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NAVY NEWS, OCTOBER 2008 25
rough its
es; (right)
to none, the team are renowned and his team engineered a bit of from across defence, Qinetiq,
for their abilities,” said Maj Lugg. kit to make their lives easier. It DSTL, Abbey Wood, and to big
“These guys look at a piece of meets with firm approval among business beyond – “I don’t care
equipment and if it doesn’t come the Marines using it. who makes it, so long as it works
up to scratch, they will say so.” and the Ministry can afford it,”
Is it actually going to be fast states David. “I see our strength
enough with all that weight of as being this mix of technical
armour? What’s the visibility
T
he military wing and
HQ support the three
delivery wings, individually
knowledge and operational
like for the boat driver? Do the
responsible for training, craft and
experience – and we’re tied to
gunners have the line of sight they
vehicles. But individual doesn’t
nobody.”
need? Is their footing secure on
really factor into life at Instow,
But it’s not just the big bits of
the tilting, slithery deck?
because almost every serial is
kit like landing craft being watched
Because this thing can just stop.
made up of a mix of the base’s
over here. The team at Instow
Throw the lever and the buckets
wings.
have recently brought into service
that propel the thing forward
Getting a driver to take his
a handheld electronic navigation
through waterjets are thrown into
water-proofed Land-Rover off a
system, small enough and sturdy
reverse. And it smashes to a crash-
landing craft and to the shore calls
enough to be of practical use to
stop in the length of the boat.
on training wing, and craft wing,
Marines in small raiding craft.
And a handbrake turn at
and vehicle wing, and military
And from the depths of a
sea is something impressive to
wing, and HQ – to make sure
goldmine in South Africa, 11ATT
behold. And slightly alarming to
all the different moving parts are
plucked a piece of hydrography
experience.
available at the same time.
technology that they adapted
In November 2006 a rigid
But then, amphibious warfare
into a beach profiler – in Norway
raider came under attack in Iraq,
is all about getting all the moving
earlier this year it proved itself,
with members of the patrol killed
parts to the right places at the
producing a swift detailed readout
and injured. The call came back
right time.
of the shallows that are essential
to Instow to find a solution now.
To that end, early next year
for beach reconnaissance.
From early starts to midnight
Instow is expecting the arrival
finishes, and even overnight,
of the trials demonstrator of the
future Fast Landing Craft.
the marines, the engineers, the
A full-size Pacscat (partially air- I
t doesn’t take long at Instow to
realise how this small corner of
Devon is watching the world
craftsmen of Instow toiled together
cushioned supported catamaran) and continually bringing lessons
to stop this happening again.
is being built currently in back to improve the lives of the
Six weeks later another raider
Southampton, and the finished Royal Marines.
● (Top right) The Beast
came under attack – 71 blast
craft (part conventional LCU, How an organisation that
leaves the dip tank after
fragments slammed into the boat.
part catamaran, part hovercraft) cherishes vintage World War 2
rinsing off the Instow
And no one was injured.
will be sent down to Instow to be DUKWs as the best craft to
sea-water; a Land-Rover
Thanks to the armour cladding
put through its paces. support its training is bringing
loses its unwanted cargo
developed through the long hours,
David Graham, a former Royal in cutting-edge technology to
of water after a quick
the hard work, and the technical
Marine who heads up the Craft sharpen the war machine.
dip; and the Case with
know-how of the men and women
Wing, explained: “What we’re How this tiny, motley crew
its spool of trackway works
at Instow.
looking at here is something that of civil servants and Marines
on the shallow Instow
Sgt Maj ‘Spud’ Bartlett was in
hasn’t been done before. are mapping out a future for
shore
that first boat. Now he’s one of
“The doctrine these days is to amphibious warfare.
the 14 Royal Marines at 11ATT
launch over the horizon – for How much fun they are all
who are bringing their front-
protection and tactical surprise.” having.
Pictures:
line experience to bear on the
The aim is to find a landing craft What the hell, how much fun Greg Barrott,
men, boats and vehicles that pass
that can deliver a main battletank I’m having, as I clamber up into
through Instow.
ashore at 25 knots, and get off the a MAN truck for my fourth ‘dip’
11ATT Sqn
Their operational know-how
beach again at speed. of the day...
is balanced by the corporate
“So we’re build-
knowledge of the 47 civilians who
ing a technology
research, design, drive, build and
demonstrator for
maintain the vehicles at the site.
Pacscat. Because
Pete Moore of the Craft wing
we don’t actually
said: “The armouring of the
know that it’s going
raiders was an urgent, out-of-the-
to work. The theory
blue job. But that’s what we’re
says it will.”
here for. It’s one of the more
He adds: “We
rewarding ones – we get to see the
spend most of
effect of our work very quickly.
our time finding
There’s instant feedback.”
commercial
It’s a point echoed by many of
solutions to military
the civilians working at the base.
problems.”
“One of the pleasures of this job He admits to
is that we’re very close to the end some fundamental
user,” said Syd Kyte. differences between
Syd’s particular area of the two – “While
expertise lies with the massive they spend their
Case tractors that lay the trackway time trying not to
along the beach, the coiled carpets run aground, that’s
of linked metal that permit less exactly what we
hefty vehicles the grip to cross the have to do. We have
sand, shale, pebbles or mud of the to run aground,
shoreline. but in a controlled
After hearing comments from manner.”
the Marines who had come to Instow stands
Instow about the difficulties of outside of industry,
hauling in the metal track, Syd pulling in knowledge
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