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Delayed Type 26 frigate programme can claw back lost time, minister says 27th February 2024 at 11:45am

HMS Glasgow to Scotstoun shipyard after being floated on the Clyde 03122022 CREDIT MOD

Type 26 frigate HMS Glasgow touched the water for the first time in December 2022 (Picture: MOD)

There has been progress in building the Royal Navy’s new anti-submarine frigates and any slippage may be “clawed back” as the project recovers from the pandemic, a defence minister of state has said.

The Earl of Minto, representing the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in the House of Lords, emphasised the progress in the Type 26 frigate programme and praised the “remarkable” investment at the BAE Systems shipyard in Govan, Glasgow.

Last week, the Earl visited HMS Cardiff, the second Type 26 frigate being built in Glasgow.

According to reports, HMS Cardiff is expected to be taken down the Clyde in the second half of this year before being fitted out in Scotstoun, where the first ship of the class – HMS Glasgow – is currently having its systems installed.

The frigates are expected to begin their service with the Navy starting in October 2028, a year later than initially planned.

‘Claw back’ losses

Asked if there had been any change in the latest deadlines, the Earl of Minto said: “There was obviously some slippage from the initial deadlines and that was driven by Covid.

“But I don’t think there’s been any change. In fact, if anything, they are trying to claw back some of those initial losses.

“Actually having gone through what we’ve seen today, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they don’t succeed in doing that.”

Watch: Aerial view of Royal Navy’s HMS Cardiff under construction in Glasgow

A new enclosed hall is currently being built next to BAE’s existing facility and work on the frigates is expected to speed up considerably once it is complete.

Conservative peer Timothy Lariston Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound said BAE has made a “quite remarkable” investment in the Glasgow shipyard and Scotland has an “extremely important” role in naval shipbuilding.

Earlier in February, the Royal Navy’s flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth was unable to sail on a major Nato exercise after a defect in its propeller shaft coupling was discovered.

Repairs will be carried out at the dockyard in Rosyth, Fife, but the Earl of Minto said the problem is not currently believed to be as serious as the propeller shaft issues that led to nine months of work on its sister aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales.

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Essex joins HMS Venturer family as under-construction Type 31 frigate is affiliated with county – 27th February 2024 at 3:14pm

A graphic of HMS Venturer at sea with HMS Queen Elizabeth and a Wildcat helicopter CREDIT Royal NAVY 270224.

A CGI image of HMS Venturer at sea with HMS Queen Elizabeth and a Wildcat helicopter (Picture: Royal Navy)

The Royal Navy’s new frigate HMS Venturer is to be affiliated with Essex – the first time in 30 years the county will have a ship to call its own.

Civic leaders have agreed to be affiliated with the Type 31 frigate – currently under construction in Scotland – linking the warship with more than 1.8m people in the county, from Chigwell to Colchester and Braintree to Basildon.

The decision for HMS Venturer to be bound with Essex stemmed from initial inquiries from community leaders in Southend-on-Sea, joining the Worship Company of Ironmongers, which is already affiliated with the new warship.

“It is wonderful that HMS Venturer is affiliated with the county of Essex,” said Commander Chris Cozens, the frigate’s Senior Naval Officer.

“The rich naval and maritime history combined with its modern outlook is a fitting choice for a ‘Next Generation Frigate’.

“We both share a focus on community outreach, linking the sea to science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and industry to benefit our national prosperity.”

Affiliations between warships and local communities are a time-honoured tradition, serving as symbols of unity and mutual support.

While most warships are affiliated with specific towns, cities, or boroughs, there are occasions where this bond extends to entire counties.

Examples of such affiliations include the current frigates HMS Kent and Sutherland, each of which is linked with the county bearing the same name.

HMS Venturer raised on jacks to assess her weight
HMS Venturer under construction in Scotland (Picture: Royal Navy)

HMS Venturer is named in honour of the pioneering submarine that achieved the historic milestone of successfully torpedoing and sinking an enemy vessel while both crafts were submerged.

The Royal Navy is expecting the delivery of the first five Type 31 frigates by 2028, with each vessel costing £250m.

