4
www. navynews. co. uk
NAVY NEWS, DECEMBER 2003
Fliers' skill in sandstorm wins award A SUPERB display of skill and nerve by a Sea King crew engulfed in a sandstorm during operations in Iraq won the fliers a prestigious award. Lt Cdr Nealc Hargreavcs, Commander of 849 Squadron A Flight's helicopter 'Dolphin 43', picked up the Hugh GordonBurgc Memorial Award from the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators on behalf of his team pilot Lt David White and Fit Lt Emma Bridge RAF. On March 12, the Mk 7 Airborne Surveillance and Control Sea King left HMS Ark Royal on a routine sortie for Operation Telic in the Gulf - and headed into a nightmare. Australian Navy assault ship HMAS Kanimbla was the forward operating base for the sortie, but was engulfed in a sandstorm as the helicopter came in to land. Two approaches were unsuccessful, before crew were told to head for the USS Bataan. "There were several moments when it wasn't looking good, " said Lt Cdr Hargreaves. "I have been flying for 18 years and it is the only time in my life when I didn't really have any options. "Our only two alternatives would be to land in Iraq - not really an option, as Operation Telic had not really got under way - or put down in the water. " En route to Bataan, the aircrew were told the American destroyer USS Milius had not yet been surrounded by sand - so the Sea King made a bee-line for her instead. The pilot was forced to 'hovertaxi' in to where he thought the ship was, while Fit Lt Bridge peered out into the gloom to spot the ship. As she did so, sand swirled around the cockpit and the aircraft suffered a partial radar failure. USS Milius was built to operate a smaller helicopter than the Sea King, so Lt White had to land his aircraft on an unfamiliar, small flight deck under extremely difficult conditions, yawing the aircraft above the landing spot. "If we had not seen the ship then, we would have put the aircraft down in the water, " said Lt Cdr Hargreaves. "It was a scary old night. Thank goodness for the sand filters on the Sea King. David is a very good pilot. " • Sandblasted: the Mk 7 Sea King back on HMS Ark Royal
• HMS Kent crew on patrol in the ships' graveyard around Basra using a local tugboat they repaired Pictures: LA(Phot) i > walker
heads for Gulf THREE and a half years after her launch, Britain's newest frigate finally set out on her maiden deployment - to keep the pressure on terrorists in the Middle East. HMS St Albans slipped out of Portsmouth on November 10 to begin a six-month stretch on patrol looking for Al Qaeda suspects and equipment. She takes over duties from her slightly older sister HMS Kent, patrolling seas from the Horn of Africa to the northern Gulf, interrogating vessels and sending boarding parties aboard if necessary. St Albans' work-up to front-line duties was disrupted 12 months ago, when a cross-Channel ferry ran into the warship, berthed alongside in Portsmouth, during a storm, leaving St Albans needing extensive repairs. But since then, the ship - last of 16 Type 23 frigates built for the RN - has bounced back with a high-profile visit to the Baltic and St Petersburg. Lt Cdr Carl Greener, St Albans' weapons engineering officer, said there was a buzz about the frigate. "We are keen to get started on our first operational tour. We'll of course be away for Christmas, but the work will be interesting and we'll see some fascinating places. " The ship's crew of 180 have a break in the New Year in the Seychelles and are due home around May.
Kent's tug rats keep lifeblood of Iraq open CREW of HMS Kent have helped seafaring trade resume in southern Iraq - at the same time as putting the kibosh on smugglers. Sailors from the Portsmouthbased frigate - due home this month after seven months in the Middle East region - dealt a double blow to racketeers by snaring oil smugglers and freeing the port of Basra for free trade to continue. Troops in Basra, the centre of UK peacekeeping operations in Iraq, told the RN that the port was clogging up with abandoned tugs and barges, confiscated by the Allied forces clamping down on smuggling operations. The soldiers lacked the seafaring experience to get some of the tugs running, and called in HMS Kent to free the port for trade. "We had a lot of volunteers for the job, " explained Lt Cdr 'Ned' Kelly, Kent's marine engineering officer. After months on antismuggling patrol, he said ship-
| Have You Missed Us? Limited stocks of back copies 1985-96. 1997 - Present, all copies Ring Anne Young PORTSMOUTH 023 9273 4448 or order online at www. navynews. co. uk email: subscriptions@navynews. co. uk Navy News -The Paper that lives up to its name!
