DOCSLIB.ORG

Historic Royal Navy Lynx Retires After Outstanding Service

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Historic Royal Navy Lynx Retires After Outstanding Service HISTORIC ROYAL NAVY LYNX RETIRES AFTER OUTSTANDING SERVICE A Royal Naval Lynx Helicopter, XZ720 with a proud history of frontline combat Maritime service over four decades has been handed over to the Fleet Air Arm Museum at the Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton. XZ720 entered service with the Royal Navy at Yeovilton on 815 Naval Air Squadron in 1980 and has had a remarkable record. She saw active service with HMS Alacrity in the Falklands War, where she was on the receiving end of machine gun fire from an Argentinian gun boat. The Pilot, Lieutenant Rob Sleeman fortunately avoiding a bullet, which came through his windscreen, only by turning his head. Deployments on many Royal Navy warships after 1982 followed until she joined 216 Flight onboard the Type 42 Destroyer HMS Gloucester. Flown by Lieutenant Commander David Livingstone and Sub Lieutenant Florry Ford, XZ720 was to have her finest hour during Operation GRANBY in 1991. It was during GRANBY that she was responsible for attacking and sinking five Iraqi Gun Boats with Sea Skua missiles. Notably the highest scoring Lynx of the Gulf War. For his actions Lt Cdr Dave Livingstone received the Distinguished Service Cross. The aircraft’s remarkable record is emblazoned on her paintwork in the five black missiles on either side of her fuselage. The Observer, Lieutenant Commander Florry Ford told how they earned their remarkable tally including three sinking's in one day. “On January 30 we were on a patrol and got a contact which was a patrol boat which the Iraqis had taken from the Kuwaiti Navy. We fired one Sea Skua missile and then saw another contact appeared from nowhere, so as soon as we saw the first target sink, we fired on the second, It was a Russian‐built mine‐layer”. Later that day they struck a third target close by. Ten days later they were tasked to search for a mine at night, under the dubious light of parachute flares, when they spotted a Russian‐built landing ship on its way to resupply Iraqi forces. They fired two missiles but also came under attack from two surface‐to‐air missiles. To avoid disaster Dave Livingstone flew the superbly agile helicopter within 20 feet of the sea. The enemy missiles passed just 180 feet away. XZ720’s restoration back to her 1991 Gulf War state was completed by the Lynx Operational Support Team, at RNAS Yeovilton. They had been asked to prepare a Lynx to be gifted to the Museum. “XZ720 was involved in both the Falklands and the Gulf campaigns and so its history made it a prime candidate for this honour,” said CPO Steve Walling, from the Lynx Helicopter Force. Serviceable parts were also removed for the use of the serving Lynx fleet, and replaced by others. The aircraft has been on active service up until her retirement. RNAS Yeovilton’s Commanding officer, Commodore Paul Chivers OBE, himself a Lynx Observer, accepted the helicopter on behalf of the museum of which he is a trustee. Museum director Graham Mottram said: “We are delighted to have her; she is proof that history is a continuing process.” .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Philip Wilcocks CB DSC DL ‒ Onboarding Officers Super
    Philip Wilcocks CB DSC DL – OnBoarding Officers Super NED Joining the Royal Navy in 1971, Philip Wilcocks graduated from the University of Wales in 1976 and assumed his first command of the minesweeper HMS STUBBINGTON in 1978. Qualifying as a Principal Warfare Officer in 1981, he served in the frigate HMS AMBUSCADE as Operations Officer, which included the Falklands conflict in 1982. Following his promotion to Commander, he assumed command of the destroyer HMS GLOUCESTER in 1990. The ‘Fighting G’ fought in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm when his ship destroyed 7 enemy warships and a Silkworm missile targeted against the battleship USS MISSOURI. He was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for gallantry and sustained leadership under fire. In 1998, he assumed command of HMS LIVERPOOL as Captain 3rd Destroyer Squadron. While Director of Naval Operations, in 2000 he was the Crisis Director for UK Operations in support of the UN in Sierra Leone. In 2001, he formed and then commanded the Royal Navy’s largest training organisation the Maritime Warfare School responsible for a budget of £120M and a capital build programme of £30M. On promotion to Rear Admiral in 2004, he became Deputy Commander of Joint Operations at the UK’s Permanent Joint HQ; as well as operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, he was the Crisis Director for the UK response to the 2005 Tsunami disaster. In this appointment he had oversight of an annual budget of £540M and a £1.5Bn PFI contract. Following a short tour as Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland and Flag Officer Reserves, he became Chief of Staff to Commander-in-Chief, Fleet assuming responsibility for generating current and future UK maritime capabilities.