Set to replace the Type 23 frigates, the new Type 31s are a crucial part of the Government’s strategy to bolster the Royal Navy’s fleet of warships in the years ahead.

Watch: The steel was cut on the first Type 31 last year.

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Ships bell from SMS Grosser Kurfurst

IT once tolled on one of the German Empire’s most fearsome battleships.

Now the bell from the SMS Grosser Kurfurst is bound for Portsmouth, having been bought by the National Museum of the Royal Navy for £5,000.

The artifact was almost lost to history and had passed most of the last century in a Bristol back garden.

Auctioneer Stephen Booth, of Atlantic Crossing Auctions in Southampton, said there had been a lot of interest from potential buyers in the bell.

He said he was thrilled the Portsmouth museum had won the bidding.

‘It’s a beautiful piece.

‘She’s got a bit of history to her so we’re absolutely delighted it will go to a museum where people can enjoy it learn and the story that goes around it.’

The battleship took part in the Battle of Jutland in 1916, the biggest naval battle of the First World War.

She was also involved in the bombardments of east coast towns including Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby.

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USS Kitty Hawk Sailors display their patriotism by spelling freedom on the flight deck Dec. 18, 2001.

 

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MARCH 29, 1967: Stricken Torrey Canyon oil tanker is bombed by Navy and RAF in bid to sink it off Cornish coast

MARCH 29, 1967: The Royal Air Force and Royal Navy unleashed a two-day bombing campaign on the stricken Torrey Canyon oil tanker in a bid to sink it on this day in 1967.

Bomber crews dropped 19 tons of ordnance on the Liberian ship after 32million gallons of crude oil gushed into the sea off the Cornish coast in Britain’s worst spill.

The RAF also dropped petrol on the remaining oil – which had affected hundreds of miles of coastline in Britain, France, Guernsey and Spain – and burned it off.

A British Pathé newsreel shows the Cornwall as a ‘battle area’ as 2,000 soldiers and marines were filmed rolling in vast amounts of detergent and manning the pumps.

And they were seen cleaning the previously pristine beaches

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Photos – One more bird from the shops of Martin Aircraft. This a Martin XP6M-1 Seamaster, which first flew on 14 July 1955. It was a swept-wing seaplane powered by four Allison J-71 tubojet engines, and would have been tasked with the delivery of nuclear weapons and the laying mines. Unfortunately, it did not survive its four years of operational evaluation, and was eventually cancelled. This was the last in the long line of Martin flying boats I really wish I could have seen one of these in action. Fly Navy

 

The Martin P6M SeaMaster was an experimental strategic bomber flying boat built by the Glenn L. Martin Company for the United States Navy that almost entered service; production aircraft were built and Navy crews were undergoing operational training, with service entry expected in about six months, when the program was cancelled on 21 August 1959. Envisioned as a strategic nuclear weapon delivery system for the Navy, the SeaMaster was eclipsed by the Polaris submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). Due to the political situation at the Pentagon, the Navy promoted the P6M primarily as a high speed minelayer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_P6M_SeaMaster

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Russian Northern Navy in the Arctic. Vice admiral Alexander Moiseev claimed non-NATO countries were also increasing their Arctic military interests Petr Velikiy

 

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Thank you for Your Service: TCG Sokullu Mehmet Paşa decommissioned

 

In this photograph captured in February 2022, TCG Sokullu Mehmet Paşa is seen departing her homeport in Tuzla for sea trials of the Aselsan Gökdeniz air defence system. The gun can be seen at the rear of the vessel under cover.

The Turkish Navy announced that the Rhein class multi-purpose ship TCG Sokullu Mehmet Paşa was decommissioned on 25 February 2024.

The ship was a patrol boat tender for the German Navy. She was built in Schlichting Shipyard in Traveminde as FGS Donau and commissioned to the German Navy in 1964. She was recommissioned into the Turkish Navy in 1997 and replaced her sister ship FGS Isar taking the same name and pennan number.

