10 NAVY NEWS, AUGUST 2009
Set a date for
Navy Days
PRECLUDING any international
crises, the line-up for next
month’s Royal Navy showcase is

set in stone.
Ten warships will be open
to the public at Navy Days in THE task of escort is
Using powerful cameras, the Lynx “We’ve had chefs working through gathered “high-quality images of activity
Plymouth over the weekend of
unenviable.
Mk8, crewed by Lt Jamie Haggo and the night to provide meals for those in which will improve the understanding of
September 5-6.
Bound by duty, invariably
observer Lt Jimmy Hawley RAN, zoomed defence watches who’ve been either in pirate activity.”
Although the main attraction is
overshadowed, often overlooked while
on the coastline and took pictures of the ops room, stood by as part of the For those on the front-line, the
likely to be new destroyer HMS
someone else hogs the limelight.
vast stretches of the shoreline, including boarding team, or part of the fl ight,” said experience has been “very surreal”.
Daring, with Devonport being
For the past six months, HMS
buildings, skiffs, people and anything chef LLogs Catherine Bradley. LS Barker explains: “When I joined the
home to the amphibious fl eet, it
Somerset has been the loyal guardian of
else which caught their eye. And that’s not mentioning the ship’s RN, I didn’t expect to be dealing with
takes centre stage.
the capital ships of the Taurus task force,
“Some of the fl ights were pretty protection teams who were manning pirates. I guess kids these days would
Fresh from their exertions in
faithfully following wherever Ocean or
challenging for us – partly due to to tthe upper deck guns.h think of Jack Sparrow from Pirates of
the Far East with the Taurus task
Bulwark dictated.
the hazy weather, but also due ue “We’ve been operating in the the Caribbean, but the reality is very
group, helicopter carrier HMS
But with all the amphibious stuff out of
to the Rules of Engagement by by ppirates’ back yarir d – they don’t different – it’s an issue we have to front
Ocean and assault ship HMS
which we’re bound. That limits s wwant us to be there, so there up and deal with.”
the way, time for Somerset to take centre
Bulwark, plus their escort HMS
how close we can get to an were risks,” said Somerset’s Before running the gauntlet of ‘pirate
stage as the force makes its way west.
Somerset, are all on display.
objective, but still we achieved Commanding Offi cer Cdr alley’, the task group stopped off in the
Unlike those behemoths Bulwark
So too are Somerset’s sister
some excellent results,” said Andrew Burns. idyllic archipelago of the Maldives and
and Ocean, the frigate’s quick and
HMS Northumberland, fi shery
Lt Haggo. “We cannot forget that the island of Kota Banda.
nimble. She’s crammed with sensors
protection ship HMS Mersey,
The images were beamed we’re dealing with well-armed With the ships at anchor offshore,
and monitoring kit. And she’s packed
survey vessel HMS Roebuck, the
back initially to Somerset and pirates – and potentially lots some 1,600 or so sailors and Royal
with matelots gagging to have a go at
mighty at ’em HMS Chatham
the consoles of LS(EW) Steven of them – so there’s always the Marines swarmed ashore on the tiny
pirates.
and hunter-killer submarine
Barker. ririsk of some form of attack.” island to enjoy the white sands, listen to
Just as well then that the task group
HMS Trenchant (given the
“We’ve been trying to build up The information and intelligence local bands, or have a crack at something
passed through ‘pirate alley’ – the Gulf of
limited space, tours of the boat
a picture of activity in the area,” he gathered, such as images of possible more demanding: windsurfi ng, jet skiing,
Aden – bound for home from Brunei.
will be ticket only on a fi rst come,
explains. “What does a fi sherman look pirate camps, has been sent by Somerset kayaking, scuba diving and snorkelling.
And so it was that Somerset closed in
fi rst served basis).
like in comparison to a pirate? Do they on to Bahrain, headquarters of Coalition The banyan formed part of a goodwill
on the Somali coast, sent her Lynx aloft
To tie in with the 100th
come out when the seas are choppy? Task Force 151, the recently-formed visit in recognition of the good relations
and began to gather intelligence. Lots of
anniversary of naval aviation,
When aren’t they working – even a lack anti-piracy force. between the Maldives and UK. Taurus
intelligence
there will be aerial displays by the
of activity tells us something about The Taurus task group – Bulwark, fl agship Bulwark played host to the
The key to beating the pirates is what’s going on in the area.” Ocean, Somerset, RFA Wave Ruler and President of the Maldives, Mohamed
Black Cats Lynx team, Jungly and
knowing their MO, as police would put it It wasn’t just the ship’s fl ight busy USS Mitscher – came under 151 during Nasheed, senior defence offi cials and
Search and Rescue Sea Kings,
– their modus operandi, way of working. during the sweeps off Somalia – the its passage through the Gulf of Aden. British High Commissioner Dr. Peter
and the RN Historic Flight. The
Out here, it’s known as the ‘pattern of whole ship was on stand-by to wade in Taurus task force commander Hayes.
Raiders, the RN parachute display
life’. should an attack occur. Cdre Paul Bennett said Somerset had Picture: Lt Jimmy Hawley RAN, 815 NAS
team, will also be dropping in on
proceedings… literally.
