22 NAVY NEWS, DECEMBER 2009
Picture: LA(Phot) Karen Williams, FRPU East
From Sheffi eld
to Edinburgh
IT’S a journey which has
“Today, the value of 42 refi ts is Edinburgh will sail on until 2013;
taken 30 years.
substantially lower than they ever for the record her four remaining
Obviously we’re not talking
have been for two main reasons: a sisters pay-off in 2011 (Gloucester
about the two great cities, rather
reduction in budgets and a much and Manchester) and 2012
the two destroyers which bear
more conscious control of what we (Liverpool and York). They’ll
their names.
spend our money on.” undergo maintenance periods, of
The sight on your left is one
He continues: “We don’t pull course, before they decommission,
you will not see again: after three
out and replace kit in accordance but nothing as comprehensive as
decades of refitting Type 42s,
with life cycles – we now conduct Edinburgh’s current overhaul.
HMS Edinburgh is the very last
tests such as vibration analysis For a class of ship which was
of these stalwarts to enter dry
to ensure we are as effi cient as fi rst ordered at the same time as
dock in Portsmouth for a major
possible. the Beatles released their White
overhaul.
“Now we make sure that we only Album (November 1968), the
It all began in the summer of
do the work that needs to be done. lifespan has been lengthy – and
1979 and HMS Sheffield, the first
This really is a more intelligent distinguished.
of class and, understandably, the
approach to upkeep, and it has Mal put this longevity down to
first to enter refit (the official term
had no effect on availability.” “the fact that they were originally
these days is ‘upkeep period’).
For Edinburgh, there are some good platforms to start with. All
Helping to revamp Shiny Sheff
fairly major tweaks in her fi nal early design faults were ironed
all those years ago was a young
refi t: the Phalanxes have been out pretty quickly. The money we
Malcolm ‘Mal’ Fudge, a recently-
removed for a full refurbishment, invested in their support at the
qualified dockyard apprentice...
the Sea Dart magazine has been start was bloody good and meant
...and helping to revamp the
emptied. Portsmouth was ahead of its time
Fortress of the Seas three decades
The hull will receive a full survey in many ways.”
later is a (not quite so young) Mal
and a lick (technical term – Ed) Although they’re a bit of rabbit
Fudge, now project manager for
of the new, ultra-effi cient Sigma warren and a world away from
BAE.
Glide 990 paint and a transom their successors, the Type 42s
The ships have changed
fl ap will be fi tted. Two engines will still inspire affection which more
substantially over those 30 years.
be overhauled, the remaining two modern warships don’t necessarily
Personal computers really weren’t
will be replaced. engender.
viable at sea in 1979, today they’re
Reverse osmosis plants will “They are a class of ship that
essential to the running of any
replace the existing evaporators, sort the men from the boys
warship (as are their miles of
improving the reliability of the and there exists a real sense of
cabling...). Phalanx guns were
ship’s fresh water supply, the community and belonging in
only introduced post-Falklands. chefs, sorry logisticians (catering the 42 family,” says Cdr Alan
Transom flaps – the underwater services (preparation)) will fi nd a Dorricott, head of Fleet Time
spoiler on the stern which increases new range in the galley, and the Engineering in Portsmouth for
speed and cuts fuel usage – are an chief bosun’s mate has been busy BAE Surface Ship Support and
even newer addition. with many seamanship aspects. former marine engineer offi cer on
As the 42s have changed, so too Edinburgh’s ship’s company HMS Manchester.
has the way we look after them. has been whittled down from the “They are damn hard work
“In the early days of 42 upkeeps, usual 250-plus to just 35. They’ve but despite the miles on the clock
the refi t package was quite large vacated the destroyer for the refi t they continue to serve the Navy
and they were in dock for a lot (they’re due to move back on well, doing an excellent job and
longer than they are now,” Mal board come May or June). remaining very much alive and
explains. As the last 42 to be revamped, kicking.”
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