    [Show full text]
  • The Old Pangbournian Record Volume 2
    The Old Pangbournian Record Volume 2 Casualties in War 1917-2020 Collected and written by Robin Knight (56-61) The Old Pangbournian Society The Old angbournianP Record Volume 2 Casualties in War 1917-2020 Collected and written by Robin Knight (56-61) The Old Pangbournian Society First published in the UK 2020 The Old Pangbournian Society Copyright © 2020 The moral right of the Old Pangbournian Society to be identified as the compiler of this work is asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, “Beloved by many. stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any Death hides but it does not divide.” * means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior consent of the Old Pangbournian Society in writing. All photographs are from personal collections or publicly-available free sources. Back Cover: © Julie Halford – Keeper of Roll of Honour Fleet Air Arm, RNAS Yeovilton ISBN 978-095-6877-031 Papers used in this book are natural, renewable and recyclable products sourced from well-managed forests. Typeset in Adobe Garamond Pro, designed and produced *from a headstone dedication to R.E.F. Howard (30-33) by NP Design & Print Ltd, Wallingford, U.K. Foreword In a global and total war such as 1939-45, one in Both were extremely impressive leaders, soldiers which our national survival was at stake, sacrifice and human beings. became commonplace, almost routine. Today, notwithstanding Covid-19, the scale of losses For anyone associated with Pangbourne, this endured in the World Wars of the 20th century is continued appetite and affinity for service is no almost incomprehensible.
    [Show full text]
  • The Escape of the Goeben and Breslau
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk 7brought m to />7 you by CORE [I V\// a ) > ( (/^ ) provided by Istanbul Sehir University Repository o re t h a n f o r t y - f iv e y e a r s after the outbreak of the First World War, The Escape Mthere still exists under the Turkish flag, the battle cruiser Yavuz, once known as Goeben. This ship is the last survivor of the great rival dreadnought fleets, British and of the Goeben German, that confronted each other in 1914. She is also the last surviving warship to have taken part in the Dardanelles campaign; and Breslau indeed, her escape to Turkish waters in the early days of August 1914, almost certainly AUGUST 1914 caused that campaign to be fought when and as it was. In view of the effect of the Dardanelles The presence of these two ships in the campaign upon the rest of the war—and not­ Mediterranean at the opening of the ably upon the fighting on the Western Front and upon the affairs of Russia—it is not sur­ First World War gave the Germans prising that Sir Julian Corbett, British official a dangerous advantage. Their escape naval historian of the First World War and author of standard works on the campaigns of to the Dardanelles had a manifold Nelson and of Drake, described the despatch of the Goeben to Constantinople in the following influence on Allied strategy. terms: “ It is not too much to say that few naval decisions more bold and well-judged were ever taken.” In fact, no single ship has ever had By DAVID WOODWARD such a profound influence in modern warfare.
    [Show full text]
  • Diary of Leading Stoker Victor Bethell HMS Gloucester 1916
    Diary of Leading Stoker Victor Bethell, HMS Gloucester, 26th April – 5th June 1916 HMS Gloucester was a Town-class light cruiser that took part in the first naval encounter of the war, the chase of the German battlecruiser SMS Goeben and the light cruiser SMS Breslau in the Mediterranean, during which she engaged and hit Breslau. In May 1916, she was back in home waters with the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron, part of the Grand Fleet’s Battlecruiser fleet. The extract below covers the Irish Easter Rising and the Battle of Jutland. A Leading Stoker was in charge of a group of stokers, whose job was to shovel coal into the furnaces of a ship’s boilers. Known as the ‘Black Gang’, they did hot, hard work in the bowels of the ship. Wednesday 26th April: At Queenstown. We take onboard 100 Royal Marines and proceed to Galway Bay, on the west coast of Ireland. Thursday 27th April: We arrive at Galway and land the soldiers to stop the Sinn Féin rising. The Irish Police bring aboard five leaders and we held them prisoners. Friday 28th April: Troopship arrives and they land more soldiers. Wednesday 10th May: Still at Galway. HMS Adventure relieves us and we proceed to Queensferry in the Firth of Forth. Friday 12th May: Arrived at Queensferry. Tuesday 30th May: Left Queensferry with the fleet and go full speed for Germany. Wednesday 31st May: At four pm, enemy sighted and our battlecruisers open fire. We were alongside the battlecruisers (HMS Lion flagship) about the moment that HMS Invincible was blown up and sank in a few minutes (she was off the port side of us).
