NAVY NEWS, FEBRUARY 2009 3
Daring sails into
exciting future
THE fi rst of the Royal Navy’s new class of destroyer has left the Clyde to make her fi rst appearance at
her home port of Portsmouth.
As Navy News went to press, HMS Daring was making her way south after a rousing farewell from her builders.
The first of six Type 45s has successfully
completed a punishing programme of trials
– but there will be a similar regime of
tests and training over the coming months
before the state-of-the-art warship is ready
for front-line duties.
Employees from builders BVT gathered
on the quayside in Glasgow to see her off,
and their cheers were answered by those of
the Royal Navy sailors on board, who had
become a part of the local community.
Daring’s Commanding Officer, Capt
Paul Bennett, said: “On behalf of Daring’s
crew I want to give my heartfelt thanks to
the city of Glasgow for the support we have
been shown since the first sailor arrived at
Scotstoun in 2006.
“For some, Glasgow has been their
home for almost three years, and it has
been a great place to be stationed.
“The ship’s company and I have been
very much looking forward to the day when
we would be able to take charge of Daring
and begin our journey to her home port of
Portsmouth, and hopefully a very successful
future on this magnificent ship.”
Capt Bennett, who carried out an
exclusive interview for Talking Navy News
before he sailed with his ship, said: “It is
a privilege to command Daring because
what we are doing is bringing a completely
new capability into the Royal Navy.
“It is not just a new ship, it is the first
of a new class with new capabilities, and
that is the really exciting part; we have the
responsibility and privilege of setting the
pattern for a class of ship that will serve the
Royal Navy for 30 to 40 years.
“We will set out what we do and how we
do it, and much of that will still be in place
in perhaps 40 years time.”
Capt Bennett said that around 80 per
cent of the equipment in Daring is new,
and a great deal of the standard operating
procedures will be written by the new
ship’s company from scratch.
Of the next few months for this “world-
beating air defence destroyer”, Capt
Bennett said a busy time lay ahead.
Propulsion systems have been thoroughly
tested, as have domestic and ‘hotel’ systems
– all the fundamentals for life.
The raison d’être for Daring – the Principal
Anti Air Missile System (PAAMS) – has
been tested in terms of radars and other
elements, but full trials will be carried out
later this year with a view to achieving an
in-service date in December.
“Being in command is fantastic in
any sense, so commanding a warship is
a fantastic experience and something I
relish,” said Capt Bennett.
“Daring is the first element of the
modern Navy, with the carriers, Astute
and so on to follow. It’s taking a large step
forward and leading the way for follow-on
ships to match.
“It’s a really significant moment for
defence, the Royal Navy and Portsmouth,
● HMS Daring is shepherded down the River Clyde by tugs as she leaves the BVT
and on that basis hugely exciting.”
shipyard at Scotstoun
Picture: LA(Phot) Brian Douglas marina Talking Navy News – see panel p33
All going well
with Dauntless
SO WELL have the trials of HMS Dauntless
been going that the mixed RN/civilian crew
managed to squeeze a little more into her
programme than was planned before she
headed back to Scotstoun and fitting-out.
She also became the first Type 45 to drop
in at Faslane, where she hosted her sponsor
Lady Burnell-Nugent.
The visit to Faslane prepared the warship
for her inaugural gunnery shoot on the
Benbecula ranges in the Outer Hebrides,
where her 4.5in and 30mm guns were fired
for the first time – another test that went
better than expected, allowing all to pack up
early and escape a burst of bad weather.
And lest we forget the third of class,
Diamond is on the verge of tests of her own.
She’s fitting out at Scotstoun, and 15
months after launch she’s resembling her
older sisters. Most major external features
are in place – main gun, radars, aerials,
missile launchers – and inside is taking shape,
● HMS Daring passes under
including a now-complete ops room.
the Erskine Bridge on the Clyde
Her one-time solitary sailor, Cdr ‘Paddy’
as she heads for Portsmouth
● The Fighting G meets a Fighting D: while on transit to Faslane Type 42 destroyer
Munns, has been joined by 13 shipmates ahead HMS Gloucester sailed past one of the Type 45 warships built to replace her, HMS
Picture: LA(Phot) Brian Douglas
of Diamond’s basin trials around Easter. Dauntless. The new destroyer was carrying out trials in the Firth of Clyde
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