NAVY NEWS, OCTOBER 2007 41
Founder’s day Savings, but
for HMS Clyde
few benefi ts
BRITAIN’S newest-
The MOD has managed to shave
commissioned warship has
nearly £800m off the cost of its
been celebrating T200.
most important weapon projects
No, they’re not two years
– but the taxpayer will see less
behind the times aboard HMS
than half of those savings.
Clyde – the T200 refers to the
Millions of pounds saved by
Marquis of Tamandaré and the
cost-cutting on vital projects has
200th anniversary of his birth.
already been swallowed by other
He’s not a well-known figure
arms of the defence budget.
here in Britain, but he’s a
The Commons Public
national hero in Brazil, where
Accounts Committee quizzed
he’s regarded as the founder of
senior MOD offi cials on the
the South American country’s
state-of-play of 20 of the most
Navy.
importance defence procurement
To mark their leader’s
projects, such as the Astute-class
birthday, the Brazilians staged
submarine, Type 45 destroyers,
a fleet review – a parade
and Nimrod maritime patrol
of 25 ships comprising the
aircraft.
world’s navies, including the
The committee’s report
USA, Portugal, Argentina and
shows that Whitehall has made
Mexico.
strenuous efforts to rein in the
Patrol ship Clyde, on her
over-spending and tackle delays.
maiden voyage, joined the line
Nearly £100m has been saved
of ships as they glided past
by the Astute team, while the cost
Ipanema and Copacabana
of upgrading Sting Ray torpedoes
beaches, the statue of Christ
has been cut by £2m.
the Redeemer, Sugar Loaf
● A Frank explanation... Guides show Victory’s admiral’s cabin to motor racing supremo Sir Frank Williams Across the defence ‘board’,
Mountain, and hundreds of Picture: LA(Phot) Emz Tucker, FRPU Whale Island
Whitehall has managed to cut the
thousands of Brazilians, eager
budget on the 20 major projects
to catch the spectacle.
by £781m; £448m of the savings
With the review concluded,
have already been allocated to
the ships anchored in Rio
other parts of the defence budget.
harbour, where they stayed the
And despite these savings,
following day for an inspection
the 20 projects will still come in
by Brazil’s defence minister,
£2.6bn over the original estimates
who sailed among the fleet
Formula for Victory
and, cumulatively, they will reach
admiring the gleaming ships
the front line 36 years late.
and sailors in their whites.
moved the short distance to inspirational figure in sport, Sir
“The department’s track
“As with Trafalgar 200, the
excitement and enthusiasm
Nelson’s flagship for a tour of Frank was keen to know whether
for this review has been
HMS Victory, including the Great Nelson was “as remarkable a man
unmistakeable,” said Lt
W
HAT has
and Damon Hill.
record of managing these projects
the world of
The motor racing supremo told
is pretty dire,” said committee
Formula 1 in
the respected journal MotorSport
he had a great passion for military Cabin. as he is made out to be”.
chairman Edward Leigh.
common with
history. The NHB team rooted out “We think so,” said Capt
The report says the Ministry
Cdr Paul Pitcher, Clyde’s
the world of the Senior Said article was seen by official
numerous artefacts for Sir Frank, Christopher Page, head of the
of Defence fails to hold people to
Commanding Officer.
notably photographs, accounts, Historical Branch.
account when things go wrong;
“What better place to have Service?
Royal Navy historian Jock Gardner
and magazines charting the deeds “He was a flawed individual,
equally, it also fails to praise
such a parade than off the On the face of it, probably very
of the Naval Historical Branch...
of the Naval Brigades in the but aren’t we all?”
those responsible when there are
famous beaches of Rio? The little.
who has a great passion for motor
Boer War, plus a magnificently-
successes.
procession along them was a Except that one of the sport’s
sport.
■ HMS Victory has been named
produced series of maps and the second most important
Whitehall has set aside £19bn
fabulous spectacle.” legendary figures is a big military
The result was a VIP visit for Sir
diagrams charting the defences historical treasure in the country.
for the replacement of the Trident
Clyde has one more stop history buff.
Frank, who’s been in a wheelchair
of Ladysmith (military maps are TV channel UKTV History has
nuclear missile system and
to make, in Uruguay, before Sir Frank Williams is the man
for the past two decades following
the F1 man’s particular area of spent six months polling Britons
Vanguard boats which carry it.
she replaces HMS Dumbarton behind Williams Racing, the team
a serious car crash, to Portsmouth
interest). about their top 100 historical
The Committee fears that
Castle as the Falklands’ which gave Britain the F1 title Naval Base.