TCG Sokullu Mehmet Paşa and her sister TCG Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Paşa have fulfilled a lot of different missions while in the Turkish Navy. Both have been used as training ships for the cruises of naval cadets for many years.  They were used as flagships when the Turkish Navy was in command of NATO SNMCMG-2.

Furthermore, TCG Sokullu Mehmet Paşa was also used as a test platform for various weapon systems. One of them was the Gökdeniz close-in weapon system. The tests on board of the ship were widely reported. A lesser-known testing was performed for a kind of underwater sensor. The details of these tests were not shared with the public.

With the decommissioning of TCG Sokullu Mehmet Paşa chapter in the Turkish Navy’s history comes to a close. This vessel, with its rich heritage from its days in the German Navy to its extensive service in Turkish waters, leaves behind a legacy of steadfastness and adaptability. Thank you for your services.

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Carrier HMS Prince of Wales Under NATO Command in Major Exercise – DZIRHAN MAHADZIR FEBRUARY 26, 2024 3:38 PM

HMS Prince of Wales;Row 2 (L-R) – HMS Portland, RFA Tidesurge, HMCS Charlottetown; Row 3 (L-R) – SNS Cristόbal Colόn, RFA Tidespring, HMDS Niels Juel on Feb. 25, 2024. UK Royal Navy Photo

Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO) has assumed command of the multinational U.K. carrier strike group (CSG) headed by carrier HMS Prince of Wales (R09) for its participation in NATO exercise Steadfast Defender 2024, according to a social media post by the command on Tuesday.

“This transfer of authority to STRIKFORNATO/Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO demonstrates the Alliance’s ability to integrate the high-end capabilities of a British Carrier, its strike group escorts, and embarked air wing during a series of meticulously planned maritime security activities and training perfectly aligned with the Deterrence and Defence family of Allied collective plans,” read the post.

Prince of Wales is making its first operational deployment leading the U.K. CSG. Originally, HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) was scheduled to head the deployment before problems with its propeller forced a change of plans.

The Steadfast Defender 2024 deployment marks the first time Prince of Wales is operating with a complete embarked air group consisting of F-35B Lightning fighters from No. 617 “Dambusters” Squadron, submarine hunting and airborne early warning Merlin Mk2 helicopters from RNAS Culdrose and battlefield Wildcat helicopters of 847 Naval Air Squadron. The carrier’s prior deployments consisted of fewer aircraft and helicopters, which were embarked for trials. The U.K. has not released the number of F-35Bs embarked, though it is expected to be fewer than the 18 embarked on Queen Elizabeth during the CSG 21 deployment..

Along with carrier Prince of Wales, the U.K. CSG home contingent consists of Royal Navy frigate HMS Portland (F79), along with Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) fleet oilers RFA Tidespring (A136) and RFA Tidesurge (A138). Its multinational contingent consists of U.S. Navy destroyer USS Paul Ignatius (DDG-117), Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Charlottetown (FFH339), Spanish Navy frigate SNS Cristobal Colon (F105) and Royal Danish Navy frigate HDMS Niels Juel (F363) and patrol vessel HDMS Hvidbjørnen (F360).

A Royal Navy release on Tuesday stated that most of the CSG had now linked up and were conducting integration drills as part of the Joint Warrior exercise, which runs from Feb.24 – Mar. 3, before moving on to participate in Exercise Nordic Response, the maritime portion of Steadfast Defender, which begins on Mar. 5. Approximately 40 ships from more than two dozen countries will be involved in Nordic Response.

Steadfast Defender 2024 is the largest NATO exercise since the Cold War, with approximately 90,000 troops from all 31 NATO member states, as well as partner Sweden, participating. The exercise began at the end of January and set to end on May 31. The first phase of the exercise focuses on transatlantic reinforcement with the strategic deployment of North American forces across the Atlantic to continental Europe. This phase includes live maritime exercises and amphibious assault training in the North Atlantic and Arctic seas. The second phase focuses on multidomain exercises across Europe and is also testing rapid deployment of troops and equipment across borders within the NATO alliance.

