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NAVY NEWS, AUGUST 2008 11
Six of the Happy hours
best with for Happy H
Busy Bee
THE Happy H – better known
as HMS Hurworth – has fi nally
bid farewell to NATO after a
SIX years in Manchester... Nope,
winter and spring on international
not a prison sentence but how
duties.
long the fl iers and ground crew of
The Hunt-class warship was
202 Flight, 815 NAS, have been
attached to NATO’s Standing
attached to the Busy Bee.
Mine Counter-measures Group 1,
The Lynx men are the last of
a multi-national task group which
the dedicated flights assigned by
roves European waters in search
the Yeovilton-based squadron to a
of unexploded ordnance from the
specific ship.
bloody 20th Century as well as
They joined the Type 42 back
promoting co-operation between
in May 2002.
Allied navies.
And with her return to the
Survey ship HMS Roebuck has
UK this spring after a hugely-
served as the fl agship of the small
challenging deployment to the
force which has comprised ships
Gulf, so 202’s time with the
from Germany, Belgium, Latvia,
Portsmouth-based destroyer
Poland, France, Denmark and the
finally came to an end.
Netherlands.
You’ll be pleased to know
The composition of the
that they went out on a high:
force has been as varied as
the helicopter clocked up an
its destinations: the waters of
impressive 260 hours airborne,
Belgium, Scotland, Norway,
many working alongside the
Denmark, Holland, Lithuania,
Dusty Dogs, the US HS-7 anti-
Poland, Germany, France and,
● Somewhere over the rainbow... Lt James Capps checks his chart as one of the 845 NAS Sea Kings makes for Tallard-Gap in unseasonal
submarine helicopter squadron. Southern France weather
most recently, Spain have all
HMS Manchester spent almost
hosted the group at one time or
six months as the chaperone
another.
of the USS Harry S Truman,
Filling a massif Gap
Hurworth’s attachment to
forming an integral part of the
the task force reached its climax
carrier’s imposing battle group.
off the northwest tip of Spain
The ship joined HST in the
for Exercise Loyal Mariner, the
Med and followed her east... and
regular major gathering of NATO
followed her back into the Med
forces to test their ability to
once the Gulf deployment was
THE fl iers of 845 Naval
and rotors were operating “very
respond to an international crisis.
done.
near their limits”.
Unlike many NATO
Once out of the Middle East
Air Squadron have made
Lt William Murray explained:
minewarfare deployments,
theatre, there was finally a chance
massif strides in training
“These environmental issues
this one didn’t spend much
for ship and squadron to relax.
for front-line action. required meticulous planning and
time in UK waters, so most of
202 spent six idyllic days in
Last year we featured the Lynx airmanship skills from the crew so
Hurworth’s ship’s company
Rhodes, during which time Flight
of 847 NAS practising high-
had been away from Pompey as
we could transit between and land
Commander Lt Cdr ‘Spike’
long as their ship – six months
altitude and mountain operations on mountaintops safely.
Milligan and pilot Lt Marty van
– clocking up more than 11,000
in southern France. “With the exception of hot
Duin were invited to an official
miles in the process.
This summer, three Sea Kings and arid conditions and the ever-
reception on the HST.
“The deployment is a
took the place of the Lynx as 845 present threat of incoming missiles
There was also ‘a divisional
benchmark for minehunters,”
NAS prepared themselves for the and ground fi re, the environment
day’ – a chance for the Flight to
said CO Lt Cdr Andy Woolhead
challenges of Afghanistan. replicated that of Afghanistan, so
bond away from the pressures of
proudly. “Hurworth has
Two of the three helicopters the crews gained a great deal of
work.
successfully completed six months
heading to Gap – about 60 miles benefi t from this high-altitude
In 202’s case this meant a
away from her base port without
south of Grenoble – were able to training.”
late breakfast, go-karting and
the organic support and without
The Junglies are heavily in
mini golf. S/Lt ‘Jill’ Dando was
hitch a lift for most of the way
any dedicated maintenance
demand. 845 fi nally brought the
crowned kart champion, while
courtesy of assault ship HMS
periods.
curtain down on fi ve years in Iraq
the flight commander took the
Albion, which was sailing for the
“The measure of our success
late in 2007 and 846 NAS have
golf prize ahead of CPO ‘Mouse’
Med and then on to Africa.
must be attributed to the ship’s
already deployed to Afghanistan
Burrows.
Now we could tell you that they
company. Their dedication,
● Touch and go... a Jungly briefl y rests a wheel on a French peak
The last act with the US
enjoyed a leisurely sail to warmer to support Allied peacekeeping ingenuity and persistence has
carrier was to escort her through
climes… but we’d be lying.
