There is nothing quite like the buzz on a warship that is about to deploy. There are hundreds of people coming and going each day, each with their own part to play. The ship is being cleaned up, scaffolding comes down, maintenance hatches are put back in, the false decking that makes the inside of the ship so untidy is being ditched. New joiners arrive every day for induction; all are slightly nervous but keen to get going. Well, most are…
It feels like the ship is somehow tightening up. For me it always brought a mix of excited anticipation, a little bit of fear (is this going to be “the one”?) and some sadness as yet another period of family separation loomed.
And so it will be in the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales today and her accompanying group as they get ready for their eight month trip to the Indo-Pacific. It was announced on Wednesday that the ships of Operation High Mast will sail on 22 April.
The accompanying figures are impressive. Op High Mast will involve 4,000 service personnel: 2,500 from the Navy, 900 from the British Army and just under 600 from the RAF, many of whom will be in the flagship supporting 24 embarked UK fighter jets. Twelve countries are involved with Norway, Spain and Canada all contributing ships. The task group itself includes our carrier, a Type 45 destroyer, a Type 23 Frigate, a Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker and a nuclear powered attack submarine. The Norwegian navy will contribute a frigate (with a Royal Navy helicopter embarked) and a replenishment ship whilst Spain and Canada send one frigate each.
Comparisons with the US are inevitable, so I’ll summarise it by saying our group is numerically larger but has slightly less tonnage than a standard US Navy Carrier Strike Group. In one area in particular, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), the Royal Navy led force is better. There are also decent overlapping capabilities between the different ships and the British CSG can therefore protect itself against all surface threats and everything but the very most dangerous missiles. The Type 45 destroyer and Type 23 frigate already have a number of kills on their score sheet, including an Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile.
There is nothing quite like the buzz on a warship that is about to deploy. There are hundreds of people coming and going each day, each with their own part to play. The ship is being cleaned up, scaffolding comes down, maintenance hatches are put back in, the false decking that makes the inside of the ship so untidy is being ditched. New joiners arrive every day for induction; all are slightly nervous but keen to get going. Well, most are…
It feels like the ship is somehow tightening up. For me it always brought a mix of excited anticipation, a little bit of fear (is this going to be “the one”?) and some sadness as yet another period of family separation loomed.
And so it will be in the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales today and her accompanying group as they get ready for their eight month trip to the Indo-Pacific. It was announced on Wednesday that the ships of Operation High Mast will sail on 22 April.
The accompanying figures are impressive. Op High Mast will involve 4,000 service personnel: 2,500 from the Navy, 900 from the British Army and just under 600 from the RAF, many of whom will be in the flagship supporting 24 embarked UK fighter jets. Twelve countries are involved with Norway, Spain and Canada all contributing ships. The task group itself includes our carrier, a Type 45 destroyer, a Type 23 Frigate, a Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker and a nuclear powered attack submarine. The Norwegian navy will contribute a frigate (with a Royal Navy helicopter embarked) and a replenishment ship whilst Spain and Canada send one frigate each.
Comparisons with the US are inevitable, so I’ll summarise it by saying our group is numerically larger but has slightly less tonnage than a standard US Navy Carrier Strike Group. In one area in particular, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), the Royal Navy led force is better. There are also decent overlapping capabilities between the different ships and the British CSG can therefore protect itself against all surface threats and everything but the very most dangerous missiles. The Type 45 destroyer and Type 23 frigate already have a number of kills on their score sheet, including an Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile.