HMS Coventry - 1980 Far East Deployment

[shed driver]

Fantastic bit of film



SD.

[Earthdweller]

Real piece of history there

Great find

[Pilotguy]

Great video, really captures the feel of sea time in the RN at the time. I joined up in September ‘80 and first ship was a sister T42, Birmingham. I never went to sea on her though, experiencing my first time at sea in. Devonport-based T22, Battleaxe in 1981.

Loved the Shanty singing in the mess, don’t ever remember hearing anything like that in those days.

[MoggieMinor]

What a fascinating piece of film. The response to the steering gear failure was good to watch. Huge respect to those in all the Services.

The GT6 looked the part too.

[Psycho Warren]

Good video!

Pilotguy said:

I joined up in September ‘80 and first ship was a sister T42, Birmingham. I never went to sea on her though, experiencing my first time at sea in. Devonport-based T22, Battleaxe in 1981.

Birmingham was my first ship once I had passed out of BRNC. Was her last deployment before decommissioning. She was proper outdated by 1999 when i was on her.

[Ayahuasca]

I wonder if any of the crew who appeared in the film were killed when she was bombed and sunk a couple of years after it was filmed?

[shed driver]

Ayahuasca said:

I wonder if any of the crew who appeared in the film were killed when she was bombed and sunk a couple of years after it was filmed?

I wondered that myself. I had a contact on HMS Coventry from the Falklands campaign. Sadly he has passed away.

I'll see if any of my notes have any other names.

SD.

[texaxile]

As a bump to this thread, I've just watched "seconds from disaster" on Sky about the tragic events of the Falklands War and the sinking of her. subsequently I did a bot of googling and found this article:

https://www.navylookout.com/protecting-the-secrets...

It's an account of one of the Divers tasked with sensitive information recovery . I do have a question, reading the comments someone states something about the "crypto" being a red herring and that the Ship may have been carrying a Nuclear Weapon (or rather it is inferred by the comment). However, it matters not , i'm just being curious, because it is a very interesting read.

I'm now going to re read "Shed Drivers" excellent and informative thread "Half a World and half a lifetime away" again.

[shed driver]

texaxile said:

As a bump to this thread, I've just watched "seconds from disaster" on Sky about the tragic events of the Falklands War and the sinking of her. subsequently I did a bot of googling and found this article:

https://www.navylookout.com/protecting-the-secrets...

It's an account of one of the Divers tasked with sensitive information recovery . I do have a question, reading the comments someone states something about the "crypto" being a red herring and that the Ship may have been carrying a Nuclear Weapon (or rather it is inferred by the comment). However, it matters not , i'm just being curious, because it is a very interesting read.

I'm now going to re read "Shed Drivers" excellent and informative thread "Half a World and half a lifetime away" again.

Thanks, blushes.

Nuclear weapons were carried to the South Atlantic as many ships were unable to offload them before the dash south. This document - https://1drv.ms/b/s!Ane9lOTY5nFrrmgB4qKPQU_YFKjx?e... - explains it in further detail.

SD.

[texaxile]

A most interesting link, thanks

BTW your "Half a world" topic is really good reading. I found that going through it a second time and also following the links others provided in the replies can easily take up a chunks of an evening. A nice big mug of tea and half a packet of Digestives later...

Without going too far OT and risking the wrath of the Mod team (apologies), I've just purchased "Goose Green" by Nigel Ely, a very good book and somewhat eye opening.

[bitchstewie]

Two very sobering reads thanks both.

[ric p]

shed driver said:

Fantastic bit of film



SD.

What a great watch. Thanks

I joined in the early ‘90s and did 20+ years. What is incredible is how much was the same a decade later. I landed on a 42 in my Mk 7 Lynx a couple of times, the flight deck is bloody tiny and 17’ above sea level, if I remember correctly. When in the hover along side, you’d regularly see the screws coming out of the water as the ship pitched. Deck landings, the sport of kings.

Even when I left, some of the stuff in that film was recognisable. The sticky green mats on the tables defy science in the way they stop the plates sliding off in any sea state.

But if you’d seen the Warship programme recently about HMS QE, that is a generational step change.

[ruwokeenuff]

ric p said:

shed driver said:

Fantastic bit of film



SD.

What a great watch. Thanks

I joined in the early ‘90s and did 20+ years. What is incredible is how much was the same a decade later. I landed on a 42 in my Mk 7 Lynx a couple of times, the flight deck is bloody tiny and 17’ above sea level, if I remember correctly. When in the hover along side, you’d regularly see the screws coming out of the water as the ship pitched. Deck landings, the sport of kings.

Even when I left, some of the stuff in that film was recognisable. The sticky green mats on the tables defy science in the way they stop the plates sliding off in any sea state.

