NAVY NEWS, JULY 2007 21
D-Day for
Rs end for Daring
reservists
THE world’s most
from Whitehall.
advanced warship will put
Inspectors from the MOD
THE distinctive ‘R’ which
characterises the uniforms of
to sea for the fi rst time on
and the Defence Equipment &
Support organisation pored over
offi cers of the Royal Naval
July 18, four years after the ship. At the end of his team’s
Reserve is no more as of the fi rst she was laid down.
inspection, assessor Andy Britton
of this month. Shipwrights, engineers
proclaimed the ship
The Queen has agreed to and electricians are adding
“presented to the best
the removal of the letter from the finishing touches to
standard we have seen for
the ‘curl’ of an officer’s rank HMS Daring – the first of
a long time”.
insignia – and all other marks Britain’s next-generation
That resounding
on uniforms which distinguish air defence destroyers
judgment was the fi nal
men and women of the RNR – ready for the most
tick in the box needed
from their General Service important test yet in
for the ship to leave
counterparts on operations. her brief life.
BAE’s Govan yard
With the RNR being called The Type 45
for Falmouth to begin
upon increasingly to support warship is currently
trials, ahead of being
front-line operations, either sitting in dry dock
offi cially handed over
here in the UK or deployed at BAE Systems’
to the RFA in Portland
in the field, many reservists Scotstoun yard on the
next month.
felt it was time to remove any Clyde (where the majority
“Lyme Bay has been
insignia which distinguished their of her was built and fitted out;
a real labour of love for the
contribution from their full-time her mast and bow were produced
people involved,” said Allan Smith,
oppos. by the VT Group in Portsmouth).
ship manager for BAE.
The decision will mean an Engineers from BAE plus
“To receive this level of praise
increased demand for insignia Daring’s ship’s company will take
defi nitely makes it all worthwhile.
from RN stores in coming weeks, the destroyer to sea for initial
I’m really proud to be able to put
so reservists will be given until sea trials off the Scottish west
my name to a ship that already has
November 1 to replace their coast before bringing her back
such a great reputation.
Rs. The replacements will be up the Clyde for continuing trials
“There’s nothing quite like
provided free of charge. and tests (the ship will not be
watching your work sail off for
“This is a significant step formally handed over to
the first time.
towards reserves’ integration the Royal Navy until the
Lyme Bay was the
and a sure indication of the end of next year).
second of two Bay-class
recognition of the hugely- “All eyes will be on
ships ordered from Swan
important contribution being Daring as she heads
Hunter on Tyneside;
made by the Royal Naval Reserve out to sea for the first
a further two vessels,
to current operations,” said Cdre time,” said BAE’s
Mounts and Cardigan
Stephen Thorne, Commander head of Surface Fleet
Bays, were ordered
Maritime Reserves. Solutions Vic Emery.
from BAE at Govan.
Further information on RN “This is a very
Swan completed
insignia will be published in an exciting period
Largs Bay, but delays
impending DIN. – we will finally get the
with Lyme forced
opportunity to see exactly
Whitehall to pull the plug
Getting to
what Daring is made of.”
on the Tyne shipyard and send
Experts are already getting to
the semi-complete ship up the
see what new landing support ship
Clyde for BAE to fi nish off.
know you...
RFA Lyme Bay is made of.
All four are considerably larger
The fourth and last of the
than the Knights and more capable
Bay class, ordered by Whitehall
of supporting troops ashore,
AFTER the heat of the Gulf, the to replace the venerable ‘Knights
thanks not least to their huge
crew of mine countermeasures of the Round Table’, sailed past
loading dock and landing craft.
vessel HMS Ramsey are re- Daring and Dauntless at Scotstoun
acquainting themselves with to begin sea trials. ● In the Lyme-light... RFA Lyme
Scottish weather in their sister Before leaving the Clyde for the Bay sails past HMS Daring
ship. fi rst – and last – time, Lyme Bay (nearest the camera) and
The sailors have taken
received a glowing bill of health
Dauntless at Scotstoun
over HMS Pembroke (while
Pembroke’s ship’s company
has taken over HMS Ramsey,
still in the Gulf on the three-
year Aintree deployment) at HM
Naval Base Clyde.
Once they got used to guard
From disasters to birthdays
rails in different positions (and
other idiosyncracies), the new
IF HER Majesty can enjoy two coastguard, prison offi cial reception aboard deploying RN warships) with the
Pembroke crew were given a
birthdays, why not a warship
service and many the fl at-top. combined defence and rescue
thorough testing by the staff of
fl ying the fl ag in her name
others. It has, of course, not forces of Barbados, Montserrat
the Flag Officer Sea Training’s
around the Caribbean?
Towards the end been all parades and and the British Virgin Islands on
mine warfare experts.
The men and women
of the parade there parties for the 520 a major exercise.
Barely three weeks after
of helicopter carrier HMS
was a fl ypast by a sailors, aircrew and And a group of servicemen
setting foot in Pembroke for
Ocean have twice marked
Sea King from 854 Royal Marines who from the Trinidad and Tobago
the first time, the Ramsey
the monarch’s 81st birthday
NAS and a Merlin comprise Ocean’s Defence Force joined the ship
sailors deployed in for 21 days
from 700M NAS ship’s company. in Tortola for eight days.
of detailed survey work in the
as the ship’s island-hopping
(pictured here by On a humbler note, The 17 guests were by
Inner Hebrides.
drugbusting deployment
Ocean’s LA(Phot) the sports-oriented Ocean’s Royal Marines
That survey work has been
continues.
Ray Jones). sections of the ship’s squadron and paired off with
interspersed with visits to
First up were the British Virgin
After another stint company trotted out the respective departments to
Campbeltown and Tobermory.
Islands (population 22,000)
searching for drug on the football pitch learn about all aspects of life
Pembroke is now back
who commemorated the royal
traffi ckers (the raison for tournament in aid of aboard the carrier.
in Faslane while her sailors
occasion by parading in front of
d’être of Ocean’s four-month the charity Childline. The carrier’s Caribbean tour
conducted practical mine
Governor David Pearey. deployment to the region) And with hurricane season of duty ends this month with her
warfare training for sailors
Ocean’s sailors turned out Britain’s largest warship arrived now upon us, the ship shared return to Devonport; her duties,
returning from various courses
in whites for the occasion, in Port of Spain, Trinidad, for its disaster relief expertise as the hurricane season begins
under the tutelage of the
marching alongside members that island’s celebrations of the (it’s one of the core aspects in earnest, will be taken over by
Maritime Warfare School at
of the local defence force, Queen’s birthday, notably an of operational training for frigate HMS Portland.
HMS Collingwood in Fareham.
Milestone for
HMS Wildfi re
NORTHWOOD’S Royal Naval
Reserve unit HMS Wildfi re was
celebrating its Golden Jubilee as
Navy News went to press with
Admiral’s Divisions.
Rear Admiral Tony Johnstone-
Burt – Flag Officer Reserves –
was due to be guest of honour at
the ceremony on June 23 (strictly
speaking Wildfire’s birthday is
May 6).
The admiral was to take
the salute from the present
HMS Wildfire ship’s company,
watched by former Wildfire and
HMS Northwood sailors, and
serving personnel from NATO
headquarters, soldiers and airmen
stationed at Northwood, plus
families.
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