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NAVY NEWS, MAY 2008
Ten more wrecks gain legal protection
THE final resting places of more than 750 people who died at sea are now protected by the MOD. Additional legal protection has been extended to ten shipwrecks under the Protection of Military Remains Act (PMRA) 1986 to ensure the sites remain undisturbed by divers. Designation as a protected place allows the site to be visited by divers on a ‘look but don’t touch or enter’ basis. Any physical disturbance of the wreck would require prior licensing by the MOD. The ten new designations came into effect on May 1, adding to the existing 48 designated sites. The ten designated wrecks are: H HMS Amphion, the first British warship lost in WW1, mined in the North Sea on August 6 1914 killing 169; H Destroyer HMS Ghurka, mined off Dungeness on 8 February 1917. Only five of 75 survived; H Submarine HMS L24 sank off Portland on January 10 1924 after a collision while training, killing her crew of 36; H Destroyer HMS Delight – 19 died in an air attack off Portland on July 29 1940; H HMS Curacao collided with troop-carrying liner Queen Mary in the Atlantic during an anti-submarine manoeuvre on October 2 1942 – 338 men died; H Destroyer HMS Penylan was torpedoed in the Channel by an E-boat on December 3 1942 whilst escorting a coastal convoy – 38 of her crew of 155 died; H DEMS ship SS Storaa was sunk by E-boats whilst in convoy under RN escort off Hastings on November 3 1943 – 21 died; H Minesweeper HMS Loyalty was torpedoed off the Isle of Wight by U480 on August 22 1944, with the loss of 20 men; H German U-boat U714, sunk by depth charges from South African frigate HMSAS Natal near the Firth of Forth on March 14 1945 with the loss of 50 men; H Cunard roll-on/roll-off container ship Atlantic Conveyor, serving as an aircraft transport as part of the main task group east of the Falklands when she was struck by an Argentine Exocet on May 25 1982; 12 men died. PMRA 1986 allows the MOD to protect from unauthorised interference the remains of aircraft and vessels that were in military service when lost. Shipwrecks are eligible for designation if they lie in UK or international waters. In UK waters any military aircraft or vessel of any nationality may be designated, but only aircraft or vessels belonging to the UK may be designated in international waters.
Unsung heroes – and campaign – saluted
THE culmination of a tenyear crusade saw the official launch of a book celebrating three unsung war heroes – and demonstrated the power of the local press.
Tamworth Herald deputy editor Phil Shanahan, who led the campaign, has written The Real Enigma Heroes, which tells of the recovery of Enigma code material from a sinking U-boat and of the drive to win international recognition for the main players.
The three were AB Colin Grazier, from Tamworth, Lt Tony Fasson, a Scot, and Tommy Brown, a civilian canteen assistant from North Shields. On October 30 1942 their ship, HMS Petard, was one of four RN warships harrying a German U-boat in the Eastern Mediterranean. After a ten-hour hunt, involving well over 100 depth charges, the crippled U559 was forced to surface and her crew abandoned her at once, expecting her to sink at any moment. But as they fled, Grazier and Fasson swam towards her, clambered inside and hunted for useful material. What they found, and handed to Brown on the conning tower, has been widely acknowledged to have given the Allies a telling advantage, and to have ‘shortened the war’ by months and possibly years. The Enigma codebooks enabled Bletchley Park boffins full access to U-boat movements and strategies, which protected convoys and ensured the Nazi stranglehold of the North Atlantic was broken. But none of this was known by Grazier or Fasson, who were
● Phil Shanahan with book in St Editha’s Square, Tamworth, in front of the Petard heroes’ sculpture dragged to their deaths when the U-boat suddenly sank, or by Brown, who died in a house-fire before the end of the war. The Official Secrets Act hid this stunning act of bravery from the world for decades, and it was a chance remark to a Herald reporter which set Phil Shanahan on his quest.
