6 NAVY NEWS, APRIL 2009
Meet the
‘all-new’
HMS York
‘Dedication and
BACK enjoying life in the “blue-
grey crinkly stuff” (aka ocean)
is the good ship York which is
shaking off the cobwebs after a
lengthy refi t in Portsmouth.
Aside from a general overhaul determination’
of most of the Type 42, the
new-look York – “the ship looks
sparkling” says her Commanding
AWAY from the front line of Afghanistan
Queen’s Commendation for Bravery in the Air for r
Officer Cdr Andrew Price – is
saving two climbers on one of the most diffi cult
faster than the old York thanks to
there is no more dangerous or
parts of Ben Nevis, Tower Scoop.
a ‘transom flap’ on the stern (aka
challenging fl ying than Search and
Back in February last year, one mountaineer fell
‘go-faster ramp’). Rescue missions – as recognised by a
200ft down a sheer ice wall, still attached to his
The ship’s automated close-
string of operational honours.
fellow climber by a single rope. Beneath him was
in weapon system Phalanx has
Five fl iers from HMS Gannet have been singled
a 3,500ft drop.
also been upgraded to the latest
out for four high-profi le rescues conducted at the
Because he was close to the rock face, the Sea
version.
limits of physical and mental endurance, three in the
King had to maintain a high hover and PO Craig
Not surprisingly the ship’s
mountains, one off the sands of Blackpool.
was winched 150ft down to assess the wounded
company are looking forward to
The latter rescue – which also involved an RAF
man – who had suffered a broken arm and leg.
watching Phalanx fire (it belts
SAR helicopter (whose crew have been similarly
Despite being injured himself as he bumped
out thousands of rounds per
honoured) – saw 23 passengers and crew of the
and scraped the jagged rock face, the senior
minute...).
roll-on, roll-off ferry MV Riverdance saved in in
rraating pert sisted with the rescue, guiding ng
But before that day there’s a
horrendous conditions in January 2008.
tthe terhe rifi ed climber and his partner into to
lot of rather less exciting tests
After the RAF had rescued eight people,ple,
ththe helicoptere .
and trials: fire, man overboard,
Gannet’s Sea King, moved in, commanded ed
Also on the treacherous slopes of
breakdown drills and so on.
by Lt Mike Paulet. LACMN Kev Regan
BBen Nevis, in May 2007 one of
A formal handover to the Fleet
was winched on to Riverdance’s deck –
Gannet’s Sea Kings was called to
and rededication are planned
listing at 45˚ – and lifted people into the
rescue three men trapped on a
for later this spring, while a
safety of the helicopter two at a time.
ledge near Tower Ridge – out of
hometown visit after a lengthy
“In my 12-year career, this is one
reach of teams on the ground.
hiatus is due to take place this
the toughest rescues I’ve been involved
For six hours the helicopter
summer.
in,” said Lt Paulet (now based at RNAS
struggled in darkness, fl ying
“When she does return ready
Culdrose).
into the teeth of a blizzard. Four
for tasking, HMS York will pack a
“The stakes were really high. We knew
times the helicopter pulled back
hefty punch,” said Cdr Price.
that time was of the essence and that we were re
tto rego roup before making a fresh
“We are all very much looking
dealing with scared people, as well as dreadful
attempt, fi nally rescuing not just the three
forward to being able to show
conditions.”
stranded climbers, but also the 12 members of
off the new HMS York to all our
He stressed: “This was not a solo effort. It was
the mountain rescue team.
friends and affiliations in the
teamwork at its best and most crucial; we had lives to
Lt Cdr Martin Lanni receives the Air Force
north.”
save and that’s exactly what we did.”
Cross and Lt Cdr Martin ‘Florry’ Ford the e
Lt Paulet earns the Air Force Cross for his actions
Queen’s Commendation for Bravery in the Air r
Kent takes
that night; LACMN Regan was jointly awarded the
for their part in that challenging rescue.
Queen’s Gallantry Medal for his Riverdance bravery
Gannet’s Commanding Offi cer Lt Cdr Bryan n
and another rescue the summer before.
Nicholas said the unit had rather been taken n
a shower
The leading hand was winched down into Loch aback by the awards.
Long where a man, high on drugs and drink, had “This must be just about unheard of – such a a
been for a good 25 minutes. high proportion of a unit amassing such a large ge
THE upper decks of HMS Kent
He fought every attempt by the airman to pluck clutch of honours at the same time,” he added.
received a thorough dampening
him out of the water, fi ghting LACMN Regan. The “I really am incredibly proud of these men and nd
as the Type 23 frigate tested
swimmer was eventually exhausted by his combative the dedication and determination which they haveve
her ‘pre-wetting’ system after a
efforts and could eventually be hauled into the Sea shown in the face of substantial adversity.
winter of maintenance.
King – a diffi cult task as he was essentially a dead “All the rescues were very different, but one ne
The ship has spent the past
weight. Once in the Sea King, LACMN Regan thing they had in common was that they saved
three months undergoing a
administered emergency fi rst aid. lives – and they risked their own to ensure that the the
mini-overhaul in Portsmouth
Fellow aircrewman PO Daz Craig receives the outcome was positive.”
Naval Base following a de-
manding deployment in the Far
East last year.
● HMS Cornwall illuminated while alongside in Avonmouth
She’s due to head east again
later this spring, so a fair bit
of work had to be squeezed in
over the winter months – and a
fair bit of work is now de-
manded of the ship’s company
as they bring the frigate back Sceptre’s
to life.