    [Show full text]
  • 75Th Anniversary of the Sinking of HMS Gloucester 1941 Canon Chancellor Celia Thomson
    Sermon: Trinity Sunday 22 May - 75th anniversary of the sinking of HMS Gloucester 1941 Canon Chancellor Celia Thomson 75 years ago today, HMS Gloucester was sunk off the north coast of Crete with the loss of 723 lives out of the total crew of 809. It was one of the worst naval disasters of the second World War and there are very few left now of those who survived to tell the tale. We have a window in the Memorial Chapel dedicated to the memory of those who died, and each year there is a gathering there to remember them. We also have the shield of the last of the ships named HMS Gloucester in the north transept. It is only right that today we honour those who gave their lives in the service of their country. When the German forces overran the Greek mainland in April 1941, almost all the Allied troops, about 50,000, were evacuated to Crete. But they had had to leave behind most of their heavy armoured vehicles, tools and ammunition, and were therefore ill-equipped to defend the island. The Battle for Crete was one of the most dramatic battles of the Second World War. Over 12 days in May 1941 a mixed force of British, Australian, New Zealand and Greek troops desperately tried to fight off a huge German airborne assault. Despite the appalling casualties amongst the Germans themselves, those who led the invasion by parachute and the glider-borne troops managed to secure a foothold on the island and eventually take it over.
    [Show full text]
  • The London of TUESDAY, the Zgth of JULY, 1947 by Finfyotity Registered As a Newspaper THURSDAY, 31 JULY, 1947 BATTLE of MATAPAN
    (ftumb. 38031 3591 THIRD SUPPLEMENT TO The London Of TUESDAY, the zgth of JULY, 1947 by finfyotity Registered as a newspaper THURSDAY, 31 JULY, 1947 BATTLE OF MATAPAN. 4. The disposition originally ordered left the The following Despatch was submitted to the cruisers without support. The battlefleet could Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty on the if necessary have put to sea, but very nth November, 1941, by Admiral Sir inadequately screened. Further consideration Andrew B. Cunningham, G.C.B., D.S.O., led to the retention of sufficient destroyers to Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Station. screen the battlefieet. The moment was a lucky one when more destroyers than usual Mediterranean, were at Alexandria having just returned from ntffe November,. 1941. or just awaiting escort duty. Be pleased to lay before Their Lordships the 5. It had already been decided to take the attached reports of the Battle of Matapan, 27th- battlefleet to sea under cover of night on the 30th March, 1941. Five ships of the enemy evening of the 27th, when air reconnaissance fleet were sunk, burned or destroyed as per from Malta reported enemy cruisers steaming margin.* Except for the loss of one aircraft eastward p.m./27th. The battlefleet accordingly in action, our fleet suffered no damage or proceeded with all possible secrecy. It was casualties. well that it did so, for the forenoon of the 28th 2. The events and information prior to the found the enemy south of Gavdo and the Vice- action, on which my appreciation was based, Admiral, Light Forces (Vice-Admiral H.
    [Show full text]
  • Argentina and the Falkland Islands
    Argentina and the Falkland Islands Standard Note: SN/IA/5602 Last updated: 27 January 2012 Author: Vaughne Miller Section IADS This Note looks briefly at the government in Argentina under Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who has pursued the Argentinean claim to sovereignty of the Falkland Islands as a constitutional mandate. The arguments on the Argentinean and British sides have not changed with a change of government, while recent developments such as changes to the way in which fishing licences are issued and oil exploration around the Falklands, are continuing to affect bilateral relations. The Falklands/Malvinas are regularly debated at the United Nations Committee on Decolonization, at which a resolution is adopted calling on the two sides to talk about the issues. Successive UK governments have insisted that it is the Falkland Islanders themselves who have the right to decide on their destiny. Argentina maintains that the UN principle of the right to self-determination does not apply in the case of the Falklanders. Both the UK and Argentina accuse each other of colonialism. See Standard Note 6201 for information on the defence of the Falklands. Contents 1 The Argentinean Government 2 1.1 Néstor Kirchner Government 2 1.2 Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Government 4 2 UK relations with Argentina 6 3 The Falkland Islands 8 3.1 UK Government’s position on Falklands sovereignty 8 3.2 Argentinean views on sovereignty of the Malvinas 10 This information is provided to Members of Parliament in support of their parliamentary duties and is not intended to address the specific circumstances of any particular individual.
