THE NAVY TODAY, IS REALLY NO DIFFERENT FROM THE NAVY OF YESTERYEAR, IN THAT IT IS MANNED BY ULTRA PROFESSIONALS SEEKING A NOBLE CAREER.  YOU CAN BET YOUR 'BOTTOM DOLLAR' THAT ALL WHO ARE CURRENTLY SERVING ARE PROUD TO DO SO AND ARE CONSCIOUS OF THE TRADITION THEY HAVE INHERITED.

THEY HAVE NO PUBLIC VOICE, NO UNION POWER, NO RIGHT TO INTERFERE IN POLITICS AND FOR THESE TIME HONOURED REASONS, WE, AS A COUNTRY NEVER HAVE TO FEAR A COUP OR MILITARY RULE.

ON THE OTHER HAND, THE COUNTRY CAN ALWAYS GUARANTEE A RAPID AND PROFESSIONAL RESPONSE FROM ITS NAVY ASSUMING THAT IS, THAT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR THE JOB.

IF THEY ARE AT ALL LIKE ME, THEY MAY HAVE IT IN THEIR MINDS AND THOUGHTS, THAT THEY FIRST SERVE THEIR SOVEREIGN, THEN THEIR COUNTRY AND LASTLY PARLIAMENT WHICH DOES NOT NECESSARILY TRULY REPRESENT THE WISHES OF THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM.

ON MANY ISSUES, PARLIAMENT AND THE WASP'S OF THIS COUNTRY, IS A 'THEM' AND 'US' SITUATION.

MORE AND MORE WE ARE BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND THE NEW MODUS OPERANDI OF THE NAVY WHICH IS NOT WHAT A MARITIME COUNTRY SHOULD BE DOING WITH ITS NAVAL FORCE.  IT WOULD APPEAR THAT WE ARE GOOD AT BUSTING DRUG RUNNING CARGO; AT PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO CIVIL AUTHORITIES; AT PROVIDING AND ASSISTING IN [SAR] SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS; AT MAINTAINING THE NUCLEAR DETERRENT AND OF COURSE, AT SHOWING THE FLAG ALTHOUGH NOT WORLD WIDE AS IT USED TO BE. WE ARE ALSO LEARNING OF THE PROBLEMS CAUSED BY PIRACY AND HOPEFULLY, WE ARE ADOPTING PROCEDURES TO CIRCUMVENT THESE ACTS, AND WHEN NOT POSSIBLE, TO RAPIDLY APPREHEND THE PIRATES.  WE DO ALSO INVOLVE OURSELVES IN EXERCISES DESIGNED TO HONE OUR COMBATANT SKILLS, BUT WITH SO FEW SHIPS AND ASSETS THESE PAY LITTLE MORE THAN LIP SERVICE.

ALL OF THIS, IN SOME FORM OR OTHER, WAS DONE BY THE ROYAL NAVY, CERTAINLY POST WW2, SO NOTHING REALLY NEW HERE. WHATEVER THE 'VALUE ASSET' OF THESE OPERATIONS ARE, AND THERE WILL BE MANY, THEY SHOULD BE SEEN AS SIDE ISSUES AND NOT AS PRIMARY ROLES.

OUR ROLE IS FIGHTING AT SEA AND TO DO THIS, WE HAVE TO HAVE SHIPS AND FACILITIES AND THE PERSONNEL TO MAN/USE THEM. ALTHOUGH AN OVER SIMPLIFICATION, THOSE THREE REQUIREMENTS ARE PREREQUISITES, AND WITHOUT THEM, WE DO NOT HAVE A NAVY BUT A COASTAL FORCE, OR A BUNCH OF KIND PARAMEDICS, OR AN INTERNATIONAL POLICE FORCE.

