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  • HMS Severn readies for new mission by training with her sister HMS Tyne



    The rare sight of HMS Severn and Tyne sailing in company graced the waters off Scotland’s west coast as the two vessels prepared for very different missions. Tyne is safeguarding the nation’s fishing stocks by keeping a watchful eye on trawlers, but Severn is about to cross the Atlantic for the first time for a patrol of British territories in the Caribbean.

    Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight.

    Red sky in the morning, two fishery protection ships leaving Faslane in company...

    HMS Tyne (P281) leads her younger sister HMS Severn (P282) into the Clyde estuary for some rare combined training involving ships which typically exercise and operate independently.

    As well as being the home to the nation’s strategic deterrent – four Vanguard-class submarines – Astute-class submarines and Sandown-class minehunters, Faslane is also the home of the northern ‘branch’ of the RN’s premier training organisation, FOST.


    Whilst Severn normally operates in UK waters, our focus is now on preparing the ship and our personnel for Atlantic Patrol North.
    Lt Cdr Steve Banfield
    Ships of frigate size and above are prepared for deployments by teams from FOST’s HQ in Devonport, making use of the exercise areas off Plymouth.

    And all smaller vessels are put through their paces by FOST North around the Scottish west coast.

    In Severn’s case she’s about to break the bonds which keep her working around the UK ensuring the nation’s fishing stocks are preserved and, for the first time, head for the Caribbean for an Atlantic Patrol North mission over the winter, taking over from HMS Argyll.

    Argyll has proved indispensable in two drug busts – bagging over £30m of illegal narcotics – and helping clearing up to clear up in the aftermath of Hurricane Gonzalo in Bermuda.

    The offshore patrol vessel will be expected to pick up where Argyll left off: on stand-by for disaster relief operations and any other duties in support of the region’s British Overseas Territories, as well as embarking a law enforcement detachment from the US Coastguard in the ongoing fight against drug smuggling in the region.

    The initial ten days of training in Scotland assessed Severn’s ability to deal with internal problems – fires, flooding, breakdowns – and external ones, such as coming under attack.

    The second phase of training is more ‘free play’ and specially focused on the mission the ship is expected to carry out, such as putting a reconnaissance team ashore to scout and report the devastating effects of a hurricane; Severn can produce ten tonnes of fresh water a day and carry six ISO containers of aid and equipment.

    “Whilst we do not have the range of capabilities and manpower of HMS Argyll, we are trained and fully capable of putting specialist Royal Navy personnel ashore to assess damage, identify priorities and recommend where disaster relief resources are best apportioned’ said Lt Ben Read, HMS Severn’s Navigating Officer.

    Severn’s Commanding Officer Lt Cdr Steve Banfield added: “The forthcoming deployment is a new challenge for HMS Severn – although not for the Royal Navy.

    “Whilst Severn normally operates in UK waters, our focus is now on preparing the ship and our personnel for Atlantic Patrol North. I’m confident that our training has prepared us well for all contingencies and tasking that may be required of us.”

    Severn is due to leave her native Portsmouth later this autumn. Between now and then she’ll be visiting London in support of annual remembrance events in the capital.

    Last edited by Dogwatch; 1 November 2014, 23:57.

    Comment


    • Taskings previously carried out by destroyers and frigtates now being down graded to OPVs.

      From an article read in IFR this month that the RN offloaded so many qualified people in the SDR period that Frigates and Destroyers apart from Lean Manning now have to put to sea often with up to 8% of technicians missing. People have been paid extraordinary bonuses to remain on, huge brain drain under VR packages.

      the new carriers will put even greater strain on an already strapped RN, both man power wise and and funding.....and they will be in service before the aircraft they were supposed to operate will be ready, so there could yet be a rebuild to accept a conventional aircraft.

      Not good .
      Covid 19 is not over ....it's still very real..Hand Hygiene, Social Distancing and Masks.. keep safe

      Comment


      • Originally posted by hptmurphy View Post
        the new carriers will put even greater strain on an already strapped RN, both man power wise and and funding.....and they will be in service before the aircraft they were supposed to operate will be ready, so there could yet be a rebuild to accept a conventional aircraft.
        I thought the RN said they were sticking with the F35B?

        Comment


        • i'm umming and arghing about this - on one hand its good that an OPV/RFA task isn't being done by a FF/DD thats sorely needed elsewhere, on the other hand the AP(N) ship is also the first reinforcement ship for the Falklands..

          i've heard from several different friends at MOD that the RN manpower problem is near the top of the list of things that SDSR15 needs to address - all the service chiefs accept that RN manning needs to go up, and pretty much everyone accepts that if new money isn't found then the Army will have to take the hit to pay for it.

          don't be surprised if Army 2020 goes in the bin: i still won't be shocked if we go down to 3Cdo Bde, 16AA Bde, and just two MR Bde's.

