NAVY NEWS, AUGUST 2008 7
Fighting G
ready for
action
HMS Gloucester’s long road
from refi t is almost over with the
destroyer completing front-line
training.
The Fighting G earned a
‘very satisfactory’ score from
the people at Flag Officer Sea
Training (who judge ships to be
‘satisfactory’, ‘v.sat’ or ‘good’
– providing they pass the two-
month trial, testing a ship’s
company’s ability to fight fire,
flood, breakdown and finally
war).
The destroyer left Rosyth at
the end of last year following a
£6m overhaul.
Engineers, shipwrights and
electrical experts from Babcock
fitted the 22-year-old destroyer
with improved communications
equipment and sensors, ripped
out the old boilers, installed
environmentally-friendly
water production plants and
fitted a ‘go-faster spoiler’ on
Gloucester’s stern (it’s officially
called a transom flap) which
makes the ship both more
● Quiet fl ows the Don... HMS Shoreham arrives in Aberdeen at the beginning of her Veterans’ Day visit stable and more fuel efficient.
Picture: LA(Phot) ‘Dougie’ Douglas, FRPU Clyde On ending FOST, Gloucester
sailed for Cardiff to take part in
the Welsh capital’s Veterans’
We get around...
Day commemorations, with
a sizeable proportion of the
ship’s company taking part in a
parade alongside Servicemen
and women past and present.
There’s still one final act for
the Portsmouth-based warship
to undergo before she is fully
operational: firing her Sea Dart.
IF YOU’VE been near
high-speed manoeuvres in tricky fi refi ghters were ferried out to Severn was called upon to the boat with no-one aboard off She’ll shortly head out to the
one of Britain’s ports or
pilotage areas. HMS Bangor by boat to take search for missing sailor Peter the Cornish coast and alerted the RN test ranges in the Western
coastal towns this past
Despite the title of the course, part in a fi re exercise – the fi rst Smith from Gosport. authorities. Approaches to launch two anti-
those navigators who passed (in time the maritime section had The 80-year-old vanished from Two lifeboats, an RAF Search air missiles at drone targets
month, there’s a fair this instance all of them) will conducted such a drill. his boat Midnight Oil as he sailed and Rescue helicopter and Severn ensuring that the upgrades to
chance you will have
go on to navigate a frigate or Ashore, the sailors called in from Milford Haven bound for scoured the sea for Mr Smith the missile system received
bumped into one of Her
destroyer. on Bangor Grammar and Clifton home. before coastguards called off the during the refit have been
Majesty’s warships.
The spell off St Catherine’s Special schools; both are affi liates, A Belgian trawler came across search. successful.
Point in Jersey was also the Duke the later is one of the mine warfare
A clutch of vessels have been
of Edinburgh’s birthday, marked ship’s chosen charities and received
flying the flag at a mix of maritime
by hoisting the Union Jack, Mast £500 from the sailors’ latest fund-
festivals, hometown visits and
Head Ensign and Ensign. raising activities.
Veterans’ Day ceremonies.
Several small crowds gathered Meanwhile in Weymouth...
And that’s where wwee
onon the Jersey coast to watch ‘Local boy’ Lt Cdr Adam Parnell
begin. HMS Shorehamm
SoSouthampton steaming came home – and he did so in his
sailed from her home on on
papast at speed with flags own warship.
Scotland’s west coast to o
bbillowing. The CO of HMS Grimsby
the Granite City for
It’s a good job they brought her into Weymouth for a
five days in Aberdeen
weren’t foe, because at three-day visit – and lost no time
as veterans’ events
that range they wouldn’t in hosting pupils of his former
reached their climax.
have stood much of school, Budmouth College, to talk
Fifteen sailors
a chance against the about the RN and his Sandown-
from the Sandown-
Saints, top gunners for class ship.
class ship joined local
the second year running. Other schools, colleges and
ex-Servicemen for a
A year ago they picked cadet organisations were
parade by all three Forces
up the Grytvikenen also inals vited aboard the
through the heart of the city.
trophy in Grytviken itself lf 600-tonne w60 arship, as
And from experience to youth...
(South Georgia) for their eir wweere the townsfolk when
the mine countermeasures vessel
expertise in medium-range e GrG imsby staged a ‘ship
hosted a flurry of young people:
gunnery. open to visitors’ day.
Torry Academy, Banff and Buchan
This year Rear The sailors will soon
College of Further Education,
Admiral Philip be leaving the ship
and Sea Cadet units TS Scylla
Wilcocks, Chief-of- behind, heading to the
(Aberdeen) and TS Caledonia
Staff (Capabilities) Gulf to take over HMS
(Peterhead).
had to go no further Ramsey or Blyth, while
At the other end of the
than the more familiar the Gulf sailors will head
British Isles, destroyer HMS
(and sometimes evenn in the opposite direction i
Southampton made the short
warmer) surroundings to man Grimsby.
hop along the Solent to the he
oof Pf ortsmouth to present HMS Severn could be found in
home of cruise liners.
bboth the Gro ytviken and the estuary for which she is named
It’s the first time inin
BBeresford trophies fore when the fi shery protection ship
18 months that thehe
ggunnery. called on her affi liated city.
ship has been back to
Exactly why the The 1,700-tonne ship spent
her namesake city;
ship bagged the title four days in Newport in South
operational duties
two years running is Wales cementing ties with the
kept her in the South
probably explained by community.
Atlantic for much
the gunnery team’s Severn has enjoyed the freedom
of last year and also
motto: a day without of the port since 2006; her sailors
forced the ship to pull
gunnery is a day wasted. exercised their right to parade
out of a visit this spring.
Another ship going through its streets last year
So better late than never,
home was HMSS and returan ned last month to
then.
Bangor. march once more.m
She spent four days berthed in
She’s tied to the town wn They were joined by the
Southampton Water. The climax
in Northern Ireland not t band of 104 Regb iment
of the visit was a parade to exercise
North Wales and made Royal Artillery, the
her freedom of the famous port, a
her way across the Irish warship’s affi liated
march which started and ended at
Sea for Bangor Sea Army formation.
the civic offi ces.
Festival and the Royal The ship’s football
Southampton arrived in
Ulster Yacht Club team also faced a
Southampton after a busy spring
Regatta. run-out against local
of maintenance and exercises
XO Lt Simon opposition, the Newport
including an engine change (which
Leightley went missing. All StarA s.
we featured last month) and a
Luckily he was found by Afl oat, the ship hosted
lively period around the Channel the RNLI during a ‘lost diver’ local dignitaries and showed them
Islands (which we didn’t). demonstration. what Severn was capable of.
Jersey and Guernsey are Fished out of the water and After a busy stint ‘doing fi sh’,
popular haunts for the RN, not ferried ashore, the offi cer joined Severn’s raison d’être, the stay in
only because of their hospitality fellow divers in explaining the her adopted city was, her CO Lt
or pleasant climate but because work of the branch to the Bangor Cdr Graham Lovatt sad, “the
of the excellent navigational public. highlight of our programme this
opportunities their shores offer. Other demonstrations were year”.
Students on the frigate less for public show than public Immediately upon leaving
navigation offi cers’ course joined safety. South Wales to resume her fi shery
the destroyer for a week’s intensive Belfast Fire Service has formed protection duties, the ship found
training around the islands with a new maritime section. Fifteen herself in an ocean-going drama.
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