Submariners Association (Derbyshire) Branch Newsletter Issue Number 141 JULY 2011 Freedom of the City of Derby to RN Submarine Service Granted 28 April 2002 EDITORIAL LIST OF CONTENTS As we approach the end of June I look forward to the Page 1 EDITORIAL & CONTENT Armed Forces celebrations in Derby with the D&D Coffee Morning and Lunch at the Spot where the Page 2 MARITIME FORCES NEWS Submariners have there own table of ten. Next week APPEAL TO NONE DERBYSHIRE we have twenty for meals booked for the monthly Page 3 MEMBERS . Trenchant out of refit luncheon club. Booking continue to come in for the Trafalgar Dinner and Affiliated boats dinner with Page 4 FIRE ALARMS/BUS PASSES bookings now at the half way mark, with the Ambush, Page 5 MAYOR OF DERBY FAREWELL Vanguard and Sovereign invites still to be formalised. Whispers from Oakwood We will proudly dine out Lady Anne Soar and Sir Trevor, CinCFleet and Gillian Molyneux, and I am proud and Page 6 ADMIRAL SIR JOHN WARREN grateful for many submariners as friends of the Frankton Memorial Unveiled Derbyshire Branch sharing our special day. Page 7/8 UN PC PAGE HUMOUR Unfortunately the date of 5 November does of course clash with Firework Night, and the Submariners SUBMARINERS UNDER PRESSURE Page 9 Embankment Parade and this is regretted but our date Lunch Clubs and Vanguard replacement was set by circumstances. SUBMARINE MUSEUM NEWS Page 10 My birthday was advertised as my 30 th based on my Holland Award & Alliance News wife advising me that I never do anything by halves; for HMS INDEFENSIBLE Page 11 once I thought I would. This brought the immediate Sat-Navs and Points of View response of why don’t you halve it again, and you will not be old enough to pay on the bus. A clear dig at the Page 12 IAN MOLYNEUX TRIAL & Fish Heads – A Point Of View bus passes no longer issued automatically at 60!! However, my deferred Royal Navy Pension has now Page 13 BRANCH OUTING NMA ALREWAS kicked in, and I treated myself to a personal number TAX AND FINANCE FROM MONEYWISE plate. The number plate bears the number 60 for my Page 14 Share Military History birthday, and came with an all singing and dancing White Ford Mondeo Zetec with many extras which Page 15 ADM SIR TREVOR SOAR INTERVIEW makes the car a joy to drive. Another comment to my Page 16 SICK BAY REPORTS/TS KENYA birthday invite was; ‘ What happened to the little cherub between 5 and 60 then? Actually you haven’t GILLIAN MOLYNEUX MESSAGE Page 17 changed much from your first to last photo (seriously) Branch Bits & Bobs only hair a little thinner, tummy a little fatter and Page 18 BRANCH DIARY 2011 glasses; but still smiling (that is good to see). I don't apologise for the mickey taking. Thanks People . Page MINS JUNE MEETING (EGM DETAILS) On the none Submariner front the branch is undertaking 19/20 a collection for ‘Poppy Appeal’ at the famous Derby Page 21 LUNCHEON CLUB JULY Cat & Fiddle Beer Festival, and I hope many of you can support the W5795 Bomber Memorial in Stanley, where with my BIRTHDAYS 2011 Poppy Appeal Organiser (PAO) hat on I have organised A POSITIVE THOUGHT the usual service, with Pax Liberations (Doves of Peace 23 July Max Horton FOR THE MONTH Release) from the NMA, and a flypast of the Battle of 19 Aug Kevin Gilbert There is no Britain Memorial Flight Hurricane Fighter Plane now 26 Aug Ken Holtham (88) cure for birth scheduled for 14:05hrs to conclude the service. I hope Branch President you enjoy this issue of Derbyshire Deeps and the little and death, 08 Sep Charles Blakey (90) change of format should not confuse a submariner. Save to enjoy Both Ken & Charles are WWII Terry Hall, Derbyshire Newsletter Editor Submariners – BZ to both The INTERVAL Hon Secretary, Submariners Assn (Derbyshire) 1 DEFENCE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD IRAN SUBMARINES DISPATCHED TO RED SEA Courtesy of Canadian Office Asia-Pacific Advisor Defence News, 07 June 2011 With sincere thanks for copyright permission Although the information should be regarded with some scepticism given Iran's tendency to exaggerate, the navy reportedly dispatched submarines in May to "collect data" in the Red Sea. The submarines apparently completed a mission in the Gulf of Aden to gather information on the sea bed and nearby warships, likely international warships conducting anti-piracy missions, and are accompanying a surface fleet; no details on the subs were given, though CONSTRUCTION TO BEGIN ON US NAVY'S they could be Russian-made Kilo s or domestically- NEWEST SUBMARINE developed Nahang s or Ghadir mini-subs. In February, Iran Naval Technology, 23 May 2011 & Defence Aerospace dispatched two warships to the Mediterranean Sea via the The US Navy laid the keel for its tenth Virginia -class Suez Canal to visit Syria, the first such mission since the submarine