Lest we forget the Royal
Marines, they will have their
own ‘village’ inside the naval
base featuring Viking armoured
vehicles, hovercraft, Jackals,
grenade launchers, sniper rifl es
and other fi repower, and 42
Commando – recently returned
from Afghanistan – will stage a
major exhibition.
Ticket prices range from £3 for
children to £20 for a two-day pass
for adults if you buy in advance.
Details at www.royalnavy.mod.
uk/navydays
SPAG go to Gib
THE RN’s specialist submarine
rescue team spent a week on The
Rock practising their unique skill.
It’s the constant job of the
Submarine Parachute Assistance
Group to jump out of the back
‘What we do is extraordinary...’
of a plane and offer medical
assistance to deeps who’ve
BARELY had the roar of
last joined a carrier – although
escaped from a stricken boat.
Pegasus engines faded
you should be seeing quite a bit
To maintain those skills, the
over the fl ight deck of
more of IV Squadron at sea in the
team used the fine weather and
coming 12 months.
calm waters in the shadow of
HMS Illustrious than the The RAF formation is due to
Gibraltar to rescue survivors
carrier was reverberating
join HMS Ark Royal next summer
from an imaginary submarine in
again… to the sound of
for Exercise Auriga, a major
distress.
Pegasus engines.
deployment to the USA.
The SPAGgers created a
To do so, IV Squadron need to
‘floating village’, using numerous As the Naval Strike Wing left
go through 12 months of ‘carrier
25-man life rafts to coral the Britain’s strike carrier behind, so
regeneration’, honing skills which,
escapees on the east side of the RAF’s IV Squadron arrived,
CO Wg Cdr Harvey Smyth says,
The Rock, while some of their joining Lusty in Oslo on her short
“had waned during recent years”.
comrades parachuted into the Baltic summer deployment.
He took 16 of his pilots, plus
bay. Commitments in Afghanistan
ground crew, to the Norwegian
“As long as we’re sending have rather starved RN and RAF
capital, the latest port of call for
people to sea in submarines and jump jets of carrier experience
Lusty, which had been working
fitting the boats with escape – something which should now
with Allied naval and air forces in
hatches, then we need a system to change with the Harrier supplanted
the Baltic earlier in the summer.
retrieve people from the water,” by the Tornado at Kandahar (see
Over a three-week period in the
explained Lt Cdr Peter Morris, in page 4).
North Sea, the RAF fl iers notched
charge of the Submarine Escape Indeed, it’s been three years
up 105 sorties and qualifi ed
Training Tank in Gosport. since the Cottesmore-based Crabs
16 pilots to ‘day combat ready’
status.
They also joined in a number
of air combat exercises, making
use of Illustrious’ Freddies, fi ghter
controllers, and Typhoons based
at RAF Coningsby. That helped
to qualify fi ve pilots as air combat
leaders.
All that means that IV will be
able to conduct combat operations
from a carrier if Illustrious or Ark
Royal (currently undergoing a
mini overhaul in Portsmouth) are
called upon at short notice.
“Embarked operations are
demanding in the extreme, but they
● Red nose day on Illustrious... HMS Endurance’s distinctively-liveried Lynx prepares to touch down on
are also immensely rewarding,”
the carrier in the North Sea Picture: LA(Phot) Des Wade, Naval Strike Wing
said Wg Cdr Smyth.
“I have been nothing short
ordinary when actually what we throughout the embarkations of aboard, it’s a tight squeeze in the
of amazed at how quickly my
do is extraordinary. Delivering air the Naval Strike Wing and IV back of a Lynx.
engineers, ops team and pilots
power from the sea takes a high Squadron. But 212 did safely ferry aboard
have got up to speed on the ship –
degree of training and professional The duo provided constant the King of Sweden, his Defence
thanks to hard work on their behalf skill.” Search and Rescue cover for the Minister and the senior US Air
and also the excellent attitude of Infrequent though ministerial jump jets (thankfully they weren’t Force commander in Europe,
the ship’s company.” visits to the nation’s fl agship are, needed) and served as the last link General Roger Brady.
The RAF haven’t been the only they’re not as unusual as HMS in the supply chain for spare parts “Whilst this wasn’t as complex
rare visitor to Lusty recently. New Endurance’s Lynx working up and other deliveries from the UK as our primary roles – anti-
Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth with the carrier. (for which they were needed). submarine/surface warfare and
dropped in the carrier and watched With the ice ship out of action The Lynx were also heavily in maritime security – we kept
IV Squadron on work-up. following her fl ooding accident demand as a VIP taxi service with Illustrious fl ying,” says observer
“I think the Secretary of State in the Patagonian Canals late last exercises at their peak. Lt Ben Jewson.
was very impressed by what he year, her fl ight – 212 – was put There were 1,500 offi cial “We qualifi ed eight new pilots
saw onboard,” said Illustrious’ CO to good use in a much warmer requests to visit the carrier during and helped to move carrier strike
Capt Ben Key. environment. the Loyal Arrow war games off forward – no mean feat for two
“Those of us who spend time The Red Plum’s two Lynx Sweden – not all of them were met small aircraft that were operating
at sea think what we do is very joined Lusty for eight weeks – given that with four passengers in the wrong hemisphere.”
010_NN_August.indd 1 20/7/09 14:33:52
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53