Blackburn Beverley XB259 ‘Big Bev’ is being transported to her new home in pieces (Picture: Solway Aviation Museum)
The last remaining Blackburn Beverley in the world has been saved from the scrapheap and is being transferred to her new home in Cumbria.
RAF transport aircraft XB259, affectionately known as Big Bev, is being taken apart for the journey to the Solway Aviation Museum near Carlisle Lake District Airport.
Big Bev, who had been sitting at Fort Paull in Hull, is the first production Beverley to have been built and is the last of the original 49 that were ever made.
Big Bev was sold at auction in September 2020 and then partly dismantled. She was acquired by the Solway Aviation Museum earlier this year following a JustGiving appeal.
It had been feared she might be scrapped should she fail to find a buyer, but the museum was able to save the historic aircraft after receiving more than £70,000 in donations to cover the cost of further dismantling work then transporting Big Bev to Cumbria.
Chairman Dougie Kerr told Forces News the museum was hoping to raise a total of £100,000, which would let staff carry out restoration work, repaint the aircraft and put her on permanent display – a project that could take around two years.
Big Bev’s control surfaces have been removed ahead of her restoration (Picture: Solway Aviation Museum)
XB259 is being disassembled and transported to Cumbria by road, with the whole aircraft expected to have reached her new home by the end of June.
Mr Kerr said the aircraft is in fairly complete condition and will be repainted in silver with an orange nose rather than the overseas scheme of light stone and dark earth that she currently wears.
When complete, visitors will be able to go inside the transport aircraft to get a better idea of her huge size and carrying capacity.
Watch: Last remaining Blackburn Beverley up for auction
The Blackburn Beverley was a large transport aircraft, being designed for carrying large and bulky payloads and landing on rough or damaged runways, and even fields or dirt strips.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Robert Freer, who served in Singapore and Malaysia in the 1960s, recognised the capability offered by this ungainly looking aircraft, describing it as “like something out of the Ark, but it was a superb supply dropper”.
220612-N-IL330-1219 (PHILIPPINE SEA) – Sailors watch as the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) sails alongside amphibious assault carrier USS Tripoli (LHA 7) prior to a photo exercise for Valiant Shield 2022, June 12, 2022. Exercises like VS 22 allow forces across the Indo-Pacific the opportunity to integrate Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Airforce, Space Force, to train in precise, lethal, and overwhelming multi access, multi domain, effects that demonstrate the strength and versatility of the joint force. Tripoli is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with allies and partners and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and maintain stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Austyn Riley)
The Japan Self-Defense Forces will participate for the first time in the U.S. military’s Valiant Shield exercise, with part of the exercise taking place in Japan, said Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara on Friday. Meanwhile, China continues its Joint Sword-2024A exercise around Taiwan, which is scheduled to wrap up on Friday. The exercise runs from June 7 to 18 and includes various tactical training exercises, mainly in the maritime airspace around Japan and at JSDF facilities, including Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Hachinohe Air Base, Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) Matsushima Air Base, and Iwo Jima. “As the security environment surrounding Japan is becoming increasingly severe, I believe it is highly significant for the Self-Defense Forces to participate in this exercise to strengthen our joint operational capabilities and the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. alliance, as well as to expand our partnership with like-minded countries,” said Kihara.
In a Friday release, the Joint Staff Office (JSO) of Japan’s Ministry of Defense (MOD) said that Valiant Shield 2024 would take place mainly in five areas; JSDF facilities, U.S. military facilities and areas in Japan, the sea and airspace surrounding Japan, the sea area extending from Japan to the Philippines, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii and Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and the sea and airspace surrounding the Northern Mariana Islands and Palau. The JSO also stated that multiple “like-minded” countries would participate in the exercise but the participation would be in areas outside of Japan.
Valiant Shield is a multinational, biennial field training exercise (FTX) with a focus on integrating joint training among U.S. and partner-nations forces in relation to current operational plans, and normally takes place around Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and Palau. The U.S. military will perform a live-fire test of its prototype for a joint-fires network during this year’s iteration of the exercise.
