36 NAVY NEWS, AUGUST 2007
Bomb Alley blues
UNEXPLODED bombs. Damaged munitions. Booby
traps. Covert operations right under the nose of the
enemy.
Tales of derring-do which filled with smoke and fumes, lit
deserve a wider telling.
only by emergency lighting, the
But in the case of the Navy’s
divers donned breathing apparatus
clearance diving team in the
to fight the fires before they could
Falklands, word did not spread far.
tackle the bomb.
There is a sense of puzzlement
“This took some time as we ran
that one of the units genuinely in
out of extinguishers
the firing line – often handling
and refills and had
bombs while under air attack –
to improvise with
rarely features in official accounts
buckets of water from
and on the various plaques and
taps whilst the ship was
monuments dedicated to the
zigzagging in avoiding
conflict.
action at speed,” said
It has certainly bemused
Michael.
Michael Fellows over the years
“The bridge informed
– and as he is still in the same line
us by Tannoy when an
of business 25 years on, there are
air attack was coming
constant reminders of the work he
in, and initially like
and his colleagues did under the
idiots we ran forward,
most perilous of conditions.
away from the bomb
In April 1982 Michael was the
to the messdeck, and
Fleet Chief Petty Officer Diver,
took cover under a
second in command of the Fleet
plywood table.
Clearance Diving Team.
“I remember
On April 13, less than a fortnight
Garry Sewell shouting
after the Argentine invasion,
at me as we collided
Michael and his team were on an
under a table: ‘You might be the
● HMS Antrim at anchor in the
RAF Hercules bound for Ascension
Fleet Chief, but I was here first
South Atlantic in 1982
Island in case ships needed help
– bugger off!’ before we both
with unexploded ordnance, and to
collapsed laughing.
cover underwater security.
“Why were we worried about
experts, to no avail.
Shortly after, they embarked in
Argie cannon fi re when one slip of
After dark, with air attacks
RFA Sir Tristram and sailed south
the hand or violent movement of
over, the ship halted, and with the
to prepare for a similar task with
the ship could actuate the fusing
majority of the ship’s company
the Task Group.
system of the bomb, killing us
evacuated to the fo’c’sle for safety,
The thought that Michael and
and over 400 sailors on board?”
the ‘lift-and-shift’ began.
At one point, the captain was told
his team would be dealing with Once the debris was
to go full ahead on both engines,
unexploded bombs on British cleared the team could see
with a hard turn to starboard to
warships was a novel one. the drab green bomb, white
kick the stern over, allowing the
“This phenomenon had only stencilled letters proclaim-
bomb to be lowered over the side
happened once in modern history ing ‘Made in England’.
without hitting the screws.
– during World War 2, when Lt
The nose and tail were badly
Just before the final drop,
Roberts VC and PO Gould VC had
damaged and the fuse distorted
they received a signal from Fleet
the task of removing an unexploded
out of recognition, wires hanging
warning them not to attempt to
bomb from below the casing of a
from it suggested a booby-trap.
move the bomb, as it was almost
submarine whilst under threat of
Michael reported his findings
certainly booby-trapped.
an enemy air attack,” said Michael.
to the bridge. The fuse could not
“You can imagine my response
“But it did happen with a
be removed, and as there was no
to this well-timed advice!” said
vengeance. I was right in the
precedent, he proposed a ‘lift-and-
Michael.
forefront of the action, and found
shift’ approach.
Almost ten exhausting hours
myself not only removing the first
“I formulated a plan to cut a
after the start of the operation, the
and last dropped unexploded
passage for the bomb up through
Argentinian-dropped British bomb
bombs of the conflict, but also
two decks, move the weapon aft,
was consigned to the seabed.
conducting the reconnaissance and
and then lift it, keeping it on an
But a celebratory cup of tea in
formulating the draft methodology
even keel, by means of a series
the wardroom was cut short when
for the removal of the unexploded
of tackles and shear legs, to the
Michael was asked to report to
● The hard-pressed team of RN clearance divers in the Falklands, having spent weeks of non-stop ship’s
bombs that hit warships Antrim,
upper flight deck,” he said.
HMS Argonaut, which had two
hull searching for limpet mines, underwater bomb damage repair, beach landing reconnaissance and
Argonaut, Plymouth and RFA Sir
“I also remembered to keep
unexploded bombs on board.
unexploded munitions disposal
Galahad.”
reassuring the lads that I knew
Chief Divers Ben Gunnel and
The “real fun” started on May 21
Lt Cdr Dutton, the Officer for cover in San Carlos Water. aggravating at times.
when a 1,000lb bomb smashed into
what I was doing – and wishing I
Bill Baucham went to assess the
in Charge of Fleet Team 1, two Along with LDs Tony Groom “‘To be quite candid, Mr
the Sea Slug missile loading doors
had put a spare pair of knickers and
frigate, and Michael devised a
plan based on the Antrim bomb.
Chief Divers and team of divers, and Billy Evernden, Michael Fellows,’ he replied, ‘when you
of destroyer HMS Antrim, bounced
my reading glasses in my pocket.”
Argonaut’s hull was patched,
employing the Antrim techniques, headed to Plymouth, to be met on arrived on the bridge and fell flat
through the missile magazine and a
Sailors cut away steel decks
allowing access to the site of the
conducted a seven-day operation the quarterdeck by an officer who on your face, we almost to a man
pyrotechnic store before wedging
and rigged shear legs, but it was
bomb, and the bodies of two
to remove the bomb and damaged pointed out the area of damage thought: God help us – the only
itself into a toilet cubicle.
six hours before they could start
victims removed.
munitions from Argonaut’s then led them to the bridge. bomb disposal man available in
Antrim was, at the time, fending
moving the live bomb.
