellow sailors called St. John's, "Newfy John" so as to avoid mistakes, as so many sailors were not from the Maritimes, and confusion was very easy.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Dennis Cardy

David Dunlop,
No, I don't think so.
The mid-life refit was done in 1966-67.
Took 16 month's, and cost north of 11 million dollars.
Billions in todays money.

Just three years later, July 1970, the ship was suddenly paid-off.
Then sold for scrap, at penny's on the dollar.
Your tax dollars at work...

Some is a conspiracy theory about that. It seems the expensive refit included a very robust air conditioning system (strangely designed for tropical use) amongst all the other modernizations. Then, as you say, Bonny was scrapped. The scrapping was in India, and India had a similar Majestic class carrier that was a worn out dog. There are those who say a quick swopping out of the name plate occurred and it was the Indian one that ended up at the scrappers. The theory contends that the Canadian refit and scrapping was not incompetence, is was a deal struck with India long in advance.

[Dan Martel]

Below is a quick discussion of this conspiracy theory I wrote for another forum.

It was the INS Vikrant (R11) that was swapped for HMCS Bonaventure (R22). Both were British built Majestic class carriers. The Vikrant went in for repairs at Mumbai in June, 1970. She had a cracked boiler and couldn't get a replacement due to a UK embargo. The Bonaventure was paid off in July, 1970. In 1968 or '69 the Bonnie had come out of a two-year mid-life refit. State of the art ASW.

Officially, the Bonnie was towed from Halifax to Taiwan to be scrapped. It was while passing India that it was swapped for the Vikrant. Or so the rumour goes.

The Vikrant went to sea trials in March, 1971, with a working steam catapult and was available for the 1971 Indo-Pak War.

I like a good conspiracy theory, me, however I think a trained sailor from either Navy would have been able to tell one from the other. Still, as the film director John Ford said, when it comes to printing the truth or the legend, print the legend.

Cheers,
Dan.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

How the heck did we get from a snow storm in Meaford to the Indo-Pakistani war? Must be covid isolation what causes strange stuff like this...

[Ed Storey]

Probably more by the fact that Trudeau Senior was PM in 1970. As we constantly learn, anything strange can happen with the Trudeau lead Liberals are in power.

[Dennis Cardy]

Bruce Parker. I blame that Zinck guy, it's all his fault.