Graphic of a People’s Liberation Army costal rocket forces as part of the Joint Sword-2024A exercise. PLA Graphic
During the press conference, Kihara was asked about China’s Joint Sword-2024A exercise around Taiwan but declined to comment specifically on the exercise, though he stated the MOD was watching developments there “with great interest” and will take all possible measures to conduct surveillance activities in the sea and airspace surrounding Japan. He reiterated that Japan’s consistent position is that it expects the issues surrounding Taiwan to be resolved peacefully through dialogue.
In a video press reply on Friday to questions on the Joint Sword-2024A exercise, China Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Snr. Col. Wu Qian stated that the Eastern Theater Command of the PLA organized its army, navy, air force, rocket force and other forces to conduct joint exercises around Taiwan to test the troops’ actual combat capabilities, “this action is aimed at combating the arrogance of ‘Taiwan independence’ and deterring external interference and intervention,” said Wu.
Wu condemned Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, saying that Lai, as soon as he took office, seriously challenged the one-China principle, blatantly sold the two-state theory, and attempted to seek independence through force and through foreign forces and pushed Taiwan compatriots into a dangerous situation of war. “This is completely playing with fire, and those who play with fire will get burned,” he warned.
He reiterated that Taiwan was part of China and the resolution of the Taiwan issue was for the people of China, and that the PLA defends national sovereignty and territorial integrity with practical actions. “Every time ‘Taiwan independence’ provokes, our countermeasures will be pushed forward until the complete reunification of the motherland is achieved.” concluded Wu.
China’s Eastern Theatre Command only issued a brief release on the exercise on Friday, with the command’s spokesperson, Senior Colonel Li Xi, stating they continued to carry out training in subjects outlined by Qian in his video release. The command also released a 3-D animation video showing PLA ground, sea and air platforms conducting a mass simultaneous missile strike on Taiwan, and images of troops and platforms participating in the exercise.
On Friday, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) stated that from 6 a.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday, 49 PLA aircraft, 19 People’s Liberation Army Navy ships and 7 China Coast Guard ships have been detected around Taiwan, and 35 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southwestern air Defence identification zone (ADIZ). The MND also stated that Taiwan’s military monitored the situation and responded accordingly, and posted a short video to social media reiterating its military’s determination to protect Taiwan from China.
The Navy cruiser Leyte Gulf completed its final deployment late last week.
The 36-year-old ship left Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, on Jan. 28 for a cruise in the waters of U.S. 4th Fleet and returned to Norfolk on Friday, according to a Navy release.
Named after the legendary World War II Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippine Sea in 1944, Leyte Gulf was built in 1985 and commissioned in 1987.
“This ship is full of history,” Capt. Nathan Diaz, Leyte Gulf’s commanding officer, said in a statement. “Each period brings its own far-off journeys, along with generations of sailors who have manned the helm.”
“Our last deployment was full of sailors who made their own mark on the story of this great warship.”
Leyte Gulf’s final deployment comes as the Navy and Congress continue to disagree as to the pace of retirement for the aging cruiser fleet.
Navy leaders want to retire the ships as soon as possible in the next few years to free up money for new ships and maintenance, even as billions have been sunk into cruiser modernization efforts in the past decade, with mixed results.
Lawmakers on the committees that decide on Navy shipbuilding counter that the cruisers should be kept in service as long as possible to prevent any capability gap.
But far from these high-level discussions, the men and women of the Leyte Gulf took the cruiser on one last deployment, where the ships generally built for ballistic missile defense took on drug interdiction missions with their Coast Guard partners.
The Leyte Gulf team at one point seized a drug smuggling submarine carrying 5,224 pounds of “illicit drugs” that were sent to the briny depths during a sinking exercise, and 15 drug traffickers were nabbed during such operations.
“This is a profound final chapter for one of the Navy’s finest ships, and their crew should be proud of all they accomplished,” U.S. 2nd Fleet commander Vice Adm. Doug Perry said in a statement.
Geoff is the editor of Navy Times, but he still loves writing stories. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at [email protected].
In this ongoing blog series, the National Museum of the Royal Navy is following the route of the British Special Service Squadron during the centenary of its voyage. In this entry we discuss its travels to New Zealand and across the Pacific Ocean.