ALL THREE REQUIREMENTS REQUIRE A 'POT OF GOLD' AND PROBABLY THE MOST DIFFICULT TO PROCURE IS THE PERSONNEL REQUIREMENT; THE RIGHT NUMBERS OF THE RIGHT PEOPLE.  I AM RELIABLY INFORMED THAT WHILST THE MORALE IS GOOD, THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF FRUSTRATION IN THE NAVY BECAUSE OF THE HUGE AND ONGOING STATE OF FLUX IN RECRUITING, TRAINING, RETENTION, CONDITIONS OF SERVICE, PROMOTION PROSPECTS, MISSED PERSONAL TARGETS ETC. RECRUITING [UNLESS IN WAR OR EMERGENCIES] HAS ALWAYS BEEN A HEADACHE FOR THE SECOND SEA LORD, AND I SUSPECT, WILL ALWAYS BE.  THERE IS NO PANACEA AND MONEY ALONE WILL NOT KEEP THE RIGHT TYPE OF PERSON IN THE NAVY, WHEN THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE JUST NOT THERE TO BE HAD.  THE PROBLEM WILL ONLY EASE  WHEN FEWER AND FEWER RECRUITS ARE REQUIRED COMMENSURATE WITH THE DOWN SIZING OF THE FLEET.  CONVERSELY, THE PROBLEM WILL BECOME ACUTE, IF, AND THEY SURELY MUST BE, MANY MORE SHIPS ARE BUILT AND COMMISSIONED.

AS FOR THE OTHER TWO REQUIREMENTS, SHIPS AND FACILITIES [MATERIEL], ALL THAT IS REQUIRED IS THE WILLINGNESS TO MAINTAIN A STRONG NAVY AND THE FUNDS TO SUPPORT THAT STRONG NAVY.  BOTH AFFECT EACH OTHER, BUT I FEAR THAT IT IS THE FORMER, THE WILLINGNESS, WHICH IS LACKING.  MOREOVER, WHILST THE MONEY PROBLEM FLUCTUATES, THE WILLINGNESS CURSOR STAYS AT THE BOTTOM OF ITS SCALE CONTINUOUSLY, AND IS ONLY RAISED, ALBEIT GRUDGINGLY, WHEN WAR CLOUDS LOOM, AND THEN THERE IS UTTER PANIC AND MUCH BLAMING AND SHAMING.  AS AN ISLAND NATION, FED, CLOTHED, WATERED, OILED AND SHOPS FILLED WITH DESIRABLE GOODS, WE RELY TOTALLY UPON THE SEA AS OUR SURVIVAL CONDUIT.  NOTWITHSTANDING THE WEAPON USE, WHETHER THE BOW AND ARROW OR THE NEUTRON BOMB, SHIPS WILL USE THAT CONDUIT TO FEED US, AND THOSE SHIPS WILL HAVE TO BE PROTECTED IN ORDER THAT WE MIGHT SURVIVE AND WIN THE DAY.

IT IS BLATANTLY OBVIOUS THAT OUR POLITICAL LEADERS HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT LITTLE RHYME WHICH GOES LIKE THIS

"God and the Sailor all men adore
in times of trouble but not before
when the enemy's gone and the wrong is righted
God is forgotten and the Sailor slighted"

THEY ARE UNWILLING TO MAINTAIN A NAVY OF WORTH, AND THE MONEY FACTOR [OR THE LACK OF MONEY] IS BUT A FOP TO THE LIBERALS IN THE RANKS OF THE LEGISLATORS.

THE ROYAL NAVY OF TODAY MIGHT BE RENAMED THE RHN [ROYAL HAPLESS NAVY] FOR THESE PROFESSIONAL MEN AND WOMEN ARE EFFECTIVELY HELD BACK BY INSINCERE, INDIFFERENT, INCOMPETENT POLITICIANS FROM FULFILLING THEIR ASPIRATIONS AT THE CON OF THE ROYAL NAVY.  THE POLITICIANS APPEAR HELL-BENT ON DESTROYING THE NAVAL KUDOS, WHILST INCREASING THE NOTION THAT THE UK IS AN EASY TOUCH FOR A HAND-OUT, DEPLETING THE VERY FUNDS, WHICH GIVEN THE WILLINGNESS, COULD BUILD MORE SHIPS.

