NAVY NEWS, MARCH 2008 9
Lusty lingers on…
AS NAVY News went to press, Orion 08 Pakistan and Indian navies, and three Allied
flagship HMS Illustrious was expected to be warships will also attach to the group for
on her way to join the rest of the task group. various elements – the USS Cole, subject to
The carrier had lingered in the hands a terrorist suicide bomb attack in Yemen in
of Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) staff, 2000 which killed 17 American sailors, arrived
although there had also been mechanical in Malta on the same weekend as the British
issues to rectify before the ship was ready to minehunters and Diligence.
sail for the Med. Other ships lined up for all or part of the
The various elements of Orion are now trip include destroyer HMS Edinburgh, Type
expected to gather this month before pushing 23 frigate HMS Westminster, submarine HMS
on through the Suez Canal and into the Gulf Trafalgar, RFAs Wave Knight, Fort Austin and
region. Bayleaf, French destroyer FS Jean Bart and
Exercises ahead include work with the Spanish frigate SNS Mendez Nuñez.
The diligent shepherd
HOT on the heels of for the maintenance
the two Hunt-class ships teams on board as well
came RFA Diligence as her crew – she is that
– and demonstrated rarity in Naval terms, a
her agility to those ship with a sauna…
watching from the For Capt McNally
Upper Barracca this was the first visit
Gardens on a hazy to Malta since he
Sunday morning was a cadet in 1976,
as she pirouetted and he is pleased
gracefully before with the ship’s
nudging alongside performance to
the jetty aft of her date – she spent
two charges. most of last year in
The Forward Repair refit in the North-West.
Ship, commanded by Capt Her programme with
Tony McNally, had also been the Orion 08 MCMV task
held up by adverse weather which unit sees her visit Crete as Navy
delayed her entry past the Valletta News went to press, then spend
breakwater. some time in the Gulf supporting
“It is a typical North Sea Operation Aintree, though she
support ship,” said Capt McNally will also shepherd the little ships
of the former Stena vessel, taken through exercises in the Indian
up by the MOD in the aftermath Ocean, with members of the Fleet
● USS Cole lies alongside in
of the Falklands Conflict. Support Unit using her extensive
Grand Harbour, with the MCMV
“Everything is up for’ard and it workshops and equipment as
task unit further along the jetties
can bounce about a bit in heavy necessary.
(top) while a dockyard worker
seas.” She is also capable of acting as a
helps secure ropes for RFA
9 O U R F R I E N D L Y A F F O R D A B L E
But it is proving a popular ship depot ship for RN submarines.
Diligence at Pinto Wharf (above)
Rock solid results
, O N D O N # L U B
THE vast protective bulk of the
Rock of Gibraltar was a comforting
presence to HMS Atherstone,
even without the kind of winter
gales which were battering UK
coasts at the time.
Gib was the first port of call for
the Crazy A and her sister HMS
Chiddingfold on their Orion
08 deployment to the Gulf and
beyond.
The two Hunt-class mine
warfare vessels took advantage
of the Mediterranean sun and
rather more amenable seas to test
the Seafox mine disposal system
before reaching an operational
theatre.
Seafox is the replacement for
the ‘yellow submarine’, used by
the UK’s mine countermeasures
forces for the past quarter century
to find and destroy underwater
s # L O S E T O - A R B L E ! R C H A N D / X F O R D 3 T R E E T
explosive devices.
The new piece of kit is still
s ! F F O R D A B L E R O O M R A T E S
at the trials stage, and probably
won’t be fully operational until
s # H O I C E O F R E S T A U R A N T S A N D B A R S
later this year.
But ahead of a major international
s # O N C E S S I O N A R Y . # 0 # A R 0 A R K R A T E S
deployment, live firing trials were
required – and the weather in the s & U N C T I O N R O O M S F O R D I N N E R S R E C E P T I O N S
Strait in February is generally
kinder than it is in the Solent.
R E U N I O N S A N D P R I V A T E P A R T I E S
“My teams have been in the
sea exercising every day,” said LD
4 H E 6 I C T O R Y 3 E R V I C E S # L U B
Adrian Morris, Atherstone’s dive
team leader. 3 E Y M O U R 3 T R E E T
● The Seafox mine disposal system is deployed from HMS Atherstone
“Out here, every day is a great
off Gibraltar Picture: LA (Phot) Pete Smith
diving day. The weather has been
, O N D O N 7 ( &
fantastic.” ways – it significantly increases And because it actually fires its
Seafox was launched to find the speed of mine clearance charge at a target, rather than just
and destroy a trials mine – which operations, so it’s very good news dropping it in the vicinity, as is the
4 E L
it achieved. for the Royal Navy,” said Lt Cdr case with the yellow submarine,
Reams of data were also
& A X
David Morgan, Atherstone’s CO. it means Seafox is just as good at
collected by the sailors for Fleet Seafox is a one-shot system, as handling buoyant mines as those
% M A I L I N F O V S C C O U K
HQ and boffins to pore over the delivery vehicle is destroyed as on the sea bed.
before they can declare the new it fires its charge into the target. The Orion deployment will 7 E B W W W V S C C O U K
system operational. That may seem wasteful, but see Atherstone and Chiddingfold
That underwater ‘kill’ marked the negligible cost of deploying the operate in the Gulf – where HMS
the culmination of a year of exploratory element of the system Ramsey and Blyth can already be - E M B E R S H I P / P E N T O A L L 3 E R V I N G A N D 2 E T I R E D - E M B E R S
trials, trials which have mightily to examine a suspect device means found – and also off the coasts of
impressed all those involved. it very quickly works out cheaper Pakistan and India alongside the O F T H E ! R M E D & O R C E S A N D T H E I R F A M I L I E S
“Seafox is revolutionary in many than the yellow submarines. navies of those two nations.
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