Content warning – historic image of Māori peoples which may now be seen to have been taken in exploitative circumstances.
During May 1924 the Squadron was separated, visiting many different locations.
Detail of the World Cruise. RMM 1982/87/a006 – Courtesy of the National Museum of the Royal Navy
Wellington, North Island 24 April – 8 May 1924
The battle cruisers HMS Hood and Repulse, with the Australian cruiser HMAS Adelaide arrived at Wellington on 24 April 1924. They met with HMS Chatham, which was being commissioned for New Zealand service, and with the Governor General, Admiral of the Fleet Viscount Jellicoe of Scapa.
The arrival had been timed in advance of ANZAC Day, the annual commemoration on 25 April for Australian and New Zealand service personnel at Gallipoli in 1915 . At the Cenotaph in Wellington, the Governor-General conveyed a message from the King and Queen and then continued:
“I am sure they appreciate the presence in our midst of Vice Admiral Sir Frederick Field, the officers and men of the British Squadron, and of the Royal Australian Navy. The former represent the Navy which worked with the men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force on the Gallipoli Peninsula… the latter stand for the other and larger part of that Anzac force.” Scott O’Connor, 1925
ANZAC Day is still commemorated every year, with ceremonies in Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, at the Cenotaph in London and here at the National Museum of the Royal Navy with HM Monitor 33, the last surviving ship from Gallipoli. Our service this year can be viewed on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/UkWcWMWyYPkANZAC Day Service – Thursday 25th April 2024
The battleships stayed at Wellington until Wednesday 7 May 1924. Lord Jellicoe then sailed in HMS Hood, invited by Vice-Admiral Field. HMS Hood and HMAS Adelaide made a visit to Napier while HMS Repulse proceeded independently to Gisborne before sailing to Auckland.
Lyttleton (Whakaraupō), South Island 26 April – 8 May 1924
Meanwhile, the light cruisers sailed from Sydney on 26 April 1924, with HMS Delhi at the front. Most of the cruisers were bound for Lyttleton Harbour (Whakaraupō) near Christchurch. At Lyttleton, 24,200 visitors were received by HMS Delhi, Danae and Dragon before they sailed for Napier on the east coast of North Island, where HMAS Adelaide and HMS Hood joined them.
HMS Dauntless off the Foveaux Strait on route to South Island, New Zealand. RNM 2015/175/4 – Courtesy of the National Museum of the Royal Navy.
Dunedin and Bluff Harbour, South Island 26 April – 8 May 1924
HMS Dauntless and HMS Dunedin had parted company from the other light cruisers outside Sydney Heads and continued to Dunedin, arriving on 1 May 1924. The passage was rough with hurricane force winds blowing during the last part of the trip. Once in Dunedin, an official dinner and a Navy League dance formed part of the ceremonies.
HMS Dauntless then sailed on to Bluff Harbour on Sunday 4 April. Captain Round-Turner wrote:
“At 3.30 we sailed for Bluff, leaving the Dunedin behind… the weather was comparatively kind, but it is a vile part of the world from a sailor’s point of view, lonely, barren, unfrequented, unlighted and badly charted… my recollections of Bluff and what I saw of the country round are much the same as those which I have of a rain-soaked Scapa Flow, but I know that it would be quite unjust to say that was the real character of the country”. (RNM 2015/175/4)
Western charts and means of navigation in this area were still being improved and created. Māori peoples had instead navigated by stars, rather than charts. The Māori star compass (Te kapehu whetū) is a system of separating the 360 degrees around a canoe into sections (houses). The excerpt above demonstrates how, thus far, the indigenous population’s understanding and knowledge of their lands had been somewhat discounted.
Overall, it was a brief and peaceful two-day visit to Bluff Harbour. HMS Dauntless then sailed again, meeting HMS Dunedin off Dunedin Heads on 8 May 1924 to jointly continue their voyage directly up to Auckland.
