Historic Warships News Sheet (News of the Historic Warships Group based at The Historic Dockyard Chatham) December 2010

Happy Christmas……… to all readers and particularly the volunteers and staff who have done a massive amount of work on the Historic Warships and numerous other items, during the year. Also – many of you have asked when another News Sheet was going to be produced, the last one being in March this year. Apologies for the delay but the editor has been occupied with a number of other things, a major one being the building of a new web site after the previous hosting organisation advised that they would cease the service at the end of October this year. The new site is up and running and can be seen at www.historicwarships.btck.co.uk The old web site address will route to the new site for another few months so, if you visit the site, please bookmark the new address. As well as the usual information about the ships and small boats, the intention is to have additional pages of a more general ‘naval and maritime’ nature including a history of and brief history of . These pages are currently under development. There is also an ‘Other News Items’ page which will be updated from time to time. For those who have regularly visited the dockyard during the year, you will have noticed or been aware of some significant activities taking place. The dry-docking of HMS Cavalier was finished in time for the Armed Forces Day celebrations in June, the opening of No 1 Smithery took place in July, in September HMS Cavalier won the Best Education Project in the annual National Lottery Awards and HMS Gannet’s foremast was partially dismantled in October so repairs could be carried out. More details on some of these can be found elsewhere in this News Sheet The next year will see work continuing on the Historic Ships with HMS Gannet and HMS Cavalier receiving much attention. There will no doubt be plenty of other work to be done elsewhere so 2011 promises to be another busy, and exciting, year. So it only remains to wish all readers a Happy, Healthy and (in these somewhat austere times) a Prosperous New Year!

Repaired and re-floated . As well as the hull repairs and painting, significant work has been taking place on the aft superstructure. Rusty Following the dry-docking earlier in the year, repairs to steelwork has been cut away and replaced on the forward Cavalier’s hull and a re-paint were completed in May with bulkhead of the Seacat Missile Handling Room, parts of the the ship being refloated in early June – in time for the Deck over the Sickbay have been repaired and Armed Forces Day on Sunday 27 June. attention has now shifted to the port side of the Seacat Several holes were found in the hull with some of them Missile Compartments. Currently scaffolding is in place needing major work. Contractors were employed to cut out around this area. rusted steel plates and weld new ones in. Once all repairs were completed the final coat of paint could be applied and the ship refloated. As expected, some small leaks were found after refloating but these have been dealt with by our own staff and volunteers. Whilst in dry-dock the ship also had a complete repaint of the hull and superstructure.

At the same time, some holes in the main deck above the forward seamen’s mess and the MEO’s cabin have also been repaired. Clearly there is still a great deal to be done on Cavalier and one project which is planned to take place soon, is that of restoring the 1 st Lieutenants cabin within the Bridge superstructure. The picture above shows Cavalier freshly painted and For 2011 work will continue on superstructure repairs with afloat again in No 2 Dock. other work taking place as necessary as and when problems emerge. One fundamental principle applies and that is steel rusts, so a ship such as Cavalier needs boiler room casing renovated and the wheelhouse brought constant attention and repairs to keep her in good shape. back to its former glory.

The HSL (seen above) sits outside Number 3 Slip but still under cover so protected from the worst of the weather. CMB 103 – more than a makeover! This picture shows the wheelhouse back in position and Reference to the CMB (Coastal Motor Boat - which when in the scaffolding, which has surrounded the HSL for a few service had 103) has been made before in years, removed. previous News Sheets. The CMB has been undergoing The funnel and engine room air intakes are yet to be repairs for some time now although, with limited resource refitted. It is still hoped at some point to refit the engine and funds, the work has to be fitted around other, more and boiler. pressing, commitments.

During November this year work recommenced with the Wheelhouse skin being replaced prior to painting. The aft Cavalier Wins section of the Wheelhouse is also being repaired in the On 4 September, HMS Cavalier won a National Lottery workshop before being refitted to the boat. In addition, new award for the ‘Best Education Project’ of 2010. This is a rubbing strakes are being fitted and the upper hull section tremendous achievement and reflects upon the hard work given a new canvas coating which is then painted. by all involved in the restoration of the aft end; creating and promoting facilities for youth groups to stay aboard the ship and experience life aboard a World War 2 .