IT IS OFTEN SAID THAT THE WARSHIPS OF TODAY ARE SO FAR ADVANCED ON THOSE OF YESTERYEAR, THAT FEWER OF THEM ARE REQUIRED.  MANY DOUBT THE WISDOM OF THIS AND POINT OUT THAT EVEN ONE SHIP WHICH HAD ALL THE FIGHTING ASSETS REQUIRED WOULD BE PROHIBITIVELY EXPENSIVE TO BUILD.  THE NEW TYPE 45 IS A GOOD EXAMPLE.  IT IS CLAIMED THAT WHEN SHE IS STEAMING IN THE ENGLISH CHANNEL SHE CAN SEE [OR HEAR] POTENTIAL TARGETS LEAVING NEW YORK HARBOUR.  WHETHER ONE BELIEVES THAT OR NOT, DOES SHE DO THIS WITH HER SUPER-DUPER AIR RADAR, AND IF SO, CAN SHE DETECT SHIPS AND SUBMARINES OUT TO SUCH GREAT DISTANCES WITH HER SENSORS ? UNLESS RADAR HAS BEEN REDEFINED, TO DETECT IT, IT MUST FIRST TRANSMIT, AND WHEN IT DOES THAT, SHE HERSELF BECOMES AN EASY TARGET. HER ELECTRONIC WARFARE KIT WILL ALLOW HER TO LISTEN FOR RADARS TRANSMITTING, BUT THIS ALL SINGING DANCING MACHINERY OBVIOUSLY DOESN'T ADHERE TO A RADIO SILENCE POLICY.  DURING SUCH A PERIOD AFFECTING HER RADAR FREQUENCIES, SHE WOULD BE 'BLIND'.

WHATEVER, THE POLICY OF HAVING JUST A FEW ADVANCED SHIPS IS FLAWED IN SEA BATTLES, AND THE BEST EXAMPLE OF THIS, THOUGH IN A DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGICAL ERA IS THE GERMAN BATTLESHIP BISMARCK.  BISMARCK WAS BRAND NEW [HER FIRST VOYAGE INTO DEEP SEA] AND WAS ALL SIGNING AND DANCING.  IT TOOK A FLEET OF SHIPS TO DESTROY HER, BUT DESTROY HER THEY DID, AND IN GREAT STYLE TOO.  HITLER THOUGHT THAT HE ONLY NEEDED TWO SUCH SHIPS, BISMARCK AND TIRPITZ, TO SORT OUT THE BRITISH, BUT HOW VERY WRONG WAS HE.  NOW BRITAIN SEEMS TO THINK THAT HER ONE OR TWO SHIPS CAN SORT OUT OTHER GLOBAL NAVIES - I DON'T THINK SO - IT IS NOT ONLY IRRATIONAL TO THINK THAT WAY, BUT DISASTROUS AND UTTER ARROGANCE FOR OUR NAVY AND OUR COUNTRY.

DESPITE WHAT HAS BEEN SAID, THE TYPE 45 IS VULNERABLE IN MANY AREAS, TWO OF THEM OBVIOUS, SURFACE AND SUBMARINE ATTACKS.

NOW COMES THE CRUNCH !

FOR MANY MANY MONTHS NOW WE HAVE BEEN TOLD ABOUT THE TYPE 45 AND THAT THEY ARE THE MOST POTENT WEAPON PLATFORMS EVER.  WE HAVE SEEN HMS DARING, THE UGLIEST WARSHIP I HAVE EVER SEEN, AND WE HAVE SEEN CREW MEMBERS CLIMBING INTO THEIR BUNKS IN THEIR SPACIOUS SUITES [AND THAT'S THE JUNIOR RATES].  EVERYTHING HAS BEEN SO ROSY, AND SINCE THE ATTRIBUTES ARE SO GREAT AND SO MANY, THERE HAS BEEN NO TIME TO TELL US OF ANY SHORTCOMINGS TO THIS VESSEL AND HER YET TO COME SISTERS - SURELY THERE ARE NO SHORTCOMINGS ?

HMS DARING REMINDS ME OF THE SAYING
"BIG HAT BUT NO KNICKERS"
USUALLY WHEN REFERRING TO A WOMAN WHO IS ALL OUTWARD SHOW.

IN THIS CASE, HMS DARING'S HAT IS HER PRESENCE, HER HULL AND SUPERSTRUCTURE BUT HER KNICKERS ARE HER BIGGEST ASSET, NAMELY HER PAAMS, HER PRINCIPLE ANTI-AIR MISSILE SYSTEM - THE VERY REASON FOR THIS CLASS OF SHIP.  CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT SHE IS SWANING AROUND [YES, SWANING]

WITHOUT HER KNICKERS ON

 

The following article says it all, and really, softens the punch of the Type 45.