But with no senior bomb
magazine whilst she lay at anchor. Michael tripped over the the southern hemisphere and he’s
off air attacks on SS Canberra in
“I was very worried that the
disposal staff on hand, Michael
On May 25 CPO Diver Graham coaming of the bridge door, drunk. We are going to need some
Falkland Sound, and it was during
violent manoeuvring of the ship as
gratefully accepted an offer of help
(Piggy) Trotter, who had just arrived wondering whether his stumble, spiritual assistance.’”
further such attacks that Michael,
she came under attack was going
from Royal Engineers WO2 John
with Fleet Team 2, visited Michael along with the fumes of rum on The operation was still in
clutching his ‘bomb bag’, and
to jolt the bomb and cause the
Phillips and SSgt Jim Prescott.
to seek advice before tackling a his breath from a small tot of progress the next day, when loose
colleagues LDs Garry Sewell and
fuse to detonate,” said Michael.
The Army pair successfully
bomb on RFA Sir Galahad. rum hours earlier, might give an explosives had to be disposed of,
Nigel Pullen were flown from San
“We improvised wedges and
removed one Argonaut bomb, but
The pair went to look at the unfavourable impression. and the barrels of the three mortars
Carlos Water to the destroyer.
my two divers lay alongside the
the following day were caught in
device, which lay in the battery The first bomb had damaged cut away – without using tools
“I dropped out of the lowering weapon to keep it steady whilst I the blast of one of two bombs on
charging room, and another lift- two mortars and smashed which generated heat – to release
strop of the helo on to a foam- snipped at loose metal around the Antelope, which exploded while
and-shift approach was proposed. compartments before passing the undamaged munitions.
covered deck right alongside an fuse with pliers in an attempt to they were attempting to defuse it.
Piggy and Lt Bernie Bruen, his through the far side of the ship. The first day of liberation saw
abandoned gun surrounded by identify the origin and type.” The explosion claimed the life
boss, removed the bomb without Two depth charges on the upper the divers again in the thick of
pools of blood,” said Michael. Breaking off to send a sitrep to of SSgt Prescott and badly injured
mishap. deck had been hit, one partially it, landing from HMS Intrepid
Down below, in a compartment the UK, he sought advice from WO Phillips.
On June 3 Michael was exploding and demolishing a mess into Stanley to clear discarded
summoned to HMS Fearless to deck below. ammunition and booby traps
organise and subsequently lead a around defensive positions.
covert reconnaissance operation
Sea Cat missiles had also
behind enemy lines at Bluff Cove
been damaged, and the
And then, job done, the team
to locate and destroy underwater
second bomb, while also
was one of the first Naval units to
mines and other obstructions that
passing through the ship,
return home, by air.
could endanger a landing.
had broken two mortars
“At the start of the Falklands
Divers and members of the
and bent three barrels of a
Campaign I had in excess of 22
special forces reconnoitred the
loaded mortar device.
years’ bomb and mine disposal
experience behind me that
area, gleaning intelligence from A painstaking process of making obviously helped tremendously,”
the local population, and carrying damaged munitions safe before said Michael, who won the
out a river-bed contour survey. dumping them overboard ensued, DSC and now runs munitions
Five divers – Chief Ben Gunnell, while the ship’s company gathered location and disposal company
Tony Groom, Billy Evernden, on the fo’c’sle in survival suits. Fellows International Ltd, based
Stan Bowles and George Sharp – “During the whole of the at Arundel in West Sussex.
carried out the underwater survey operation, which took about six “However, the conflict was the
and obstacle removal. hours, we could hear the sound first time that I had been involved
The start of the operation was of singing echoing off the hills in in rendering weapons safe whilst
delayed by heavy gunfire and the enclosed, still waters of Bomb the enemy was actively trying to
enemy activity, then the party was Alley,” said Michael. kill my team and me.
‘ground-hopped’ in by helicopter “Not the cheerful verses from a “It’s an experience I would
Using hand signals and a Sods Opera or those encouraging not have missed for the world
flashing light, so as not to alert one’s favourite football team, but – one that gave me the unique
Argentinian troops just metres songs with a serious religious opportunity to test my knowledge
away, the men completed their theme intermingled with Eternal and leadership under fire.
survey without mishap and Father, Strong to Save and Land of “Unfortunately the Royal Navy
returned to Bluff Cove settlement Hope and Glory. Clearance Diving Teams involved
to spend the night in a pen full of “On returning to the bridge I in the conflict, who per-capita
noisy – but warm – sheep. was greeted by a now-enthusiastic possibly won more gallantry awards
A successful landing was carried Officer of the Watch who than any other unit, received no
out the following night, by which questioned whether the task had recognition whatsoever on the
time the divers had returned to been routine or difficult. Falkland Islands War Memorial
Falkland Sound. “My reply was that it had gone in Port Stanley despite numerous
And it was there on June 8 that well enough, and proof of that was letters to our leaders and others in
HMS Plymouth shipped two that we were all still alive – but authority.
● Damage to frigate HMS Plymouth during the Falklands Confl ict
1,000lb bombs, forcing her to run that the singing had been a little “What a shame…”
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