          Comment


          • Originally posted by Barry View Post
            I thought the RN said they were sticking with the F35B?
            They are, and best guesses see the first of them arrive in 2018. However given that the USMC order is also delayed, who knows when they will arrive. The USMC got the first of 420 aircraft early last month only. The USMC aircraft must be operational (Equipped with 10-16 aircraft) between July 2015 and December 2015 (or else).
            For now, everything hangs on implementation of the CoDF report.

            Comment


            • i think at this stage that F-35B will happen, its just a question of when, how compromised it is and how much it costs. not needing F-35 until 2017 or so for the first carrier, 2018/19 to replace Tornado, and 2020 for the second carrier looks like being fortunate.

              the USMC, as well as being full of shit about the whole programme, needs F-35B right now in a way that we don't - they've recovered their Harrier programme with the purchace of the RAF/RN GR9's (sob..), but their F/A-18's are falling to peices. they might achieve some initial capability, but they are buying aircraft that are being manufactured before the testing program is complete - do not be surprised if some/all the aircraft that make up the initial capability don't stay in service for long and end up either back in the factory being rebuilt to ne next production standard, or being scrapped...

              Comment


              • personally I think the RN have shot them selves in the foot adopting the arrest/launch equipment they have given it willl seriously limit the options for aircraft inoperability. While the USMC may be in trouble regarding procurement of aircraft, the USN or the French are not and both have quite viable aircraft that could have been opertaed in the interim.

                While the 35B is flying and carrying out trials these are very limited and it has yet to be proven that this thing can opertate from anything except under severly controlled test conditions.

                The RN should have been in a sitautaion where the Austrailians found themselves prior to delivery of their F111s many years ago, where the lease a suitable aircraft in the interim. But the fit out of the carrier won't allow another type to operate so should the schedule go the way of the V22 Opreys development the RN could have carriers in operations for some years, with no aircraft to fly from them.
                Covid 19 is not over ....it's still very real..Hand Hygiene, Social Distancing and Masks.. keep safe

                Comment


                • Originally posted by Dogwatch View Post
                  Whitehall today signed a £348m deal with shipbuilding BAE to provide the Fleet with three new patrol ships.

                  Yet another western navy plans to build OPVs with a flight deck, shows how to best utilise a 90 - 100 metre platform.

                  £348m stg equates to €437.67m, which works out to be €146m per ship.......awful lot......... imho
                  Interestingly the Brazilians only paid GBP 133 Million for their three Batch 11's. They bought the 3 already / mostly built for Trinidad and Tobago but the contract was terminated in 2010 and so were up for grabs. The T & T NS had agreed on a price tag of GBP 150 Million so the Brazilians got them at a knock down price. (Neither of the aforementioned are tied to any BAE / MOD agreement hence the lower overall price.)

                  BAE Systems signs a deal with the Brazilian Navy to supply it with three patrol vessels, in a contract worth £133m.


                  How did the NS at home miss out on that one? Its a small world out there and were we not firing out tenders at that stage for more vessels? Agree with the Dog wholeheartedly when it comes to helis and operating them at sea. Cannot for the life of me understand the "anti lobby" on here that are so against the use of them or having the ability to use them. The ability to use them is the more important point. Were not talking HMS Ocean here but to have the ability to operate helis from the deck of a ship is priceless. And when not operating heli's the Batch 11's can carry 6 x ISO containers and have a 17t crane for all the ROV deploying and recovering you could wish for.

                  The Batch 11's do not house helis and are not suited to long duration heli tasks but they can do it when they need to. Is that too much of an ask? Or will we forever be relying on the good old RN and their ship board helis to come and sort our shit out the next time there is a disaster at sea? Not too long ago there was a vid on here somewhere of the ARW fast-roping onto the deck of a passenger / car ferry, one of their many tasks. How do you propose they do that on a vessel out of range on the 139's? RN and the lad's from H or Poole? Yes its only one example but the list is endless.

                  The skills may be lost on our shores but not with our neighbors. We send folks over there for all sorts why so not heli / ship operations? Cant? Wont? Don't want to? Don't need it? Too much negativity and not enough foresight to make the most of our very limited assets. UAV's are all well and good but they cant pluck people from the deck of a sinking vessel, they cant deploy teams on board hostile vessels, they cant carry out ship to shore replenishment, they cant provide (real life) topcover for any number of tasks you care to mention (humanitarian and military). They are a tool, part of a much larger box of tricks. Not having that heli deck is a trick missed. Unfortunately the lessons learned from LE Eithne seem to be "If at first you don't succeed, give up". Sad, but true. It should have been "Fcuked that one up! Right RN, how the fcuk do you do this?" And cracked on.