But if you’d seen the Warship programme recently about HMS QE, that is a generational step change.

You would have laughed being on old Rothesays then. you could feel them flex! And as to a tiny flight deck.........The hangar was miniscule but then again I wont even mention Tribals!!!

[shed driver]

Talking of small flight decks HMS Glasgow refuelled a Sea King at the hover during the 1982 conflict. You can hear a recording taken during this event here - https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ane9lOTY5nFrrlu1pIgEwHxsSxcZ?e...

Apparently there was about a metre between the rotor disc and the ship's superstructure.

SD.

[Ayahuasca]

ric p said:

shed driver said:

Fantastic bit of film



SD.

What a great watch. Thanks

I joined in the early ‘90s and did 20+ years. What is incredible is how much was the same a decade later. I landed on a 42 in my Mk 7 Lynx a couple of times, the flight deck is bloody tiny and 17’ above sea level, if I remember correctly. When in the hover along side, you’d regularly see the screws coming out of the water as the ship pitched. Deck landings, the sport of kings.

Even when I left, some of the stuff in that film was recognisable. The sticky green mats on the tables defy science in the way they stop the plates sliding off in any sea state.

But if you’d seen the Warship programme recently about HMS QE, that is a generational step change.

At the beginning, the sailors who had presumably been on guard duty in Singapore with SLRs….

Showed the NCO that the action was clear, NCO confirmed ‘clear’ then the sailor let the working parts move forward - WITH A MAGAZINE ATTACHED! The rifle was thus very much not clear, it was loaded and made ready to fire!

[Mercdriver]

If the screws are suddenly above the waterline does that damage the engines as they now have no load on them?

[texaxile]

Ayahuasca said:

At the beginning, the sailors who had presumably been on guard duty in Singapore with SLRs….

Showed the NCO that the action was clear, NCO confirmed ‘clear’ then the sailor let the working parts move forward - WITH A MAGAZINE ATTACHED! The rifle was thus very much not clear, it was loaded and made ready to fire!

I think I know the answer, but in a "friendly" port such as Singapore, would the Sentries on Duty have live ammunition?. Never having been in the military, it's one of those questions that I've often pondered, and although my Dad did 25yrs in the RN he was Supply and Secretariat and I've never thought to ask him!.

[ric p]

shed driver said:

Talking of small flight decks HMS Glasgow refuelled a Sea King at the hover during the 1982 conflict. You can hear a recording taken during this event here - https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ane9lOTY5nFrrlu1pIgEwHxsSxcZ?e...

Apparently there was about a metre between the rotor disc and the ship's superstructure.

SD.

I was a SeaKing driver as well. It was not cleared to land on a Type 42 and I don’t think it would had fitted anyway. (Although I seem to remember that someone did get one on the deck after suffering an emergency of some type with the tail wheel tucked right into the aft corner!)

Thus at sea it was a regularly practiced evolution for HIFR, helicopter in-flight refuel, to enable us to take fuel from either a deck too small or when the ship couldn’t or wouldn’t come to a flying course.

You’d hover over the deck and they’d attach the fuel hose to the winch cable, which you’d winch up. The crewman would then attach it to the fuel point and move back over the water. The ship could pump fuel to the aircraft. Once complete, drop the hose hack on the deck.

However often the ship’s pumps were somewhat feeble to pump fuel uphill. So you’d try to hover as low as possible to assist and even the it felt as it you were burning as much in the hover as you were taking onboard. Sat at 15’ alongside a pitching ship. Cool stuff in an aircraft designed 20 years before I was born!

[4.7AMV8]

ric p said:

I was a SeaKing driver as well. It was not cleared to land on a Type 42 and I don’t think it would had fitted anyway. (Although I seem to remember that someone did get one on the deck after suffering an emergency of some type with the tail wheel tucked right into the aft corner!)

Thus at sea it was a regularly practiced evolution for HIFR, helicopter in-flight refuel, to enable us to take fuel from either a deck too small or when the ship couldn’t or wouldn’t come to a flying course.

You’d hover over the deck and they’d attach the fuel hose to the winch cable, which you’d winch up. The crewman would then attach it to the fuel point and move back over the water. The ship could pump fuel to the aircraft. Once complete, drop the hose hack on the deck.

However often the ship’s pumps were somewhat feeble to pump fuel uphill. So you’d try to hover as low as possible to assist and even the it felt as it you were burning as much in the hover as you were taking onboard. Sat at 15’ alongside a pitching ship. Cool stuff in an aircraft designed 20 years before I was born!

I used to work for the company that made HIFR. The Navy send them back still to be refurbished.

[ric p]

4.7AMV8 said:

I used to work for the company that made HIFR. The Navy send them back still to be refurbished.

Sorry then, it was my rubbish hovering dragging the hose all over the deck that kept you busy!