Even while the ship herself
was a bit of a building site, the
ship’s company could be found
at HMS Collingwood or on
Whale Island undergoing navi-
gation and fi re-fi ghting training.
nuclear
All of which – and more – has
continued now the warship’s
back at sea, from engine trials
and tests of the Seawolf missile
system to pre-wetting (meant
to wash biological/radioactive
Canine nine nine
family
agents and other nasties off the
upper decks).
Once all Kent’s systems work
AFTER ten months out of action, Britain’s oldest active
individually, the next step is to
test the ship as a team – which
submarine is back for her curtain call.
means a spell of ‘ever-popular’
for Cornwall
HMS Sceptre is ready for the final 18 months of a career which goes
Operational Sea Training before
back three decades following a multi-million pound revamp.
the frigate deploys in May.
All Britain’s nuclear boats must undergo a RAMP (Revalidation and
Assisted Maintenance Period) – a sort of service/mini refit) roughly
Sausage back
every three years.
The revamp allows engineers to strip equipment and get at parts not
BEWARE the enemy within – as HMS
No, they’re not Gladiators but two fi rearms
normally accessible, while weapons and warfare systems receive a tweak
on the menu
Cornwall found when she sailed up the
support dogs – in fact this was the fi rst time such
and the men in white coats conduct a thorough inspection to determine
Severn.
canines have been used on a British warship.
that the last of the Swiftsure boats is fit to resume duties.
The frigate found herself infested with terrorists
The dogs are sent ahead of the search teams;
Which she is. The boat is now back at sea conducting mock torpedo
who threatened to wage biological warfare
they’re specially trained to root out – and bring
firings, safety drills and operational training as she works up to take her
IT’S sausage time again with
against the ship’s company.
down – armed and dangerous suspects.
place in the front-line fleet for the final time.
HMS Cumberland back at
Such was the scenario for Exercise Salamanca,
“Rocky and Blade were completely unfazed
“I’ve been immensely impressed with the engineering support from
sea after three months of
a police-RN security ‘work out’ aboard HMS
by their new surroundings,” said Lt Cdr Alex
Babcock and the efforts of my ship’s company in getting Sceptre ready to
maintenance work and upgrades
Cornwall in Avonmouth.
Kendrick, Cornwall’s weapons engineer offi cer. commence the final years of service,” said CO Cdr Steve Waller.
in Devonport.
The ice cream frigate is undergoing eight
“That’s more than can be said for the The boat entered service in early 1978 and will pay off late next year
The Mighty Sausage can now
weeks of Operational Sea Training under those
quartermaster on the gangway when the dogs as (most probably) the oldest operational nuclear boat in the world. She
take the RN’s improved sea
exacting lot down at FOST.
took a keen interest in the rifl e he was carrying.” is most certainly the oldest ocean-going warship in the RN inventory
boats – Pacific 24s – on patrol
Part of the OST programme is to test a ship’s
Once aboard, the combined dog-police- (and pipped as the longest-serving vessel only by HMS Victory...).
thanks to new davits. The 24s
company ability to host VIPs and the public –
matelot onslaught brought an end to the Among the hundreds of deeps who’ve served in Sceptre during those
are 10kts-plus faster than their
hence the weekend in the West Country port.
terrorists’ posturing.
three decades was one Lt Cdr Chris McClement, the boat’s marine
predecessors, the 22s.
“We rarely get the opportunity to go one step
engineer officer from July 1983 until April 1985.
The Type 22 frigate’s also
But this visit had the added twist of an anti-
further and practise with the emergency services
And among the people he invited aboard during his tenure was six-
received a new gas turbine,
terror exercise – with members of Bristol URNU
on how we can work best together to safeguard
year-old Duncan McClement... now Lt Cdr Duncan McClement...
tweaks to her sonar and
posing as the foe.
the ship and her crew,” said principal warfare
HMS Sceptre’s very last marine engineer officer.
communications kit, even a
They fi led aboard the ship posing as
offi cer Lt Cdr Matt Dodds.
It is not unusual for sailors to follow in their father’s footsteps.
buffed-up rudder and propellers.
tourists, then began to cause mayhem in a
For the police, Salamanca was a useful run-
It is, however, rather more unusual to find the son performing the
She’s now conducting trials
series of scenarios from simple protests and
out to test methods in the event a merchantman
same job in the same ship a generation later – not least because there
of her weapons and propulsion
demonstrations to a full-scale terrorist attack
was ever hijacked in the docks.
aren’t too many ships with careers lasting more than a quarter of
systems in the South-west
with the threat of toxic warfare.
century.
Approaches, including High Seas
It took armed ship’s company to dislodge And for team Cornwall, lessons from the
“Both Sceptre and I have come a long way since I fi rst stepped foot on
Firings of some of her weaponry,
the foe – aided by fi rearms and chemical and exercise are now being distributed around the
her as a six-year-old with Dad and I am sure we will have an enjoyable, if
before a period of operational sea
biological containment offi cers from Avon and RN to show how sailors and police can work
hard working, time over the next few years. Hopefully some of his advice
training.
Somerset Constabulary, plus Rocky and Blade. together to cope with the terrorist threat.
will still be relevant 25 years later!” said Duncan.
006_NN_Apr.indd 1 20/3/09 09:58:47
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