Number 1 Smithery No doubt many readers will already be aware but this year, saw the opening of Number 1 Smithery with its collection of model ships/boats and an exhibition of Stanley Spencer paintings. Number 1 Smithery, the main building alongside Museum Square (the large area of pea shingle opposite the covered Slips) was the recipient of over £13m of lottery and other funds resulting in a complete restoration and fitting of a purpose built exhibition area inside the original building structure. The official opening attracted considerable attention from the press and media and took place on 24 July being billed Photo above shows Wheelhouse under repair. as ‘The Greatest Launch at Chatham since HMS Victory.’ Although, due to her age, the hull is structurally weak, the The Stanley Spencer paintings exhibition consists of work will result in CMB 103 looking like she did many years paintings of shipyard workers, done by Stanley Spencer ago when still in service. The last surviving 70 foot CMB, during World War 2. Spencer was a renowned artist and No 103 was originally designed as a minelayer and had a was specially commissioned by the government to record top speed of more than 30 knots. the work of ship workers during that time. He made a series of sketches and then produced some remarkable She is owned by the Imperial War Museum which also paintings exhibited in No 1 Smithery, up to 12 December owns a 55 foot CMB based at Duxford Aerodrome in this year. Cambridgeshire. The picture to the left shows HSL Resplendent! the exhibition. Photo No, not the name of a vessel but how the HSL (Harbour courtesy of Steam Launch) looks after it’s repairs and repaint. Over the Historic several months the hull was repaired and repainted with Dockyard, the funnel and air intakes being restored, the engine and Chatham .

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A large collection of model ships and boats, including many Unfortunately the mast had rotted from the inside so early loaned from the Imperial War Museum and National detection was not possible and by the time the problem Maritime Museum collections, occupies a considerable part was evident, it was too late to save that section. of the space within No 1 Smithery. The photo below shows the foremast with the top sections Fixed in positions around Museum Square are various and yards missing – it will have to be removed and items of heavy dockyard machinery which would have replaced in 2011. been used when the yard was in its heyday, building iron and steel ships for the .

One massive item is the set of steel plate rollers which some of our group’s members worked on ‘de-rusting’ and repainting, prior to the rollers re-assembly opposite the entrance to Wheelwrights Restaurant.

Gannet’s revamp In 2009 Gannet was dry-docked and the hull cleaned and inspected. All was well and this year the ship benefited The yards, topmast and boom are currently under cover in from a complete repaint Number 3 Slip and are having their paint rubbed down with any necessary repairs carried out followed by a complete of the hull with many of repaint. the masts and yards also being repainted The gaff (boom) was found to have some rot in one section and some more of the which has been cut out and is waiting to have a new piece running rigging replaced. The photo above was taken on of timber fitted in. 1st October but, unfortunately, later that month, whilst work was being carried out on the foremast, some serious rot was discovered which resulted in the foremast being disassembled leaving the lower section in place awaiting removal and replacement with a new piece.

All the yards, top mast and gaff have been thoroughly rubber down and inspected with an anti-rot compound being inserted in some small drilled holes which are then plugged. Whilst these items are under cover it’s an ideal opportunity to carry out a thorough clean and repaint to ensure they can withstand the weather for many years to come. Repairs should be completed next year.

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Around the Dockyard On display in Number 3 Slip is XE8 which was never used in action the vessel being completed too late in the war. Mention has been made in previous News Sheets of some She was used as in X craft in the 1955 film, Above Us the of the buildings that comprise the Historic Dockyard. Waves , about the attack on the Tirpitz . Subsequently Number 1 Smithery has already been mentioned above being used as an underwater target she was raised in and Number 3 covered Slip has been mentioned as the 1972, taken to the Imperial War Museum at Duxford and place where, amongst many other things, Gannet’s after some restoration, loaned to the Historic Dockyard foremast yards are being stored whilst work on them is Chatham. carried out. Number 3 Slip was completed in 1838 and at the time was the one of the world’s largest timber span structures. A mezzanine level was added in 1901 and can be accessed today. From the mezzanine level, the view of the roof is spectacular and well worth a visit.

Currently XE8 is undergoing some conservation work but can still be viewed although scaffolding does obstruct some parts. Aside from the ships boats and XE3, Number 3 Slip houses part of the Royal Engineers Museum’s collection of large objects, old dockyard machinery, a collection of cannons, the railway coach used by Lord Kitchener in the First World War and many other items. This level was added when the Slip was no longer used for ship construction and was utilised for storage of ships A visit is highly recommended – you may be surprised at boats. just what there is to see! Currently Number 3 Slip, also known as ‘The Big Store’ is used to house and display many of the larger objects, as Where are these? well as a number of ships boats.

The boat pictured below is a 32 foot motor cutter which was repaired and repainted in 2009.

If you think you know the answer, let the editor know.

Some reminders to Historic Warships volunteers: • Parking of cars – please ensure you park in the designated car parks which can be found at: o Anchor Wharf (CDHS) A more unusual exhibit is a midget submarine, known as o Helipad Car Park (all groups) an ‘X’ craft. o J Block Car Park (all groups) These boats (the term is used in the Royal Navy for a o Main Visitor Car Park (all groups) submarine) are famous for the attacks on the German There may be times you may need to load or Battleship, Tirpitz , during the Second World War. Lesser unload your vehicle within the immediate area known is their use in the against the Japanese you are working on site, but please move it to Navy. The vessels constructed for this purpose (a total of one of the allocated areas as soon as you can. 12) were known as ‘XE’ craft and were slightly larger than the earlier ‘X’ craft as well as being equipped with air • T-cards: Please use the T-cards situated to the conditioning. left, just inside the outer door to the workshop, to show your whereabouts. Page 4 of 4