As for the Williams team, it’s sites across the land, from the
such an ambitious and expensive
guardship. courtesy of drivers Nigel Mansell He began at the NHB, then
not as divorced from the Senior obvious choices such as Windsor
project could be dogged by
Service as you might think; Castle and the Tower of London
delays and over-spending which
Williams’ long-time technical to lesser-known gems like Twyford
have surrounded the Astute
Silent... but deadly
director (now engineering director) waterworks.
programme.
Patrick Head was briefly in the At the very top of the tree,
It says the MOD must learn
Senior Service in the 1960s, while perhaps not too surprisingly, was
from the mistakes made in
another of the senior engineers is Stonehenge. And right behind it
designing and building the
a former nuclear submariner. was Nelson’s flagship.
hunter-killer submarines when
WHILE her sister Blyth was showing Bahraini sailors how to cope
“I asked him one day out of “I knew that we were in with a
work eventually begins on the
with disaster, HMS Ramsey was having a blast in Gulf waters.
interest: ‘How deep and fast do good chance, but with such strong future Vanguards.
The minehunter joined a sizeable US Navy minehunting force
they go?’,” said Sir Frank. competition from the likes of Defence procurement minister
– USS Ardent, Dextrous, Gladiator and Scout, plus Explosive
“He couldn’t tell me. ‘I’ve Windsor Castle, I did not expect Lord Drayson said he and his
Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 6 and Blackhawks of Mine
signed the Official Secrets Act and us to come second,” said HMS team would study the committee’s
Countermeasures Squadron 15 – in a concerted search and
my mates are still down there.’ Victory’s Commanding Officer Lt report and recommendations.
destroy exercise, organised from the 60,000-ton assault ship
“Patrick has a strong military Cdr John Scivier. He added: “The report takes
USS Bonhomme Richard.
bearing, a strong military voice, “I’m absolutely thrilled at the a constructive view of the work
The Americans sowed the Gulf with lots of (dummy) mines
and he expects a strong military result, one that justly ratifies we’re doing to improve the way
– some on the surface, some on the seabed, and some
discipline among the team.” Victory’s position in the heart of we buy weapons and equipment
tethered – and then let the Anglo-American force deal with
And as a leader of men and the UK population.” needed by the Armed Forces.”
the nasty ‘crop’.
The helicopters went in force to find the minefield, then
the ships and divers moved in to find, fix and recover... or
3500+ GOOD QUALITY BECOME A
blow up the trial mines.
Over a 48-hour period, Ramsey found five mines: two RARE AND OUT OF PRINT PUBLISHED
on the surface, the remainder ground mines lying on the
seabed.
NAUTICAL BOOKS
AUTHOR
Two of the latter were dispatched by explosive charges
ON LINE AT Independent publisher currently
– which proved a popular spectator sport.
“Many of the ship’s company mustered on the
www.mclarenbooks.co.uk
seeking authors in all categories
upper deck to witness the spectacular effect of an
catalogues issued retail premises (restricted hours)
For more information contact:
underwater explosion,” said Ramsey’s Commanding
Blenheim Press
Officer Lt Cdr Jon Holmes.
McLAREN BOOKS LTD.
35 Market Place (NN),
“The high plume of water and the loud bang
22 JOHN STREET, HELENSBURGH, G84 8BA St Albans, Herts, AL3 5DL
– felt throughout the ship – is a sign of a job well
tel. 01436 676453 email sales@mclarenbooks.co.uk Tel: 01727 852016 Fax: 01727 843716
done.”
E-mail: blenheimpress@tiscali.co.uk
The last act of the exercise was also the most
demanding. Ramsey was charged with leading OPERATION PURSENET
the Bonhomme Richard through a minefield (CYPRUS 1955-60)?
– clearing a path for the much larger vessel to
Military historian researching
safely navigate (something the RN did for real as
whole campaign seeks accounts
recently as the Iraq campaign of 2003).
“Working with the US Navy was a useful
from ships companies taking part.
experience,” Lt Cdr Holmes added. “Although At least HMS Charity, Comet,
the end result is the same, the methods differ Bermuda, Daring, Reggio,
and the equipment used is varied.
Leverton.
“We learned that the US sailors had nicknamed
us the ‘Silent Killers’ because, despite frequent Harrier Carriers
Stephen Jones 12 Green Lane,
communication problems with the command ship,
Chislehurst, Kent BR7 6AG
they still knew that Ramsey and her crew were out
Vol 1
milresearch@dsl.pipex.com
there finding and disposing mines.” HMS INVINCIBLE
By Neil McCart
The well illustrated story of the first of
HP BOOKFINDERS: Established
● A huge plume rises from a dummy mine, disposed
off by an American explosive ordnance team working
the Royal Navy’s new generation of aircraft professional service locating out
with HMS Ramsey
carriers from the Falklands War to the early
of print titles on all
Picture: US Navy
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