    [Show full text]
  • F O R U M N E W S
    UK OVERSEAS TERRITORIES CONSERVATION FORUM FF OO RR UU MM NN EE WW SS 3737 DECEMBER 2010 • A full colour version of Forum News is available online at www.ukotcf.org Seven years on: Protected area project in TCI, BVI and Cayman starts It seemed to participants a very historic event on 28-29 of the National Trust for the Cayman Islands, the National Parks October 2010 when they gathered for the first meeting of the Trust of the Virgin Islands and the Turks & Caicos National Trust Project Steering Committee of the European Union-supported for the work outlined below, and a similar amount to a consultancy Management of Protected Areas to Support Sustainable Economies firm to base a consultant full-time in TCI (where the administrative project. The project proposal lead for the project lies) to was coordinated in 2003 by advise on and monitor the UKOTCF, at the request of UKOTs’ implementation of the FCO and the governments and Commission’s own elaborate NGOs of the three UKOTs, and financial procedures. A much submitted at the end of that smaller amount is supplied to year. UKOTCF to be responsible Although the project passed for the coordination of cross- all its stages for approval, territory activities of a technical usually involving lots of extra nature, give advice in this work, problems with European area, and monitor and report Commission procedures led to on progress from a scientific/ a delay of seven years before conservation aspect. The Trusts the various contracts could and UKOTCF have to make be signed. (It is interesting to considerable contributions note that the South Atlantic to the project from other Invasives Species Project – resources.
    [Show full text]
  • Combat Search and Rescue in Desert Storm / Darrel D. Whitcomb
    Combat Search and Rescue in Desert Storm DARREL D. WHITCOMB Colonel, USAFR, Retired Air University Press Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama September 2006 front.indd 1 11/6/06 3:37:09 PM Air University Library Cataloging Data Whitcomb, Darrel D., 1947- Combat search and rescue in Desert Storm / Darrel D. Whitcomb. p. ; cm. Includes bibliographical references. A rich heritage: the saga of Bengal 505 Alpha—The interim years—Desert Shield— Desert Storm week one—Desert Storm weeks two/three/four—Desert Storm week five—Desert Sabre week six. ISBN 1-58566-153-8 1. Persian Gulf War, 1991—Search and rescue operations. 2. Search and rescue operations—United States—History. 3. United States—Armed Forces—Search and rescue operations. I. Title. 956.704424 –– dc22 Disclaimer Opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied within are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Air University, the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any other US government agency. Cleared for public release: distribution unlimited. © Copyright 2006 by Darrel D. Whitcomb ([email protected]). Air University Press 131 West Shumacher Avenue Maxwell AFB AL 36112-6615 http://aupress.maxwell.af.mil ii front.indd 2 11/6/06 3:37:10 PM This work is dedicated to the memory of the brave crew of Bengal 15. Without question, without hesitation, eight soldiers went forth to rescue a downed countryman— only three returned. God bless those lost, as they rest in their eternal peace. front.indd 3 11/6/06 3:37:10 PM THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Contents Chapter Page DISCLAIMER .
