Posted on 11/01/2011 7:49:53 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
No Royal Navy warships left to guard Britain
DEFENCE HMS Portland was the last ship to be guarding British waters
By Michael Powell
Published on Tuesday 1 November 2011 15:30
DEFENCE cuts and the war in Libya have left the Royal Navy without a ship on emergency stand-by in British waters for the past four weeks, The News can reveal.
A frigate or destroyer is usually tasked to be in the UK at high readiness to respond to an emergency at home or abroad at a moment’s notice.
But the slashed navy has become so stretched that admirals have been left without a ship ready enough to fulfil the Fleet Ready Escort (FRE) role since the start of October. The last ship in the key role was HMS Portland, which left the position to take part in a fortnight of war games off the coast of Scotland on October 3 and is now having a rest period in Plymouth.
The navy sought to play down the gap, with a spokesman calling the FRE role a ‘luxury’.
But former First Sea Lord, Admiral Lord Alan West, said: ‘I would hardly say it is a luxury. If there was a terrorism incident in UK waters, this would historically be the ship sent in to deal with it.
‘It’s a big problem. If we haven’t got a ship ready to do this role then it’s worrying. It’s a very unsatisfactory position to be in.’
The shortage comes after the government cut the navy’s surface fleet to 19 frigates and destroyers in last year’s defence review.
Critics warned the cuts would leave the navy overstretched. Having had 10 frigates and destroyers deployed to Libya since February, there are now none left to be the FRE.
The MoD would not confirm the last time Britain did not have an FRE, but it is believed that was probably in 1982 after every available ship left for the Falklands War.
Lord West said: ‘What it shows is that the number of frigates and destroyers we’ve got now is insufficient. We need more ships as a matter of urgency.’
The navy denied British waters were unprotected and said ‘other assets’ were available. But it is understood these ships would take longer than an FRE to respond in an emergency because they are either undergoing maintenance, on sea trials preparing for operations, or are in a rest period having recently returned from sea.
The navy confirmed the lack of an FRE comes as a direct result of Britain’s role in Nato’s Libya operations, which officially ended at 9.59pm last night.
A spokesman said: ‘Due to the successful deployment of Royal Navy units to the Libya campaign, it has been necessary to reprofile the commitments of some ships.
‘Should a Fleet Ready Escort activation be required, a Royal Navy ship would be allocated.’
Asked why there has not been an FRE since HMS Portland, the navy spokesman said: ‘We do not need one currently. We’ve got ships off Libya and they are returning now. That’s the situation. We’ve had to look after our priorities and be flexible. We are doing the best with what we have got.’
First Sea Lord warned war would stretch navy
THE First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope was given a dressing-down by Prime Minister David Cameron in June when he warned the Royal Navy would become stretched if operations in Libya went on beyond September.
Now it appears Sir Mark’s controversial comments were an accurate appraisal of the state of the navy.
The deployment of 10 warships to Libya since February has left the service without a single ship in home waters at the level of high readiness required to be designated as the Fleet Ready Escort .
The FRE role demands a frigate or destroyer to be on a war footing to go anywhere she is needed in an emergency situation, whether it is in home waters or abroad.
The navy says it has to be flexible in these times of austerity and the role could be filled at short notice.
But military experts have expressed fears the navy fleet has shrunk to unsustainable levels and today’s revelation that Britain has not had an FRE since the start of October is likely to reignite a debate that has dogged the government ever since it cut 10 navy ships in last year’s Strategic Defence and Security Review to plug a £38bn black hole in the MoD’s budget.
I was wondering the same thing...
Oh...by far and away. And they have had for some time.
The JMSDF is arguably the 2nd most effective and largest destroyer navy in the World next to the US.
Their AEGIS destroyers and newer flat deck helo carriers and amphibious ships are very powerful and they continue to upgrade and modernize.
They do a lot of training as well.
They have over fifty modern destroyers.
I am the monarch of the sea,
The ruler of the Queen’s Navee,
Whose praise Great Britain loudly chants.
When at anchor here I ride,
My bosom swells with pride,
And I snap my fingers at a foeman’s taunts;
But when the breezes blow,
I generally go below,
And seek the seclusion that a cabin grants;
When I was a lad I served a term
As office boy to an Attorney’s firm.
I cleaned the windows and I swept the floor,
And I polished up the handle of the big front door.
I polished up that handle so carefullee
That now I am the Ruler of the Queen’s Navee!
As office boy I made such a mark
That they gave me the post of a junior clerk.
I served the writs with a smile so bland,
And I copied all the letters in a big round hand —
I copied all the letters in a hand so free,
That now I am the Ruler of the Queen’s Navee!
In serving writs I made such a name
That an articled clerk I soon became;
I wore clean collars and a brand-new suit
For the pass examination at the Institute,
And that pass examination did so well for me,
That now I am the Ruler of the Queen’s Navee!
Of legal knowledge I acquired such a grip
That they took me into the partnership.
And that junior partnership, I ween,
Was the only ship that I ever had seen.
But that kind of ship so suited me,
That now I am the Ruler of the Queen’s Navee!
I grew so rich that I was sent
By a pocket borough into Parliament.
I always voted at my party’s call,
And I never thought of thinking for myself at all.
I thought so little, they rewarded me
By making me the Ruler of the Queen’s Navee!
Now landsmen all, whoever you may be,
If you want to rise to the top of the tree,
If your soul isn’t fettered to an office stool,
Be careful to be guided by this golden rule —
Stick close to your desks and never go to sea,
And you all may be rulers of the Queen’s Navee!