From a modest start, the campaign gained unstoppable momentum, and not only achieved its aim of honouring the men, but also brought justified plaudits to both Phil, his team and the paper. One tangible result was the spectacular sculpture in St Editha’s Square, consisting of three anchors and a chain, by renowned sculptor
Defender bows out on time
THE bow section of the fifth Type 45 destroyer has been rolled out at Portsmouth Naval Base by VT Shipbuilding. The 1,000-tonne section of HMS Defender was placed on the barge Woolston in a twohour operation. That will be joined by the uptakes/downtakes and mast, and the whole lot floated up to Glasgow in the early summer for assembly by BAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions – the first time all the main elements built at Portsmouth will be shipped north together. The bow section of Defender
took around 20 months to complete, and, like the previous units, has been fitted out to an advanced stage before assembly. VT Type 45 project director John Richardson said: “We are on course to complete our part of the programme ahead of schedule with the final ship-set due to be in Glasgow before the end of the year. “The programme has underlined the capability of our Portsmouth facility and our progress along the contract learning curve, with a reduction of more than 30 per cent in man
hours between the first and final ships.” Defender is due to be launched on the Clyde in the autumn of 2009. H www.type45.com
Walenty Pytel. Now comes the launch of Phil Shanahan’s book, which intertwines the story of the heroes with the Herald campaign to mark their place in history,. The event saw 11 former sailors from HMS Petard gather at the Ballroom in Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, the heart of British wartime cryptanalysis. Phil said of the campaign: “There was a serious wrong here that needed to be righted. “These men were denied proper recognition – yet the whole free world should be grateful to them.” He also described Petard as “a ship of heroes”. Shadow defence minister Julian Lewis, introducing the book, said: “Phil Shanahan’s book will be a source of great pride not only to the families of the men and the communities they came from, but to all those who revere the Royal Navy and its role in preserving our democracy against the evil of Nazism,” he said. Just weeks earlier Phil had officially opened the refurbished Hut 8 at Bletchley Park – the humble wooden building in which Enigma was cracked, allowing significant parts of the Nazis’ signal traffic to be laid bare. Among those in attendance were two of Colin Grazier’s shipmates, Lt Cdr Robert de Pass and Reg Crang, and members of Tamworth RNA. Exhibitions in Hut 8, renovated for around £500,000, recount the Petard incident and the Herald’s campaign for recognition. The Real Enigma Heroes, price £19.99, is published by Tempus, part of The History Press (ISBN 978-07524-4472-7). H www.thisistamworth.co.uk H www.bletchleypark.org.uk H www.thehistorypress.co.uk
Citizens of Cardiff welcome destroyer WARSHIP HMS Southampton has welcomed the citizens of Cardiff on board – and shown how she could help the city in a crisis. The Type 42 destroyer spent a weekend alongside the Millennium Quay in Cardiff Bay, and among the hundreds of visitors was Welsh First Minister Rhodri Morgan. Southampton was open to the public for around four hours on the Saturday. On the following Monday the ship hosted a Maritime Resilience Capability Demonstration for the Welsh Resilience Forum, which is chaired by Mr Morgan. The event is a detailed demonstration of the contribution the Royal Navy could make in the event of a large-scale incident or emergency in the region that would require co-operation from a number of different civil and military organisations. Members of the Forum heard from the Naval Regional Commander, Cdre Jamie Miller, about how the Navy could help the civil authorities – as happened in Gloucestershire during the floods last summer. Southampton’s Commanding Officer, Cdr Richard Morris, said: “The visit to Cardiff is crucial to our relationship with the city and we want to demonstrate that as well as being a highly-capable warship we can also play a vital role in peacetime operations – anywhere in the world.”
Dive trial success
DEEP sea trials of a new NATO submarine rescue system have been declared a success. The system, owned jointly by the UK, Norway and France, was tested off Bergen when the free-swimming rescue vehicle successfully ‘mated’ with Norwegian submarine Uredd at 87 metres, then the submersible went on to complete a deep dive to 610 metres.
Record beaten – but no laurels FIELD gunners from Devonport beat the record time for the Swartkop Challenge in South Africa – but still ended up in second place. The honours in the gruelling race up a boulder-strewn 45 degree slope above Ladysmith went to the First Bn Irish Guards B team, who completed the course in 16m 53.3s, while Devonport recorded 18m 12.69s, still well inside the previous benchmark of 20m 58s. They also accepted the Freedom of Ladysmith on behalf of the RN.
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● Civilian workers and ship’s company hold a tea party in the dry dock under HMS York
Tea party in the dock
A TRADITIONAL tea party was held at Portsmouth Naval Base – underneath the hull of a destroyer. The party marked an important milestone in the refit of HMS York, as the Type 42 warship was left standing on huge ‘stilts’ in dry dock. Workers from Fleet Support Ltd (FSL), who are carrying out the refit package, joined members of York’s ship’s company and personnel from the base’s Superintendent Fleet Maintenance for tea and cakes. Lt Cdr Will Proctor, York’s Senior Naval Officer, said: “It is impressive to see the ship out of the water and tea in the dock was a great way to mark this key
refit milestone.” The refit will include an overhaul of York’s engines, weapons and computer systems, and she is due back with the Fleet in March next year. H The MOD’s Defence Equipment and Services has commissioned a new Dry Dock Code of Practice as a safety initiative. The code, produced by Gifford, BMT Marine Projects Ltd and FSL, is designed to ensure safe drydocking by the MOD, shipyards and other military and civilian organisations handling mono-hulled surface ships of over 500 tonnes.