Auckland 10 – 18 May 1924
When HMS Hood arrived in Auckland, Lord Jellicoe left the ship and returned to Government House. The whole city was decorated with flags and the important buildings were lit up in honour of the Squadron’s visit. The formal ceremonies were observed, and the Naval Brigade marched through the city. Hood and the other ships of the squadron were placed in ‘At Home’ status and received visitors. The ‘At Home’ status was a relic of a Victorian and Edwardian social custom, when a household would be available to receive visitors; it was considered impolite to visit on other days without an invitation when the host might be out.
At this time, the New Zealand Naval Forces were under the control of Commander-in-Chief, China and therefore directly part of the Royal Navy, unlike Australia whose Royal Australian Navy (RAN) began in 1911. In 1909 the Admiralty had proposed the development of a Pacific Fleet; the increase in German naval development during this period had encouraged the establishment of the RAN. Control of the China station had transferred to New Zealand after its formation. HMS Dunedin was officially transferred to this New Zealand Division on 10 May after the squadron’s arrival, taking the place of HMS Chatham. The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) would not be formally established until 1 October 1941, when the service was recognised as independent of the Royal Navy.
As part of the visit a group of officers and men visited Rotura, where they stayed in the Grand Hotel as guests of the New Zealand Government. Their visit included a trip to a nearby Māori village, Ohinemutu.
Maoris, including a Chief, at Rotorua at Rotorua, album kept by Stuart Bonham-Carter, HMS Delhi. RNM 1981/899/240 and RNM 2015/175/4 – Courtesy of the National Museum of the Royal Navy.
“An elderly man clothed in a skirt of black and white straws (really seisil [sisal grass]) appeared brandishing his wooden sword and uttering horrible challenges. He laid three sticks on the ground, indicating we might advance in peace… the Chiefs came forward in turns beginning “Haere Mai, Haere Mai, Haere Mai welcome, welcome, welcome” and then continued “welcome great sailors from over the seas. We bid you welcome in the name of the great Māori race” They told of how the Māori first came to New Zealand in canoes, how we were their brothers because we too had come in ships and went on to assure us of everlasting loyalty and devotion to the empire.” Captain Round Turner, RNM 2015/175/4.
This excerpt belies the complex history of British settlers in New Zealand during the mid-19th century and their relations with the Māori people. Māori servicemen had served in the First World War in the Gallipoli campaign, and as part of the New Zealand (Māori) Pioneer Battalion. Following the War, there was some political recognition for the Māori peoples, and the Board of Māori Ethnological Research had been established in 1923. However, the treatment of Māori people continued to be poor and visits to them such as this were more for touristic value than for respect. Today the issue of visiting of indigenous populations as a tourist stop is regarded as less acceptable, but it was common for Royal Naval personnel on this tour and in naval service at this time generally.
Suva, Fiji 21 May 1924
The Squadron departed for Suva, the capital of Fiji on Sunday 18 May 1924 after a gale postponed the sailing of the squadron. This was the first time all the ships had been together since their visit to Hobart, Australia in April. The late start meant the squadron put on a good pace, doing 15 ½ knots to make up time meaning they did make good progress.
On their arrival at Suva, 21 May 1924, their entrance was carefully planned:
“The Dauntless is going in first, with Danae following, the two B.C.s [battlecruisers] at 1.45 followed by Delhi and Dragon.” Captain Round Turner, RNM 2015/175/4
The crews were given a welcome (meke) which included the ceremonial preparation of kava from the roots of the Yaqona plant; their indigenous hosts prevailed upon the Admirals to drink it. All other formalities were also observed, with a ceremonial march through the town on 24 May 1924.
The Squadron sailed Tuesday 27 May 1924:
“This evening, we cross the 180th meridian, and so tomorrow is also Tuesday, giving us 8 days this week instead of the usual 7. Of course, this event has been a topic of interest for days past. We have the unusual experience of having 367 days in one year”. Wilfred Woolman RNM 1999/31
After anchoring briefly off Samoa, for just an hour and a half on 29 May 1924, the ships set off across the Pacific for Honolulu, Hawaii. The sailors had clearly enjoyed their time in the southern hemisphere and 141 were recorded as having ‘run’, (going absent without leave).
