Battle Ensign used by HMAS VAMPIRE II during Exercise Kangaroo Three

Datec 1979

Object number00056473

NameEnsign

MediumLinen, dye, copper-alloy

DimensionsOverall: 900 x 1,810 mm, 534 g

ClassificationsVisual communication

Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection Gift from Lyn Bain

Collections

Recently digitised

Terms

DescriptionLarge rectangular linen flag reportedly used aboard HMAS Vampire (II) as the vessel's ‘Battle Ensign’ during Exercise Kangaroo Three in 1979. The flag is orange and crossed by two black diagonal bars (which intersect to form an 'X') across its field. It was the last ensign flown by Vampire while it was a warship and before it began its final operational phase as a training vessel.HistoryHMAS Vampire (II) was the third of three Daring-class destroyers built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). One of the first all-welded ships built in Australia, it was constructed at Cockatoo Island Dockyard between 1952 and 1959, and commissioned into the RAN on 23 June 1959, slightly less than three years after its launch on 27 October 1956. Vampire was regularly deployed to Southeast Asia during its career: The destroyer was attached to the Far East Strategic Reserve on five occasions, including during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation, and escorted the troop transport HMAS Sydney (III) on six of the latter’s twenty-five transport voyages to South Vietnam. In 1977, Vampire was assigned to escort the royal yacht HMY Britannia during an official visit by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip to Australia. In 1980, Vampire was reclassified as a training ship and remained in service until 1986, when it was decommissioned and presented to the Australian National Maritime Museum for preservation as a museum ship. It is the largest museum-owned object on display in Australia. Vampire’s last operational deployment before being converted into a training ship occurred in October 1979, when it participated in Exercise Kangaroo Three. Exercise Kangaroo was a joint warfare exercise held by the Australian Defence Force in the 1970s and 1980s as a component of the Australia, New Zealand and United States (ANZUS) Security Treaty. The exercise also involved the United States and New Zealand militaries. Its first iteration took place in 1974. Australian naval units involved included the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne (II), which operated in the Coral Sea before returning to Sydney. In October 1976, Melbourne also participated in Exercise Kangaroo Two, before sailing to its namesake city for the carrier’s 21st birthday celebrations, then returning to Sydney on 5 November. Exercise Kangaroo Three commenced at the beginning of October 1978 in the waters off northern Australia and was divided into two opposing ‘forces’. The ‘Blue’ force represented the ‘Australian and Allied’ participants, while the ‘Orange’ force represented the ‘enemy’ (which largely comprised Australian naval and air force assets). Surface vessels assigned to Orange Force included HMA Ships Derwent (I) and Stalwart (II), HMNZS Canterbury, and Vampire. In the final days of the exercise, Vampire transited to Townsville, where the Orange Force ‘headquarters’ was located. According to the flag’s donor, Lyn Bain, Vampire’s ‘Battle Ensign’ was gifted to Flight Lieutenant (FLTLT) Geoffrey Jennings, a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Lockheed P-3 Orion pilot who was operating as part of Orange Force. Vampire was sequestered in Townsville Harbour due to ‘maintenance’ issues and the Blue Force was waiting offshore to intercept the ship when it departed. Jennings’ role as an Orion pilot was to shepherd Vampire from Townsville Harbour to its destination. He was present at the strategy meeting when options were discussed for getting Vampire out of port safely. After listening to all proposed options, Jennings stated that none would work and suggested what he thought was a viable solution: That his Orion take off and head in a direction that would lure Blue Force away from Townsville. His reasoning was that Blue Force knew the Orion’s role was to shepherd Vampire to safety. Jennings’ proposed strategy worked, and Vampire was able to leave the harbour without being detected. According to Jennings, Vampire ultimately rendezvoused with the Orange Force fleet, and because it was the destroyer’s last operational voyage before decommissioning, ‘she went full steam down the centre of the enemy ships with all guns blazing’. Vampire’s commanding officer, CMDR R.G. Taylor, realised Jennings’ plan was instrumental to the ship’s successful ‘escape’ from Townsville and presented him with the ‘Battle Ensign’. SignificanceThe flag is significant due to its association with HMAS Vampire (II), the museum’s largest collection object and the last Daring-class destroyer in existence. However, this significance is enhanced through the flag’s use as Vampire’s ‘Battle Ensign’ during the destroyer’s final operational deployment as part of Exercise Kangaroo Three in October 1979. The ‘Battle Ensign’ would have replaced Vampire’s official White Ensign during the exercise, and consequently was the last ensign flown by the vessel while it was a warship (and before it began its final operational phase as a training vessel).