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The magazine of Number 10 Area, RNA 10 Area. Welcome Aboard.
Welcome to the Royal Naval Association Number 10 Area web site. Number 10 area is the largest of the RNA areas, and stretches from Whitehaven to Crewe, across the sea to the Isle of Man and across the border into North Wales.
This web site will be a place to check out the latest news from around the area and beyond, to link to other sites and to find out information about the committee and branches. There is also a photo gallery where you can share all your pictures. Comrades and shipmates who have crossed the bar will also be remembered. The minutes of the area committee will be available on the site. We also have a comprehensive collection of official papers from the National Archives and other sources released under the Freedom of Information Act.
RN news from around the world.
22.06.09
"Serious Mistakes" in Type 45 Procurement."
Delays to new Royal Navy destroyers may have "deeply worrying implications" for the UK's defence, MPs have warned. The first Type 45 destroyer is set to enter service later this year, more than two years late, &pou1.5bn over budget, and not fully operational.
Edward Leigh, chairman of the cross-party Commons Public Accounts Committee, described the delays as "disgraceful".
He said: "HMS Daring, the first of the six Type 45s, will not now enter service until the end of 2009, over two years late and £1.5bn over the original budgeted cost.
"It will enter service with not one of its main anti-air missiles having been fired from the ship - and it will not be fully operational until 2011. The fleet of Type 45s will not have their full capability until well into the next decade."
The full report is available here.
16.05.09
Bulwark Commemorates Singapore War Dead
HMS Bulwark has conducted a service of remembrance to mark the Centenary of Naval Aviation, in commemoration of those men of the Fleet Air Arm that were killed in action or died in captivity during the defence and eventual recapture of Singapore 1941 - 1945. After a poignant and reflecting visit to the Changi Museum and former POW Chapel the Officers and Sailors conducted a service and wreath laying ceremony at the Kranji Commonwealth War Cemetery where 3000 souls are buried and the stone walls contain the names of 24 thousand Service men and civilians that lost their lives during the Japanese occupations of the East Indies.
HMS Bulwark, the Taurus 09 Flagship in company with HMS Ocean, Somerset, Echo RFA Wave Ruler and USS Mitcher, are visiting Singapore as part of a large International Maritime Defence Exhibition prior to taking part in a multinational exercises around the seas off Brunei.
The Service was officiated by Bulwark’s Chaplain Mike Hills and attended by members of the Ships Air Departments and 820 Naval Air Squadron. Speaking at the event Bulwark’s Commanding Officer, Captain Wayne Keble said: "I am honoured that HMS Bulwark has been able to mark this year's Naval Aviation Centenary with a touching tribute not only to Naval Aviators, but also to the thousands of men women and children of the Commonwealth who died in those terrible conditions over 65 years ago"
24.03.09
Defence Minister apologises for deaths on HMS Tireless
Following today's conclusion of the inquest into the deaths of Operator Maintainer Anthony Huntrod and Leading Operator Maintainer Paul McCann on board HMS Tireless in March 2007, Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth has repeated his 'unreserved' apology for avoidable departmental failings.
The two submariners were killed by an explosion in a forward escape compartment of the submarine shortly after an oxygen generator was activated. HMS Tireless was on an exercise in the Arctic when the accident happened. Sunderland coroner Derek Winter gave a narrative verdict today, 24 March 2009, at the end of the six-week inquest saying "systemic failures led to the contamination and damage" of the oxygen generators on board "which in turn caused the explosion".
During the inquest the coroner heard a batch of almost 1,000 self-contained oxygen generators (SCOGs) left in a hazardous waste depot in Devonport were returned to Royal Navy service in 2006. Mr Winter said it was "a significant possibility" that the SCOG which exploded was one that had originally been sent to the dump, but it was impossible to say because the method of tracking and accounting for SCOGs was incomplete.
Mr Winter was critical of the way the oxygen generators were handled, stored and managed. He said: "There was a culture of complacency regarding the risks posed by SCOGs and a tolerance of practices likely to increase those risks," adding that at Devonport the practices were much less rigorous than at the UK's other main nuclear submarine base at Faslane, Scotland.