“There have been a good many desertions in the S.S.S [Special Service Squadron], mostly in Australia but a few in New Zealand. The B.C.s [battle cruisers] lost 70 men between them and the L.C.s [Light Cruisers] an average of about 12 each. I have lost fewest of all, 7 and they were all men that Australia is quite welcome to!! Three went in Sydney and four in Brisbane, it is the high wages that attract them.” Captain Round Turner, RNM 2015/175/4
Come back next month to hear about the next leg of the squadron’s journey. In the meantime, if you want to learn more about the British Special Service Squadron you can search our Collection.
RNM 2015/175/4 Letters of Captain Charles Round-Turner to his wife. 1923-1924
RNM 1981/899/240 Album kept by Stuart Bonham-Carter, HMS Delhi) page 67
RNM 1999/31. Woolman, Wilfred. Typescript transcription of a diary kept by Wilfred as Schoolmaster in HMS Repulse during the world cruise of the Special Service Squadron, 27th November 1923 – 29th September 1924. Transcript by his son Aubrey Woolman
Scott O’Connor, Vincent Clarence. The Empire Cruise. Riddle, Smith & Duffus, 1925
Several weapons and sensors have been upgraded and all four diesel engines have been replaced, as well as approximately 350 more structural enhancements to strengthen the frigate.
“This renovation will carry HMS St Albans into the middle of the next decade, making her more efficient, reliable and able to meet the needs of sailors in the 2030s,” said the Royal Navy.
HMS St Albans is a fast, adaptable, versatile Type 23 frigate – and the most recent addition to the Royal Navy’s frigate fleet.
A rededication ceremony took place in HMNB Portsmouth for HMS St Albans (Picture: Royal Navy)
HMS St Albans’ Commanding Officer, Commander Helen Coxon, said: “Rededicating HMS St Albans is a significant milestone in our regeneration journey, as we transition from engineering project to warship.
“Regenerating a frigate is a challenging time, with complex trials on cutting-edge equipment.
“But it is the people and the support from their loved ones that is central to our success.
“It was fantastic that affiliates, friends and families of our ship’s company have been able to join the celebrations.”
Watch: In March, there was excitement for HMS St Albans’ crew as frigate returned to sea following four-year refit
The rededication ceremony saw friends and family of the ship’s company in attendance, alongside the ship’s sponsor, Lady Essenhigh, and other VIPs and dignitaries.
All guests were invited to watch the ceremony and were also invited on board for a tour of HMS St Albans.
HMS St Albans will now continue sea trials, before beginning Operational Sea Training off the coast of Plymouth later this year.
The Royal Navy’s newest and most advanced hunter-killer submarine is moving closer to frontline deployment following intensive tests in the Atlantic.
HMS Anson, the fifth Astute-class vessel, conducted trials off the east coast of the United States and in the Caribbean Sea, rigorously testing her state-of-the-art systems and weaponry.
During trials, Anson spent time in waters off the UK coast and then sailed further north of Scotland to test her weapons systems with successful firings of both Spearfish and Tomahawk test missiles.
More intensive trials were conducted in the Atlantic at the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) near the Bahamas.
Tests at AUTEC are crucial for her to prove she can operate without detection.
The sea trials bring HMS Anson one step closer to being deployed (Picture: Royal Navy)
The sea trials also gave the crew the chance to get ashore.
“It was a great opportunity to see a new place and meet new people. I’d never been to the US before,” said one member of the crew.
“The opportunity for the majority of the ship’s company to spend a few days on Andros was fantastic,” another submariner said.
“This afforded us a few days of rest from the sea trials we were conducting and allowed us to spend time on the beach in the sun relaxing and playing volleyball with base personnel.”
Watch: ‘World-leading’ submarine HMS Anson commissioned into Royal Navy
Astute-class nuclear-powered submarines are the largest and most advanced submarines ever operated by the Royal Navy.
The submarine, which will soon join the operational cycle, can launch long-range Tomahawk missiles and fire lethal Spearfish torpedoes.
HMS Anson will soon join her sister ships, HMS Astute, Ambush, Artful and Audacious around the globe.
Furthermore, the new submarine will have a nuclear reactor which will not need to be refuelled during her 25-year service period.