                  Of course all of the above is just chat. We don't have them (heli decks) and probably wont.

                  Apart from her that is.

                  We travel not for trafficking alone,
                  By hotter winds our fiery hearts are fanned,
                  For lust of knowing what should not be known,
                  We make the Golden Journey to Samarkand.

                  Comment


                  • How did the NS at home miss out on that one?
                    They didn't. Contract had already been signed for the lead P60.

                    This was debated here in some deail at the time and should be noted that the NS were pursuing their own spec as opposed to buying from the shelf.

                    Cannot for the life of me understand the "anti lobby" on here that are so against the use of them or having the ability to use them.
                    My own opinion is based on my experience of the services that were tasked in the past and the limitations involved....plus I was there for two years watching it not work for a huge variety of reasons.

                    "
                    If at first you don't succeed, give up". Sad, but true. It should have been "Fcuked that one up! Right RN, how the fcuk do you do this?" And cracked on.
                    No so much..more like we can't afford to go down the road of blowing that amount of cash again to get it wrong.The RN don't base helos on 80m vessels either nor do they expect their Patrol vessels to operate helos on routine FP missions.

                    Economy of scale, take into context the budget taken to run the NS and you want to double that by adding a helo capability that has limited value, no return and huge over heads.....

                    Too much negativity and not enough foresight to make the most of our very limited assets
                    Au contrere enough experience and foresight to know what can be done better without having to throw a shit load of money at an issue without knowing the definete outcomes.
                    Covid 19 is not over ....it's still very real..Hand Hygiene, Social Distancing and Masks.. keep safe

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by hptmurphy View Post
                      personally I think the RN have shot them selves in the foot adopting the arrest/launch equipment they have given it willl seriously limit the options for aircraft inoperability. While the USMC may be in trouble regarding procurement of aircraft, the USN or the French are not and both have quite viable aircraft that could have been opertaed in the interim.

                      While the 35B is flying and carrying out trials these are very limited and it has yet to be proven that this thing can opertate from anything except under severly controlled test conditions.

                      The RN should have been in a sitautaion where the Austrailians found themselves prior to delivery of their F111s many years ago, where the lease a suitable aircraft in the interim. But the fit out of the carrier won't allow another type to operate so should the schedule go the way of the V22 Opreys development the RN could have carriers in operations for some years, with no aircraft to fly from them.

                      The RN have forgotten that the carrier is there to carry aircraft, the aircraft aren't there to fly off the carrier!

                      Originally posted by FMP View Post
                      Interestingly the Brazilians only paid GBP 133 Million for their three Batch 11's. They bought the 3 already / mostly built for Trinidad and Tobago but the contract was terminated in 2010 and so were up for grabs. The T & T NS had agreed on a price tag of GBP 150 Million so the Brazilians got them at a knock down price. (Neither of the aforementioned are tied to any BAE / MOD agreement hence the lower overall price.)

                      BAE Systems signs a deal with the Brazilian Navy to supply it with three patrol vessels, in a contract worth £133m.


                      How did the NS at home miss out on that one? Its a small world out there and were we not firing out tenders at that stage for more vessels? Agree with the Dog wholeheartedly when it comes to helis and operating them at sea. Cannot for the life of me understand the "anti lobby" on here that are so against the use of them or having the ability to use them. The ability to use them is the more important point. Were not talking HMS Ocean here but to have the ability to operate helis from the deck of a ship is priceless. And when not operating heli's the Batch 11's can carry 6 x ISO containers and have a 17t crane for all the ROV deploying and recovering you could wish for.
                      Well compared to the OPV specs in the tender the Amazonas Class have:
                      - a beam too short by 0.5 m
                      - a draught too shallow by 0.3 m
                      - too short range by 500 nm

                      Comment


                      • Is not buying off the shelf the preferred manner of the DF (I know the NS like to do their own thing). Nothing wrong with having your own specs and the 51's and 61's have proven to be fantastic vessels so you totally got that right. But as the Batch 11's were on offer at the time and replacements were badly, badly needed in the fleet, I feel an effort should have been made to acquire them while waiting the 61's to sail out. A huge effort. A costly effort but worth the effort.