on Friday. The sub, USS Minnesota (SSN-783), 1979 revolution. will be the first built under the USN's new two-sub-per-year build cycle, the first time that such an accelerated build GREEK SUBMARINE PROBLEMS schedule has been implemented since the end of the Cold HDW exits contract amid continuously rough seas in War; construction on another yet-unnamed sub will begin Greece's submarine programme. Another chapter has later this year in September. Officials said they hoped that been opened in the quarrel between the German Minnesota will continue the Virginia -class' track record of shipbuilding industry and the Greek Defence Ministry over delivering subs ahead of schedule and under budget. Total the construction of submarines for the financially burdened build time is expected to last 60 months. country’s navy. According to AFP, the Greek Minister of National Defence, Prof. Dr. Evangelos Venizelos, NEW SUBS SUSPENDED LAST YEAR DUE TO announced on Monday that the German shipbuilding group Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) pulled out of a WEAK BOLTS programme to build two submarines at the Hellenic Korea Herald, 18 May 2011 Shipyards near Athens. The Greek shipyard is controlled South Korean media reported last week that the country's by UAE-based Abu Dhabi MAR, which holds 75.1 per cent latest Son Won-il -class diesel-electric submarines were of the shares, according to an agreement signed in March suspended last year due to faulty bolts that broke or 2010 with ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, the parent loosened during sub-surface operations last year. The company of HDW. Hellenic Shipyards is the country's main bolts in question were used to fix the bridge and upper shipbuilding facility, though it has experienced structural decks, with a total of 20 bolts either breaking or coming and financial troubles during the past decade, fuelled by loose on all three of the navy's 1,800-ton subs, which are Greece’s increasing economic problems. based on the German Type-214 design. ROK Navy officials reportedly called in engineers from HDW, the German firm ALTERNATIVE FUELS FOR THE NAVY that designed the subs, and found that a subcontractor CNN, 03 June 2011 used by Hyundai Heavy Industries, which built the subs Turanor , the world's largest solar-powered ship, arrived in locally, used sub-standard bolts during construction. HDW Brisbane, Australia, earlier this week as part of its goal to has reportedly fixed the issue, and the subs have become the first all-solar vessel to circumnavigate the continued regular operations. globe. Turanor has an average speed of 7.5 knots and is equipped with over 536 square metres of photovoltaic solar NATO EXERCISE BOLD MONARCH 2011 panels, which are supported by backup power in the Naval Technology, 02 June 2011 world's largest rechargeable lithium battery, and can sail for Bold Monarch 2011, the world's largest submarine escape- up to five days without direct sunlight; the skipper reported and-rescue exercise, began near the Spanish port of that the ship's battery has never decreased below 20 Cartagena on May 30th and will run until June 10th. The percent capacity. The catamaran's proponents are trying triennial exercise involves subs from Portugal, Spain and to demonstrate that sailing can be more ecologically Turkey, as well as a Russian Kilo boat for the first time; sustainable, and no doubt navies such as the United and surface rescue vehicles from the US, UK, France and States' are keeping an eye on the project's progress, in Italy, with 20 surface and sub-surface ships participating in part since US Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus outlined all. As well, activities are being observed by countries such plans in October 2009 to increase the Navy's fuel efficiency, as Australia, Brazil, India, South Korea and Vietnam, with including increasing the Navy's use of alternative fuels from the Asian nations perhaps doubly interested due to the 17 percent to half of the total by 2020. increasing number of subs being acquired and operated in Editor: Our Branch Defence Experts held an ‘In Depth’ the region. discussion on solar panels and there suitability for the Submarine Fleet at the well known all military forum TWO CANADIAN SUBMARINERS HURT university; The Oak and Acorn in Derby. It was suggested CBC News, 06 June 2011 the sonar tiles could be replaced with solar panels and only Two sailors suffered minor injuries when the submarine being able to do 7 and a ‘alf knots was good enough for the HMCS Corner Brook struck bottom during advanced officer diesel boats. One bright spark did state the boats could training exercises in Nootka Sound off the west coast of surface in the dark to charge their batteries like they used Vancouver Island on Saturday.