She was laid down at the Newport News Shipbuilding Company of Newport News, Virginia in October 1903, launched in April 1905, and commissioned into the US fleet in March 1907, just four months after the revolutionary British battleship HMS Dreadnought entered service. Minnesota was armed with a main battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and a secondary battery of twenty 7 and 8 in (178 and 203 mm) guns, unlike Dreadnought, which carried an all-big-gun armament that rendered ships like Minnesota obsolescent.
Shortly after she entered service, Minnesota joined the Great White Fleet for its circumnavigation of the globe in 1908–1909. The years from 1909 to 1912 were uneventful, but thereafter the ship began to become involved in conflicts in the Caribbean. She supported efforts to put down an insurrection in Cuba in 1912 and patrolled the coast of Mexico in 1913–1914 during the Mexican Revolution. In 1916, the ship was placed in reserve, though she quickly returned to service when the United States entered World War I in April 1917. During the war, she trained naval personnel; while cruising off the eastern coast of the United States in September 1918, she struck a naval mine laid by a German U-boat. The extensive damage required lengthy repairs that kept her out of service for the rest of the war. She helped to return American soldiers from Europe in 1919 before resuming her training ship duties in 1920–1921, before being decommissioned in December 1921 and broken up for scrap at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1924.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Minnesota_(BB-22)
Authorized in 1890 and commissioned six years later, she was a small battleship, though with heavy armor and ordnance. The ship class also pioneered the use of an intermediate battery. She was designed for coastal defense and as a result, her decks were not safe from high waves on the open ocean.
Massachusetts served in the Spanish–American War (1898) as part of the Flying Squadron and took part in the blockades of Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba. She missed the decisive Battle of Santiago de Cuba after steaming to Guantánamo Bay the night before to resupply coal. After the war she served with the North Atlantic Squadron, performing training maneuvers and gunnery practice. During this period she suffered an explosion in an 8-inch gun turret, killing nine, and ran aground twice, requiring several months of repair both times. She was decommissioned in 1906 for modernization.
Although considered obsolete in 1910, the battleship was recommissioned and used for annual cruises for midshipmen during the summers and otherwise laid up in the reserve fleet until her decommissioning in 1914. In 1917 she was recommissioned to serve as a training ship for gun crews during World War I. She was decommissioned for the final time in March 1919 under the name Coast Battleship Number 2 so that her name could be reused for USS Massachusetts (BB-54). In 1921 she was scuttled in shallow water in the Gulf of Mexico off Pensacola and used as a target for experimental artillery. The wreck was never scrapped and in 1956 it was declared the property of the State of Florida. Since 1993 the wreck has been a Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve and it is included in the National Register of Historic Places. It serves as an artificial reef and diving spot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Massachusetts_(BB-2)
USS Ohio 1904 She was laid down at the Union Iron Works shipyard in San Francisco in April 1899, was launched in May 1901, and was commissioned into the fleet in October 1904. She was armed with a main battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and could steam at a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).
Ohio initially served in the Asiatic Fleet, from 1905 to 1907, when she returned to the United States. In December that year, she joined the Great White Fleet for its world cruise, which lasted until early 1909. She served with the Atlantic Fleet for the next four years conducting a peacetime training routine. In 1914, she was sent to Mexico to protect American interests in the country during the Mexican Revolution. She served as a training ship during America’s involvement in World War I from 1917 to 1918. Thoroughly obsolete by that time, Ohio was decommissioned in July 1919, and was ultimately sold for scrap in March 1923 under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Ohio_(BB-12)
HMAS Anzac returns to Fleet Base West in September 2023 after its final deployment. Photo: ADF.
One of the key elements of February’s Surface Combatant Review was the replacement of the Royal Australian Navy’s eight Anzac-class frigates with a new class of ”general purpose frigates” from 2030.
This plan saw the much larger Hunter-class frigate program reduced in scope from an intended nine vessels to six, and the Arafura-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) program reduced from at least 12 hulls to just six as well.
While these changes will eventually boost the navy’s overall number of surface combatants, in the short term there will be a dip in numbers, as some of the Anzac-class frigates won’t make it until the first general-purpose or Hunter-class frigate enters service.