 

 

Friday, 13 March 2009

Navy's new destroyers 'delayed'

Navy's new destroyers 'delayed'

The Royal Navy's new Type 45 destroyers will be at least two years late, £1.5 billion over-budget, and will initially set to sea without their crucial anti-aircraft missile system, the Whitehall spending watchdog has warned.

The National Audit Office said that delays to the Type 45 programme meant the Navy was having to extend the life of its ageing Type 42s which were originally designed for the Cold War.

It said that the problems with the project had become so severe, there had been a breakdown in the relationship between the MoD and the shipbuilders, BVT, forcing a complete renegotiation of the contract.

The NAO also warned that the decision to halve the Type 45 fleet, from 12 to six, meant the Navy would struggle to meet its aim of always having five available to protect its two new aircraft carriers once they become operational.

The total cost of the Type 45 programme is now estimated at £6.5 billion - a 29% increase on the original budget of £5 billion.

The MoD is aiming to get the first of the new ships, HMS Daring, into service at the end of this year - two years later than planned - although the NAO said that meeting even this revised target would be "challenging".

Even then, Daring will not get its new principle anti-air missile system (PAAMS) - which can shoot down multiple enemy aircraft or missiles simultaneously - until 2011, although the MoD believes it could be deployed earlier in an emergency.

The ship's full communications system will also not be ready until after 2009, while the US-designed co-operative engagement capability (CEC) - linking weapons systems and sensors on a number of ships, improving their ability to fight together - will not be available until 2014, after the last of the Type 45s had entered service.

The NAO acknowledged that the MoD had always planned to install the full range of capabilities "incrementally" as the ships started becoming operational. However, it pointed out that the Navy was relying on the new technology, like CEC, to make up for the fact that it was now acquiring fewer Type 45s than originally planned.

Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Nick Harvey said: "Even by MoD standards this is a colossal budget overspend and will be met with genuine outrage. It beggars belief that the MoD can blow so much on poor project management while our troops are risking their lives because of a lack of armoured vehicles and helicopters. The troops and the taxpayers deserve far better than this. We cannot go on with this catalogue of procurement disasters."

 Thus not only are modern ships UGLY [and Stealth is not proven in battle so we don't yet know if this ugliness is worth it] but they are not equipped for the job they were built for.  HMS Bristol, a Type 82 [and the only one of her type ever built] was built to look after our SPECIAL new carrier[s], just like the 45's  will look after the two royal named carriers.  The carrier[s] in Bristol time was/were never built, and it could yet be, that the royal named carriers won't celebrate a commissioning party either. Bristol was a lovely looking ship and at first she bristled with weapons from her helicopter, to ASW Mortar Mk10 Limbo, Sea Dart missile, IKARA missile and MRS3 4.5" gun - she was later modified.  It was smart and functional, and not only wore knickers, it had a most enviable knicker drawer full of changes - every colour and size imaginable.  The only difference between the Bristol/CVA01 carrier issue and that of the Type 45/HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales issue, was a man called David Luce.  He was the First Sea Lord and was so disgusted with the then Labour Party, that he resigned and so did all the other admirals.  Admirals today lack that gutsy approach in dealing with crap civilian politicians and civilian support idiots. Have a look here for that story THE PROMISED TWO NEW AIRCRAFT CARRIERS

 Now before we part company, let me show some of you and remind others, of what a pretty lady warship should look like.  She was one of three ships of the class built, but her career was cut short because she wasn't selected for conversion into a Command and Control HELO Cruiser. Her sisters, the Blake and the Tiger were converted and had a long life in service. Tiger arrived in Spain on the 28th September 1986 for breaking up which saw the end of the 6" gun in the Royal Navy.  The ship I have chosen as the Miss Navy Champion is HMS Lion. She looked like a warship, was admired wherever she went, and she could perform like a warship.  Have a look at this picture.

Sailors of today, be proud of the Service and of the ship in which you serve, but also be aware that when compared to yesteryear, your navy lacks much.

Yours aye.

PS.  Is there any truth in the buzz that DCI's are being withdrawn and in their place a weekly COMIC will be issued ?