    [Show full text]
  • Shipbreaking" # 41
    Shipbreaking Bulletin of information and analysis on ship demolition # 41, from July 1 to September 30, 2015 Content Offshore platforms: radioactive alert 1 Pipe layer 21 Reefer 37 Waiting for the blowtorches 3 Offshore supply vessel 22 Bulk carrier 38 Military & auxiliary vessels 7 Tanker 24 Cement carrier 47 The podium of best ports 13 Chemical tanker 26 Car carrier 47 3rd quarter overview: the plunge 14 Gas tanker 27 Ferry 48 Letters to the Editor 16 General cargo 28 Passenger ship 56 Seismic research 17 Container ship 34 Dredger 57 Drilling 18 Ro Ro 36 The End: Sitala, 54 years later 58 Drilling/FPSO 20 Tuna seiner / Factory ship 37 Sources 60 Offshore platforms: radioactive alert The arrival of « Nobi », St. Kitts & Nevis flag, in Bangladesh. © Birat Bhattacharjee Many offshore platforms built in the 1970s-1980’s have been sent to the breaking yards by the long- lasting drop in oil prices and the low profile of offshore activities. Owners gain an ultimate profit from dismantlement. Most of the offshore platforms sent to be demolished since the beginning of the year are semi-submersible rigs. This type of rig weighs 10 to 15,000 t, i.e. a gain for the last owners of 2-4 million $ on the current purchase price from shipbreaking yards. Seen in the scrapyards: Bangladesh: DB 101, Saint-Kitts-and-Nevis flag, 35.000 t. Nobi, Saint-Kitts-and-Nevis flag, 14.987 t. India: Ocean Epoch, Marshall Islands flag, 11.099 t. Octopus, 10.625 t. Turkey: Atwood Hunter, Marshall Islands flag. GSF Arctic I, Vanuatu flag.
    [Show full text]
  • Battle of Cape Matapan HMS AJAX and the Battle of Cape Matapan
    Battle of Cape Matapan HMS AJAX and the Battle of Cape Matapan: 28th – 29th March 1941 By Clive Sharplin (Associate Member) The sea fight of the Second World War known as the “Battle of Matapan” was actually the second of that name to occur in naval history. The first occurred on 19th July 1717 when a mixed force of fifty-seven ships and galleys, Spanish, Portuguese, Venetian and Papal were attacked off Cape Matapan by a Turkish squadron of about the same size. After a fierce fight with losses on both sides the Turks withdrew. The ship HMS Ajax was a Leander Class light cruiser, the seventh ship to bear the name, relatively young having been launched in 1934, first commissioned in 1935. Displacing 9,563tons fully laden, her main armament consisted of 8 x 6”guns mounted in pairs over four turrets with 8 x 21 “ torpedo tubes in two quadruple mountings, steam turbine driven, with a wartime crew of 680. After participating in the first major sea battle of the second World War, the Battle of the River Plate in December 1939 and defeating the German battleship Admiral Graf Spee she returned to Chatham Dockyard for a 7 month long repair and refit during which my Father, Bob, joined her on 10th February 1940 as a Petty Officer Mechanician, he was to be a crew member for more` than a year until September 1941 when he was drafted to the battleship Valiant, thus enduring one of the Royal Navy’s most hostile periods. Ajax emerged back into the fleet on September 30th 1940 being deployed to the 7th Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean.
    [Show full text]
  • Ministry of Defence: Type 45 Destroyer
    House of Commons Public Accounts Committee Ministry of Defence: Type 45 Destroyer Thirtieth Report of Session 2008–09 Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 1 June 2009 HC 372 Published on 23 June 2009 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £0.00 The Public Accounts Committee The Committee of Public Accounts is appointed by the House of Commons to examine “the accounts showing the appropriation of the sums granted by Parliament to meet the public expenditure, and of such other accounts laid before Parliament as the committee may think fit” (Standing Order No 148). Current membership Mr Edward Leigh MP (Conservative, Gainsborough) (Chairman) Mr Richard Bacon MP (Conservative, South Norfolk) Angela Browning MP (Conservative, Tiverton and Honiton) Mr Paul Burstow MP (Liberal Democrat, Sutton and Cheam) Mr Douglas Carswell MP (Conservative, Harwich) Rt Hon David Curry MP (Conservative, Skipton and Ripon) Mr Ian Davidson MP (Labour, Glasgow South West) Angela Eagle MP (Labour, Wallasey) Nigel Griffiths MP (Labour, Edinburgh South) Rt Hon Keith Hill MP (Labour, Streatham) Mr Austin Mitchell MP (Labour, Great Grimsby) Dr John Pugh MP (Liberal Democrat, Southport) Geraldine Smith MP (Labour, Morecombe and Lunesdale) Rt Hon Don Touhig MP (Labour, Islwyn) Rt Hon Alan Williams MP (Labour, Swansea West) Phil Wilson MP (Labour, Sedgefield) Powers Powers of the Committee of Public Accounts are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 148. These are available on the Internet via www.parliament.uk. Publication The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House.
    [Show full text]