In fact, the lead vessel of the class, HMAS Anzac III, was decommissioned on the weekend – 28 years to the day after it was commissioned – at a ceremony in Fremantle.
Based on the German Blohm + Voss Meko 200 frigate design, HMAS Anzac is a helicopter-capable frigate (FFH) built by Tenix Defence Systems (now BAE Systems) at the Williamstown yard in Melbourne. A total of 10 Anzac-class frigates were built by Tenix, including two vessels for the Royal New Zealand Navy.
HMAS Anzac operating in the Persian Gulf in 2002. Under the ASMD and AMCAP upgrades, the Anzac class’s rear mast was dramatically reprofiled. Photo: ADF.
The third RAN vessel to carry the name, it was launched in 1994 and commissioned as HMAS Anzac III, with the hull number FFH 150, on 18 May, 1996.
The vessel is 118 metres (390 feet) long, has a beam of 15 (49 feet) metres and displaces about 3800 tonnes full load. All Anzacs are powered by a single LM 2500 gas turbine and two MTU 12V 1163 TB83 diesels, giving a top speed of about 27 knots.
Nicknamed ”First Lady of the Fleet”, HMAS Anzac III has a crew complement of 170. It was granted freedom of entry to the city of Albany in WA – the departure port for Anzac troops in World War I – and has a close association with the city of Rockingham in Perth.
During its service, HMAS Anzac has been awarded battle honours for participation in operations in East Timor in 1999, three deployments to support operations in the Persian Gulf in 2001-2003, and in Iraq in 2003.
The East Timor operations from 19-29 September, 1999, were part of a larger multinational Australian-led INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce.
On 21 March, 2003, HMAS Anzac provided naval gunfire support to troops ashore in the battle of Al Faw near the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab waterway in Iraq, a battle also colloquially known by the crew as ”five-inch Friday” in reference to the calibre of the ship’s main guns.
The Anzac class is equipped with a Sikorsky MH-60R Romeo Seahawk combat helicopter for anti-surface, anti-submarine and logistics operations, a five-inch-calibre main gun, a Thomson Sintra sonar system, the Enhanced Sea Sparrow (ESSM) anti-air missile, Harpoon Block II anti-ship missiles, MU 90 anti-submarine torpedos, and the Australian-developed Nulka active missile decoy system.
HMA Ships Anzac and Arunta sporting their advanced CEA Technologies CEAFAR and CEAMOUNT phased-array radar masts in 2020. Photo: ADF.
The Anzac class has undergone two major upgrades under Projects SEA 1440 Phases 2A/2B, and Phase 4B.
Also known as the Anzac anti-ship missile defence (ASMD) program, Phases 2A/2B saw the eight vessels fitted with upgraded combat management and fire-control systems, an infrared search-and-track (IRST) sensor, and Canberra-based CEA Technologies’ CEAFAR phased-array radar and CEMOUNT missile illuminator, which allow incoming anti-ship missiles to be tracked and intercepted by ESSM missiles.
The follow-on SEA 1448 Phase 4B Anzac Midlife Capability Assurance Program replaced the Anzacs’ ageing SPS-49(V)8 air-search radar with CEA Technologies’ CEAFAR-2L phased-array radar system and added upgraded communications systems, new power, air conditioning and chilled-water systems, and power-plant and electrical upgrades.
When combined, the Phase 2A/2B and 4B upgrades not only gave the Anzac class a distinctly different profile, but also resulted in one of the most capable air defence systems of any small surface ship in the world.
“This technology has delivered a significantly advanced air warfare and missile self-defence capability to the navy’s Anzac-class frigates and provides the navy with one of the most advanced, sovereign air-search radar capabilities in the world,” then Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Michael Noonan said at the upgrade’s initial operational capability (IOC) declaration in 2021.
HMAS Anzac completed its final deployment last September and has remained tied up at HMAS Stirling Fleet Base West ever since due to crew shortages. At least one and possibly two more Anzac-class frigates are scheduled to be decommissioned before the first general-purpose frigate enters service from 2030.
Original Article published by Andrew McLaughlin on PS News.
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