Following today's conclusion of the inquest, Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth said: "My deepest sympathies remain with the families of Leading Operator Maintainer Paul McCann and Operator Maintainer Anthony Huntrod at this difficult time. I would like to unreservedly apologise to the families, as I have done previously in the House and in person, for the avoidable failings, for which this department is responsible, which brought about this tragic incident. I would also like to pay tribute to the crew of HMS Tireless for their courageous and professional response.
The MOD and the Royal Navy are committed to doing everything possible to prevent any recurrence of this tragedy. To this end, MOD and Royal Navy investigations have been conducted and lessons have already been learned. But we also have the verdict given today by Her Majesty's Coroner, Sunderland, at the end of a thorough and sensitively handled inquest, for which we are very grateful. We will look in detail at his findings, and at the Rule 43 letter that he has confirmed he will write to the Secretary of State for Defence, before responding in full."
14.03.06
The new Type 45 warships, built by BAE Systems Plc and VT Group Plc, may not be ready to join the Royal Navy until next year because of hitches with weaponry and a lack of sailors trained to crew the vessels.
HMS Daring, the first of six destroyers, may miss its scheduled service entry in December, the National Audit Office said in a report published on 13.03.09. The ship is already three years late after cost overruns prompted a review of the budgetThe Navy will be left struggling to keep in service the existing Type 42 destroyers that were designed and built for the Cold War
While the Ministry of Defence always planned to arm the fleet in stages, there are potential problems with the integration of the Sea Viper anti-air missile system, the report said. The main role of the new destroyers is to defend Royal Navy ships against enemy aircraft and missiles. All six vessels had been due to enter service by 2013.
"The fleet of Type 45s will not have their full capability until the middle of the next decade, when other important pieces of kit are fitted," Edward Leigh, chairman of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, said in a letter accompanying the report. "In the meantime, the Navy will be left struggling to keep in service the existing Type 42 destroyers that were designed and built for the Cold War."
he MoD said in a statement that key milestones on the project, including sea trials, were actually met ahead of schedule and that four of the ships are now in the water.
Sea Viper has been tested on firing ranges from a barge off the southern coast of France, though not on the Daring itself. The system won’t be operational on the destroyer until 2011. Other equipment yet to be installed includes the Skynet 5 and Bowman communications systems.
Download the entire report. (645Kb .pdf file)
07.03.09
Brocklesby finds WW2 bomb.
HMS Brocklesby, a British Mine Counter Measures Vessel has successfully detected and marked the position of an air dropped bomb, with its parachute still attached in deep waters near to Sardinia using its highly sophisticated Sea Fox Mine disposal system.
HMS Brocklesby is currently taking part in a major NATO Maritime Exercise called “Loyal Mariner 2009” (LMR09) in Italian territorial waters. Working together for the first time with two NATO Mine Countermeasures Forces SNMCMG 1 and SNMCMG 2, the two Mine hunting Groups are part of a much larger combined NATO Task Force of 30 maritime units from 15 nations which is testing maritime battle staffs embarked at sea between 2 - 12 March.
Loyal Mariner 09 requires the Commander of the large maritime force to conduct military intervention in a fictitious crisis scenario under an International UN mandate around the fictitious island of “Sardros”, in reality the operating area is Sardinia and Italian territorial waters and airspace
17.02.09
HMS Vanguard collides with French SSBN
A Royal Navy nuclear submarine and a French vessel have been damaged in a collision deep below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant, which were carrying nuclear missiles on routine patrols, are reported to have collided while submerged on 3 or 4 February. Between them they had about 250 sailors on board.
The Ministry of Defence initially refused to confirm the incident, saying it was not policy to comment on submarine operations. On Monday (16.02.09) the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, issued a statement saying the two vessels hit each other while travelling at very low speeds and no one was injured.
"We can confirm that the capability remained unaffected and there has been no compromise to nuclear safety," he said. The MoD said the Vanguard returned to its base in Faslane, Scotland, with only "scrapes".