Albion behind they faced foul each ‘pit stop’ ensured the aircraft
operations.
meant that Hurworth has been
the Strait of Gibraltar (which
No, in just one eight-hour
weather coupled with a French was topped up and could continue
So it’s only fair that there’s some
able to contribute effectively
accounts for 80 per cent of the
period, the Junglies took off 72
air traffi c controllers’ strike which southwards.
play in between the hard work. The
to this important NATO
world’s shipping traffic).
times and landed 72 times
made the fl ight to Gap particularly And so it was that eventually
Gap region is an adrenalin junkie’s
commitment.”
The Lynx took to the skies
As the ship’s company practised
demanding. the three Sea Kings Mk4 and 63
pleasuredome, beloved by free-
Having gone without a
once more, joined by a pair of
aircraft handling skills, and then
But not as demanding for the personnel converged on Gap-
fall parachutists, hikers, walkers,
thorough maintenance period,
Seahawks from HST, before the
practised their response in the
solitary Jungly fl ying in from Tallard airfi eld, home to Aviation
climbers, bikers and whitewater
Happy H will now receive some
Truman cheered ship for her
event of a Sea King crash on
Yeovilton over central France. Légère de l’Armée de Terre – French
rafters. TLC over the summer… but only
trusty escorts.
the fl ight deck, with the aircrew
For aside from the small matter of Army Light Aviation, the Gallic
Every one of the 63 fl iers and after she was on display during
The first landfall in Blighty
playing very convincing casualties
(a) French air traffi c controllers’ counterpart of Britain’s Army Air
ground crew who headed to Gap Meet Your Navy, the RN’s open
was not Yeovilton but the Isle of
(aided by a bit of make-up).
strike and (b) bad weather, there Corps.
managed to squeeze in some days in Portsmouth.
Wight.
By day and night there were
was also (c) a little local diffi culty. Their training area, the Massif
adventurous training. Some even Hurworth’s place in the NATO
The Lynx set down so the
various exercises: controlled
Despite the best laid plans, the des Écrins to the northeast of Gap,
managed to get to Monaco to force will be taken by HMS
crew could enjoy a bacon butty,
approaches, approaches in low/bad
845 team found that none of the is ideal for high-altitude exercises
watch Lewis Hamilton win the F1 Ledbury which joins the group
before flying over the destroyer visibility, vertical replenishment, airfi elds they stopped at on the way with peaks in excess of 10,000ft,
Grand Prix. after summer leave.
as she returned to Portsmouth. grappling (recovering items from down from Yeovilton would accept hence 845’s visit.
And then it was on to Somerset the sea), and in-fl ight refuelling. the squadron’s fuel cards. We’re The height of the mountains –
and the end of an era in Britain’s And as for those warmer told that “a bit of Jungly cunning coupled with warm temperatures For SERVICE, QUALITY and VALUE
largest helicopter squadron. climes… when the squadron left and some deft negotiating skills” at – meant the Sea Kings’ engines
second-to-none…
Echoes of empire for Echo
We invite PO’S and OFFICERS
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Royal Navy to take advantage
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SURVEY ship HMS Echo became the some interesting choices of transportation service of remembrance, while CO Cdr Jeremy Service…
fi rst RN vessel in a dozen years to call in on (rickshaws!) to move the hydrography kit. Churcher laid a wreath in remembrance.
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Bangladesh. As well as being Bangladesh’s principal outlet Elsewhere, several of Echo’s ship’s company
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Among those waters requiring the expertise naval academy for the country. scores of old tankers being stripped down
of Echo’s 48 sailors and the ship’s hydrographic And it was there that the formal side of the visit manually on a beach by thousands of local
and mounted. Medals supplied
wizardry are the approaches to Chittagong, began with a reception for Echo’s wardroom, workers.
Good range of Regimental Ties in
Bangladesh’s second city and principal port. complete with authentic Bangladeshi curries. “Working alongside the Bangladeshi Navy
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Five Bangladesh Navy hydrographers joined Given the long-standing links between we learned from each other’s experiences,” said
the ship to offer their advice and to study the Britain and Bangladesh, there are quite a few Cdr Churcher.
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They know these waters, but don’t necessarily which are ex-RN, including the former HMS the Bangladeshis work. With Chittagong so
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have access to some of the state-of-the-art kit Lynx and Jaguar). important to Bangladeshi commerce, accurate
which the British vessel possesses. And there are echoes of Britain’s presence in charts are a key factor.
stating rank or rating.
Extensive surveying was carried out using Chittagong from the days of empire. “Following our successful visit I would
Echo’s survey motor launch which roamed Chittagong War Cemetery is the last resting welcome the opportunity to return to
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sea, however. as the Chittagong Memorial which remembers Bangladeshi sailors challenged their Echo
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Shore teams of RN and Bangladeshi the sacrifi ces of more than 6,000 Indian sailors counterparts to various sports (including a 2-2
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Karnaphuli estuary, where at times there were The Rev Scott Lamb, Echo’s chaplain, led a Far East odyssey.
0011_NN_Aug.indd 111_NN_Aug.indd 1 110/7/08 16:55:110/7/08 16:55:11
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