Life Aboard HMAS Hobart In Vietnam

By Hannah McNamara

Steve Haidle’s journey into the Navy began in 1966 at just 18 years old, when he was drafted onto HMAS (His Majesties Australian Ship) Hobart as a seaman gunnery.

Within three months, he received the news that he was headed to Vietnam.

Reflecting on that time, Haidle recalls, “most of us were just 18 years old…and off we went.”

During his seven months in Vietnam, Haidle served as a seaman gunner, tasked with a critical role as a Seacat missile aimer. He was responsible for loading the drum with bullets during action stations. This job required him to be placed below the waterline, where he could hear the shells and explosions as the ship came under fire.

One of Haidle’s duties also involved working with aircraft at the Beecroft bombing range in Jervis Bay.

“My job was to go with the aircraft, fly it out, and I’d be on the ship with another person who flew the plane.

“They’d change control and then we’d take over the aircraft and fly it around while they did the shooting.

“If it didn’t get shot out of the sky, we’d fly it back and drop it on a parachute.”

Life aboard the ship was gruelling. The sailors operated on a demanding schedule of six hours on, six hours off.

“You’re at sea for a month before you come off the gunline and then go back to the port.

“You might be in port for a week, that’s where you catch up on sleep, and then you’re back on the gunline for another month.

“If you got six hours of sleep, you’d be lucky and if you got four hours, that was good, but then you might have to go to action, and you’d stay there until it’s finished.”

Despite the ship being fired upon ten times, Haidle was never injured. He says his time on board was not so much luck, but rather hard work.

“It was more hard work than anything,” he reflected.

“It wasn’t easy, but we knew it had to be done, it was just something we had to do.”

There were 333 sailors on board, each with a bunk bed stacked in threes, which Haidle slept in the middle bunk.

Interestingly, smoking was permitted primarily in the bunks, with an ashtray beside each bed, filling the air with the smell of cigarettes.

Reflecting on his time at sea, Haidle mentioned that spending a month on board meant they had to bake their own bread.

“The meals weren’t top class, but we weren’t starving,” he recalled, adding that the food was enough to get them through their time on the ship.

One of the most challenging aspects of serving in Vietnam for Haidle was the long wait for communication from home. Letters took up to two weeks to reach him, having travelled from Brisbane to Sydney, then to the Philippines and finally aboard an American ship to his location.

“The hardest part was writing letters and waiting for a response,” he shared.

“It’s hard when you go back home because everyone is working, and if you start talking ‘navy talk’ to civilians, they wouldn’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”

After completing his service, Haidle found it challenging to reintegrate into civilian life. Although he cherished his time with family, he struggled to relate his experiences to those who hadn’t served.

He was born in Brisbane but moved to Mackay in 1980, left for Brisbane in 2004, and spent six years living in the Philippines with his wife before returning to Mackay in 2017.

Despite the relatively few sailors involved in the Mackay RSL, Haidle is an active member and has grown to appreciate the camaraderie with others who have served.

“I love the camaraderie,” he said.

“They’re my mates.”

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Steve Haidle is still heavily involved in the Mackay RSL and loves the camaraderie with his mates. Photo credit: Hannah McNamara
Haidle placing a five-inch shell into the drum of the automatic gun. Photo supplied
A representation of a similar ship Mr Haidle was aboard. Photo sourced
Mr Haidle on lookout. Photo supplied
Photo supplied

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