What a sad state to which this once-great and powerful ally has been reduced by a spineless parliament afraid to offend the people who intend to kill them.
don’t worry... the US has been following suit since bjclinton
Ah, many thanks..I saw Victory in the early 60’s..for some reason I had it in my mind that she still floated
Thanks. I borrowed it from “War and Peace.”
So we do it. Just like what we do for the rest of Europe. Hope our credit with China remains good.
Don’t talk to me about naval tradition. It’s nothing but rum, sodomy, the lash and exitinction....
If you don’t have a ship to defend your own country what’s the point in having a Navy?
Their present, America’s future, as we transform into welfare entitlement states.
It was not all that long ago....
Hey Arch, on a related note, I just posted this request for help on a naval board. Any thoughts?
Hello,
I was Google searching for information on Norwegian “Storm” class PBs, and I came across a very interesting discussion of the Bofors 57 vs the Otto Malera 76. Now I can see that this is an excellent forum for posting a few questions. I’m a novelist, but in my youth I was a U.S. Navy SEAL lieutenant for a few years. (yes, really). During Operation Alloy Express 82 I was part of a combined USN and British Navy fleet operation in Northern Norway. One fine day while transiting toward the coast some of these Storm class PBs (anyway, that’s what I think they were) came roaring out of nowhere in the rain, mist and fog and ran at full speed criss-crossing among our squadron of big amphibious ships. I was impressed by their seamanship in coming out at such high speed in about Sea State 6 or worse. In fact, we were all cheering for the Norwegian “opfor” sailors, even though they had clearly “killed” us by already launching hypothetical missiles and torpedos at us long before we even saw them, or even knew they were lurking somewhere just over the horizon among a thousand little islands.
Anyway, I’m now a novelist, and my next book will feature an old Storm class patrol boat that has been handed down to the Latvian Navy, then finally to a private military “non-governmental organization” supposedly (but not actually) for use in enforcing the national fishing exclusion zones of some third world nation. In fact, it will be put to other more devious uses. Modern piracy, with lots of treacherous maritime skullduggery.
In the novel, the Penquin missile cannisters will have long ago been stripped off the aft deck, which will be modified with a ramp for launching and recovering large Rigid Inflatable Boats. (That’s the SEAL in me.) I am not sure if I want to stick with the original Bofors TAK 76 (as it’s listed on Wiki) forward, and the original Bofors 40mm aft. It would be easy enough (hey, it’s just fiction) to postulate a modern OM 76 forward, and a more modern gun aft. Or perhaps a Bofors 57 forward? The boat will operate totally unsupported: no big brother ships, no air support, just one small patrol boat on a big ocean. On the other hand, the fictional world economy is in semi-collapse, and there are almost no maritime patrol aircraft operating.
Any thoughts, any ideas? If you were outfitting this little ship with modern armaments, within plausible bounds, what would you choose?
And especially, if you know anybody who ever served aboard a Storm class PB, I’d love to be put into contact with them.
Thanks,
“Does this mean that moslem pirates will again start raiding England?”
That’s the plot of my next novel, set against CW in Europe.
One carrier, two being built.
The British can do much regarding the Falklands.
There is a sizeable and heavily armed garrison on the island, which would cut any landing to ribbons (remember what just 50 Royal Marines nearly did to the landing force in 1982). There is a naval presence in the South Atlantic, and a nuclear sub in the UK on permanent standby.
Britain still punches above its weight as far as the military goes. We may not be what we once were, but we are not the useless dhimmi nation the myth would have us.
Our U.S. Navy status will be much the same shape as the U.K. 10-20 years if DEMS and GOP stay on the same course as they are going now. Of course I am awaiting the obligatory GOP defenders and apologist saying we don’t need a large Navy anymore.
What, no sails? Okay, my first move would be to go with a Finnish R-boat rather than a Storm. Per Wiki:
The R class was much liked in the Finnish Navy, due to their low fuel consumption and their good sea-going qualities. They were in principle unsinkable (the vessels could have a list of 115 degrees without sinking and still return to upright position).
Armament depends to a large part on how many crew members you have to operate and pass ammo. The Norwegians had a crew of 19 men on their Storms, the Latvians two dozen. The R-boats were a bit slower, circa 20 knots, but had a bit more displacement and a bit more HP, I think.
Guns: well, if an Oto Melara twin 40/L70 DARDO is out [doubles as a CWIS] by virtue of weight- 6 tons before adding ammo- I'd think strongly about the Oerlikon Millennium 35 mm naval gun systen or its South African Denal equivalent. It'll fit a six square metres of deck space with no through deck penetration and needs no supply of coolant, air or ship's power to operate and a Millennium gun and 252 rounds weighs in at 3,200 kg. Of course, unmanned automated gun systems still have a few bugs to be worked out.
So far as a 76mm/3-inch gun goes, the Italian Otobreda 76 mm was flat-out designed for use on light patrol boats, and offer a turret-mounted autonomous gun that fits the footprint of the old US Navy Dual-purpose 3"/50 caliber guns- which weighed in at around 7500 pounds.
No room for the bigbore gun, or the weight penalty for the gun and ammo is too high? Out to around 6000 meters, a pair of 9M123 twin-rail mount Khrizantema AT missile launcher from the 9P157-2 Khrizantema-S tank destroyer, mounted port and starboard would be useful against both small surface vessels and low-flying helos or UAVs. As well as any tanks floating around....
But if nothing else is handy or available, one of the Israeli upgraded M55 quad fifty mounts refitted with a pair of 20mm autocannons [TCM-20] would do. And they're very available....
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![the Israeli upgraded M55 quad fifty mounts refitted with a pair of 20mm autocannons [TCM-20]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/TCM-20-hatzerim-2.jpg){kind=link}