14th January 2021 at 4:58pm The Duke of Edinburgh has given his seal of approval to the motto adopted by one of the Royal Navyâs smallest ships. HMS Magpieâs new motto is 'lux in tenebris lucet', which translates as 'shine light into darkness'. "The motto is aimed at complementing the ship's crest with the black annulet symbolising the darkness and the light within," Lieutenant Commander Mark White, Magpieâs Commanding Officer, said. "I hope that adopting a motto will further embellish the already splendid ship's crest and act to inspire those who serve in her." Prince Philip has endorsed the new motto, which is unique across the fleet and has been selected to be non-specific to the survey vessel, so future Magpies can rise to it, whatever their mission or role. Prince Philip receives regular updates on the small craft, which is the ninth vessel to be named Magpie. Other ships to carry the name include a frigate commanded by Prince Philip from 1950. Magpie is 18m long and traces her history back more than two centuries, but has never had a rallying cry, unlike many ships and submarines in the fleet. HMS Magpie is currently undergoing her annual maintenance period across the water from her home base of Devonport. The survey ship will return to action this month and collect data and information about the waters and coastline of the nationâs key harbours. Cover image: Royal Navy. via JC's Naval, Maritime and Military News https://ift.tt/35Mx8nD 08 JANUARY 2021 Royal Australian Navy formally accepts new AOR vessel from shipbuilder Navantia11/1/2021 by Gabriel Dominguez The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has formally accepted the first of two Supply-class auxiliary oiler replenishment (AOR) ships on order for the service from Spanish shipbuilder Navantia. The Department of Defence (DoD) in Canberra announced on 8 January that the 19,500-tonne vessel, which will be known as HMAS Supply (II) (with pennant number A195) once commissioned, is expected to sail into its homeport of Sydney in the coming days. The future HMAS Supply during sea acceptance trials in 2020. The Australian DoD announced on 8 January that the RAN has formally accepted the AOR vessel from Spanish shipbuilder Navantia. (Navantia Australia via Twitter) The vessel, which completed sea acceptance trials off the Spanish coast in August 2020 before arriving in Australia in October 2020 for final fit-out and testing activities, is one of two ships of the class ordered as part of an AUD642 million (USD500 million) contract signed in May 2016 under Australia’s Project Sea 1654 Phase 3 Maritime Operational Support Capability programme. Second-of-class Stalwart (III) (with pennant number A304) was launched on 30 August 2019 and is expected to join the RAN later this year. The 173.9 m-long vessels, which are based on the Spanish Navy’s Cantabria-class AORs, are to replace the AOR ship HMAS Success (II), which was decommissioned on 29 June 2019 after 33 years of service, and the supply ship HMAS Sirius . “With Australia’s current replenishment capability reaching its end of life in 2021, NUSHIP Supply will be the first AOR to replace the retired HMAS Success and bridge [the] navy’s current capability gap,” Australian Defence Minister Linda Reynolds was quoted as saying. Already a Janes subscriber? Read the full article via the Client Login via JC's Naval, Maritime and Military News https://ift.tt/2MRmMwd
. 8th January 2021 at 4:55pm A Royal Air Force Chinook has been stuck in an Oxfordshire field for days after making a precautionary landing due to a mechanical issue. The helicopter from 28 Squadron, based at RAF Benson, sank into soft ground in the field near Wantage on Tuesday, the station said. RAF Benson wrote on its Facebook page on Thursday that engineers were deployed to the site to assess the mechanical issue, which has now been fixed. However, the "extremely soft ground", likely caused by recent wet weather, has posed more of a problem and made the recovery of the Chinook "very difficult". A tri-service team of specialists is now working to safely extract the aircraft from the field. The base wrote: "While it was hoped that it could simply be dug out and then flown home, the risk of damage to the aircraft from this course of action has been assessed as significant and alternative options are being explored, including potentially lifting it from the mud with a crane. "We hope to have the aircraft home by the end of the week." The base also said it is "extremely thankful" to the landowners for their "understanding and support". Giving an update on the RAF's progress with the Chinook rescue, Flight Lieutenant Cameron Stuart of 28 Squadron told Forces News they had been assessing "various options" but looked likely to settle on using cranes. "We've got five or six options we've looked at," he said. "We don't want to look at damaging any of the parts of the aircraft that might currently be stuck in the mud. There is a little bit of digging involved. The option we think might be the safest is to lift it out with cranes." Chinooks are primarily used by the Royal Air Force for trooping, resupply and battlefield casualty evacuation. The aircraft's heavy-lift capability means it can lift or carry a range of freight, including vehicles, 55 troops or up to roughly 10 tonnes of mixed cargo. via JC's Naval, Maritime and Military News https://ift.tt/3q4tygj |
AuthorJohn Currin served 15 years in the Royal New Zealand Navy and has retained an interest in naval, marine, military and happenings around the world. Archives
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