                        I am aware that the RN don't base helis on PV's and I did mention it, but they do operate helis from those decks and that's where you get your new skills from. Courtesy of them! Its a given, its a known, there is no guesswork involved. Decades of doing it off destroyers, frigates and patrol vessels, all that experience at your fingertips. No risk to yourselves. A cost, but no risk. In the same waters as the NS, same conditions and to a degree same tasks. Not just in heli operations but in the vessels operating them. Try before you buy! We don't make enough effort to make use of the efforts of others. Or didn't anyway. And certainly not "them".

                        LE Eithne is what? 30 odd years old now. In my humble opinion to have a vessel equipped to carry out heli operations and that ability never properly used and only short lived while she did is by far more wasteful that rectifying the problems associated with her in the first place. Limited asset (1 off), not used to its full potential. Shocking waste of money. Considering she is still in service.

                        Like I said Murph, just chatting. But what if! What if that elusive EPV is finally realised and there on the back of her is a big flat space and its titled "Heli Deck". What do we do then? Do crack on in our own fashion? Or do we ask those in the know?

                        Yes it may not be a requirement now, but things change. Need it and not have it is not a nice place to be as you well know. I'm not talking hangers and tricked out ATC towers. Just a deck and some lights, air crews who have done tours with the RN, some form of base level to start from. Just in case.

                        Most of what were talking about is the past and therefore unchangeable. Except the mistakes made. Those can be learned from and not made again. I guess what those mistakes were will for ever be a topic for discussion. And the arguments for and against as varied as the topics being discussed themselves.
                        Last edited by FMP; 4 December 2014, 21:27.
                        We travel not for trafficking alone,
                        By hotter winds our fiery hearts are fanned,
                        For lust of knowing what should not be known,
                        We make the Golden Journey to Samarkand.

                        Comment


                        • Originally posted by DeV View Post
                          The RN have forgotten that the carrier is there to carry aircraft, the aircraft aren't there to fly off the carrier!



                          Well compared to the OPV specs in the tender the Amazonas Class have:
                          - a beam too short by 0.5 m
                          - a draught too shallow by 0.3 m
                          - too short range by 500 nm
                          And a heli deck .
                          We travel not for trafficking alone,
                          By hotter winds our fiery hearts are fanned,
                          For lust of knowing what should not be known,
                          We make the Golden Journey to Samarkand.

                          Comment


                          • Originally posted by hptmurphy View Post
                            Taskings previously carried out by destroyers and frigtates now being down graded to OPVs.

                            From an article read in IFR this month that the RN offloaded so many qualified people in the SDR period that Frigates and Destroyers apart from Lean Manning now have to put to sea often with up to 8% of technicians missing. People have been paid extraordinary bonuses to remain on, huge brain drain under VR packages.

                            the new carriers will put even greater strain on an already strapped RN, both man power wise and and funding.....and they will be in service before the aircraft they were supposed to operate will be ready, so there could yet be a rebuild to accept a conventional aircraft.

                            Not good .
                            The RN have had to get seconded USCG and French Naval Engineers and Mechs in to keep things going.Mad stuff.

                            Comment


                            • Originally posted by hptmurphy View Post
                              Given the guy who did the trials for the AW139 has been retired over a year I don't see any deck rated helo pilots still in service, although there may be Dauphin qualified peeps.

                              But the first FDO is !
                              Isn't 'Bold Sir H' still in the corpse? (Sorry,Corps)

                              Comment


                              • Originally posted by FMP View Post
                                But as the Batch 11's were on offer at the time and replacements were badly, badly needed in the fleet, I feel an effort should have been made to acquire them while waiting the 60's to sail out. A huge effort. A costly effort but worth the effort.
                                To be perfectly honest with you - I think you're dreaming if you think the DF could have got the P60's & those BAE vessels in addition.

                                I really struggle to see how the Defence Forces could have managed to get their hands on an additional €160+ million, out of a total budget (not including pensions) of less than €700m. This at a time of real sustained austerity - year after year of cutbacks.

                                You're reading this forum, you're seeing the shortages the wider DF is facing - the issues with maintenance etc.

                                Now expand that wider to the Gardai, to the healthcare system, etc. etc.

                                It's all creaking after years and years of cutbacks.

                                And the Government are going to be sold on spending €160+ on extra vessels? Is that before or after the squadron of Gripens?

                                Rant aside - I'm firmly in the "have loads of aft space which a helicopter could operate from, in a pinch" camp - but I get the impression that even the mere possibility of a helicopter operating off an Irish Naval ship would give the beancounters aneurysms.
                                Last edited by pym; 4 December 2014, 18:44.

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