N A V Y NEWS. NOVEMBER 1992
RNPT back on the road
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London bridges the gap AFTER 26 years serving beneath the waters in the Submarine Flotilla, former Lieut.-Cdr. John May found himself high above the Thames, on top of a bridge tower, to capture this picture of HMS London passing beneath the new Queen Elizabeth II Bridge between Dartford and Thurrock. John left the Navy four years ago after serving in HM submarines Alaric, Odin, Oberon, Renown, Vulcan and Churchill and as DMEO 3rd Submarine Squadron, and is now a maintenance engineer for Dartford River Crossing Ltd.
THE Royal Navy Presentation Team, under the command of Capt. Geoffrey Bills.n, sets off again next Spring to talk to a wide cross-section of the community about Britain's maritime interests and how the Royal Navy looks after them.
Slice offfie action HMS Anglesey, the Island Class offshore patrol vessel has been rededicated at a ceremony at Rosyth Naval Base. In keeping with naval tradition the rededication cake was cut by Mrs Andrea Chambers, wife of the ship's commanding officer Lieut. Cdr. BUI Chambers, and the youngest member of the Anglesey's ship's company, 21-year-old AB Joe Turney.
Each evening session begins with a drinks reception, followed by a 45 minute talk with film and slides. Afterwards there is time for questions and discussions and at the end of the evening members of the audience can talk informally with the team. Details and tickets, for which there is no fee, are available from the Royal Navy Presentation Team, Room 2120, St. Christopher House. Southwark Street, London SEI OTD (tel. 071 921 2056/1356. The team will be visiting: February: 1 — Launceston; 2 — Torquay; 5 — Yeovil; 11 — Newport, Gwent; 16 — Wrexham; 18 — Ludlow; 22 — Monmouth; 24 — Bridgend; 25 — A b e r y s t w y t h ; 26 — Carmarthen. March: 3 — Lyndhurst; 22 — London, SEI (to be confirmed); 23 — Margate; 24 — Chelmsford; 25 — Southend.
Gannet wins rescue award 819 Sqn. helicopter crew, from HMS Gannet, have been awarded the Edward and Maisie Lewis Award for their part in the rescue of 48 seamen from a Russian factory ship. The search and rescue award, given jointly to the RN and the RAF, was presented by Admiral of the Fleet Lord Lewin at Fishmongers' Hall, in London. In December last year an RAF Sea King, of D Flight, 202 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth, was scrambled from HMS Gannet to assist with the rescue of the men whose ship, the Kartli, had been struck by a huge wave and which was drifting without power in 40ft. high seas, in 50 knot winds. Nine survivors were winched to safety and PO Donald Clark, a medical assistant from HMS Gannet who was on board the helicopter, received the shocked and disorientated survivors assessing one of the injured as requiring urgent medical treatment. In response to a request for further assistance, a RN Sea
King from 819 Sqn., HMS Gannet, arrived to continue the task of winching survivors from the ship. During the operation it became apparent that the Kartli's captain had a broken leg and could not be winched normally so CPO Roy Henshaw was lowered onto the pitching deck where he secured the injured skipper in a stretcher. In all 48 survivors were rescued by the two crews in a long and hazardous operation conducted under demanding cond i t i o n s of w e a t h e r and darkness. The RN crew involved in the rescue were Lieuts. Gurney Hickey, Stephen Pitcher and Victor Cover, CPOACMN Roy Henshaw and POACMN Christopher Bartlett. • A Sea King, piloted by Lieut.
Joe Whitfield, from 772 Sqn., RN air station Portland, rescued crewmen from a sinking German vessel off the south west coast of Guernsey. The Edit, a 1,000-ton vessel carrying a load of timber, was found to be taking in water and had a 50 degree list. POACMN Andy Cooke and
PO(D) Jamie Walker managed to winch the eight-man crew to safety shortly before the vessel capsized. The rescued men were then flown on to Guernsey airport. HMS Gannet again came to the rescue when a crewman from the Ayr Queen needed urgent medical treatment. A Sea King helicopter lifted the man from the fishing vessel off the Irish coast and flew him to hospital.
Dambusters' bomb saved
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A SEA King from 772 Sqn., RN air station Portland, successfully helped salvage the last remaining prototype of the Barnes Wallis bouncing bomb from the Fleet estuary at Weymouth. The Sea King, flown by Lieut. Mark Walker, fitted the naffton bomb from the water in a sling, and POACMN Andy Cooke supervised the lift from the air while Royal Marines from the Mobile Air Operations Unit, based at RN air station Yeovilton, kept a close eye on the operation from the ground. Once the bomb, probably filled with concrete, wood and cork, has been cleaned it will go on display at Portland museum to mark the 50th anniversary of the first drop in December 1942.