CREDIT CARD FORM MSA My order is attached for: Cardholders Name: Cardholders Address:
Tel: Card number:
Expiry date Cardholders signature:
List of Dukes
Switch Issue No Please debit my card, amount (Min £5):
mates were champing at the bit for something different. "It was a bit of an adventure find the most seaworthy tugs, get them running, then sail them, " he added. "By driving the tugs around the waterways, towing and shunting barges, they were freeing up berths and jetties so merchant trade could get going. "Most of us have only seen Iraq from 12 miles away, so one thing the guys who went to Basra found was that it was great meeting the locals face-to-face. It was a very positive experience. " The 'tug rats' - OMs Robert Grant, Leon Ashton-Leatherland, Lt Chris Flaherty, PO Martin Jervis, MEM Karl Ellis, LMEM Robert Leaver, and LOM Hadyn Andrews - spent a week chugging up and down the Shatt-al-Arab river, searching barges, shunting some and impounding vessels trying to sneak oil out of Iraq. They had to deal with an engine room flooding daily, a small fire, a man overboard, and a runaway barge, plus the less than pleasant surroundings of a disused fertiliser factory as their base each night. "We're all extremely proud of what they achieved in the short time they were away, " Kent's captain Cdr Simon Hardern said. "They showed the flexibility of young people in the armed forces. They have been able to contribute, in a small way, towards the regeneration of Iraq. " • Crew of HMS Norfolk bagged smugglers after just three days on patrol in the northern Gulf. A boarding party found 300 tonnes of oil thought to have been sneaked out of Iraq, hidden on the UAE-flagged Mv Noora 1. The ship could be responsible for smuggling up to 5, 000 tonnes of oil out of Iraq on previous visits. Noora 1 has now been detained and her crew arc awaiting trial by the Iraqi judicial system. Norfolk's captain, Cdr Tony Radakin, said: "This is an exceptional start for us and an encouraging result in the fight to prevent the smuggling of oil. We're determined to ensure that oil exported from Iraq is done legally. "
» HMS St Albans sails past \Round Tower in Portsmouth on | her way to the Gulf Picture PO(Phot) Gary Davies
A DAY IN THE LIFE IN THE NORTHERN GULF
Another step down the road to the front line for Albion
• Boardings begin at 6am and continue until 2am the following morning • Each boarding takes around 90 minutes - ships expect to conduct around a dozen operations daily • Ships found to be carrying goods illegally are sent to special quarantine areas or 'smug boxes' for further investigations • Around 80 barges and boats were being held around Basra; another 20 or so were in a quarantine area 15 miles off Iraq • Detained ships are daily sent food supplies including tinned steak, chicken, fresh vegetables and bread • The smuggled oil confiscated by Allied forces will be sold, with proceeds going to Iraqis
AMPHIBIOUS assault ship HMS Albion has passed another milestone on her route to front-line duties after going through gruelling training with the Flag Officer Sea Training around Devon and Cornwall. Albion spent four weeks off the Cornish and Devon coast as training for operations reached a peak. After warding off a mock attack on Albion herself, crew got down to the business the ship was built for - preparing to put troops on to possibly hostile shores. Royal Marines of 6 Assault Squadron carried out landing craft training in Mevagissey Bay. The training culminated in a mock evacuation of British nationals from a crisis spot, and providing humanitarian aid to a disaster zone.
FOST's amphibious training officer Lt Cdr Simon Guycr, said Albion's test had proved a "demanding period" for crew and POST experts alike. At 18, 500-tonncs, Albion is capable of carrying up to 7(X) green berets, 60 vehicles and eight landing craft and can put troops ashore in less than half the time it took her predecessors, built in the 1960s, HMS Fearless and Intrepid. Exercises were continuing as Navy News went to press off Portsmouth, with the new Commodore Amphibious Task Group, Cdrc Chris Parry, aboard. Albion is due to take up frontline duties in 2004. Her sister, HMS Bulwark, should join her next year when builders BAE Systems finish construction at their Barrow yard.
VIPs praise continuing efforts in Iraq PRINCE Charles, First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Alan West and Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon have all praised the continued efforts of the Royal Navy in the war on terror when they visited India and the Middle East. The Prince of Wales and Admiral West dropped in on HMS Kent when the frigate took a break from peacekeeping duties off Iraq to visit Mumbai. Prince Charles met Kent's boarding party which had been constantly in action off Iraq and presented good conduct and long service medals to CPO(LEA) Jonathon Garrctt and PO(AEM) Paul Richards. "His Royal Highness took great interest in our activities and for those he met, there will be some life-long memories, " said Cdr Simon Hardcrn, Kent's Commanding Officer. Kent's patrol 'patch' stretches from the Horn of Africa to the northern Gulf as she takes part in Operation Oracle - the continuing global war on terror - and Telic, peacekeeping duties off Iraq. Crew found little time to explore the home of the Indian Navy with the VIP visits, but 14 of Kent's complement headed off to the Leonard Cheshire home for orphans and handicapped children, which the Prince of Wales
• All white on the night: Lt Jamie Leeper on ceremonial duties as Prince Charles comes aboard HMS Kent in Mumbai watched by First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Alan West, left, and Kent's Commanding Officer Cdr Simon Hardern also dropped in on. The sailors all volunteers for the good deed renovated and decorated parts of the home and chatted with residents. The Type 23's time in Indian waters - including a short exercise with the Indians - helped foster close ties with the Commonwealth navy which the First Sea Lord is keen to build upon. As the Prince and Admiral West visited Kent, Mr Hoon and Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir
Michael Walker paid a visit to coalition forces in Iraq to thank them for the continuing efforts in helping to bring stability to the country. Mr Hoon said Britain was making a "valuable contribution" to the future of a free Iraq. He added: "The hard work and commitment that Britain's Armed Forces arc making have helped train police officers, improve the supply of water, power and fuel to the people of southern Iraq. "