NATO has not released a full list of ships participating in the exercise but several ships are known, including amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD-44), which arrived in Harstad, Norway, on Feb. 21, according to a Pentagon release. Gunston Hall is embarking Finnish and Swedish forces in Harstad to conduct amphibious training exercises in Norway, according to the release. It also will join with Italian Navy aircraft carrier ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi (551), amphibious transport dock San Giorgio (L9892) and several escort ships to form an amphibious task force. Several ships from Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG-1) also will take part in the exercise, namely Spanish Navy frigate SNS Almirante Juan de Borbón (F102) and fleet oiler SNS Cantabria (A15), German Navy Fleet oiler FGS Bonn (A1413) and Italian Navy frigate ITS Luigi Rizzo (F595). A French attack submarine is also participating in the exercise.

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French Navy Kicks Off Jeanne d’Arc 2024 Deployment – DZIRHAN MAHADZIR FEBRUARY 25, 2024 10:03 PM

FS Tonnerre departing Toulon on Feb. 19, 2024. French Navy Photo

The French Navy began its Jeanne d’Arc 2024 deployment last week with the departure of amphibious assault ship FS Tonnerre (L9014) and frigate FS Guépratte (F714) from Toulon Naval Base, with this year’s mission involving a near circumnavigation of South America.

The Jeanne d’Arc mission is an annual deployment for the French Navy – named for former helicopter cruiser Jeanne d’Arc (R97), which primarily served as a training ship for the French naval academy. Following the ship’s decommissioning in 2010, the French Navy continued the mission name, with one of its three Mistral-class amphibious assault ships and a surface escort carrying out the deployment. The mission combines the end stage of the training course for French naval academy cadets with an operational presence and engagement deployment. Last year’s deployment saw the mission circling the globe. The Jeanne d’Arc task group also will serve as a ready response force for any nearby crises that occur during its deployment.

A total of around 800 service members are taking part in the deployment, comprising 640 sailors (including 162 naval cadets) and 150 soldiers of an embarked French Army battlegroup. The battlegroup comprises two light cavalry platoons, an infantry platoon, a command element and medical team, a section of combat engineers, an artillery forward-observer team and an aviation detachment with two Gazelle helicopters. A French Navy Dauphin helicopter also is embarked for the deployment. A total of 40 ground vehicles operated by the battlegroup – a mix of combat, transport and engineering vehicles – are also included.

A French Ministry of Armed Forces release stated the deployment will last 149 days with three major amphibious exercises planned – in Brazil, Chile and the United States – along with 11 port visits. The release did not give dates for each stop or activity execution. The Jeanne d’Arc mission is heading toward the port city of Mindelo, Cape Verde, for its first stop and then crossing the Atlantic Ocean to arrive at Cayenne, French Guiana. The mission also will conduct activities supporting maritime enforcement operations in French territorial waters before conducting amphibious drills with Brazil off the coast of Belum, Brazil.

The mission then heads to Rio de Janeiro to carry out a port visit and the Rio 24 amphibious exercise with the Brazilian Navy, and then heads to Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a port visit. It then sails around Cape Horn to make a port visit to Valparaiso, Chile, and to conduct an amphibious exercise there. Following that, a port visit to Lima, Peru, will be carried out, with a maritime enforcement exercise to take place there. The Jeanne d’Arc mission will then transit the Panama Canal and subsequently call in to Cartagena, Colombia.

A port visit to Fort-de-France, in the French territory of Martinique, follows, where maritime enforcement operations will be carried out, along with the multinational Caraibes 24 exercise. “This major exercise will reinforce the integration of the French Armed Forces in the Antilles-Caribbean zone,” stated the release.

From the Caribbean, the Jeanne d’Arc task group will make its way to Norfolk, Va., for a port visit and also to carry out Chesapeake 24 with the U.S. Navy, which will “highlight the joint ability to plan complex amphibious operations and commemorate the anniversary of the historic alliance between France and the United States,” according to the release.

The mission will then cross the Atlantic to the French port city of Brest and then both ships will head to the Mediterranean, with Guépratte also visiting Lisbon, Portugal. Both ships will then link up to transit the Strait of Gibraltar to enter the Mediterranean before heading back to their home port of Toulon.

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