Royal Australian Navy Discussions and Updates 2.0

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iambuzzard

Well-Known Member
The other side are no better.
swerve said:
The collapse in frigate numbers is due to the 2010s Tory governments. They delayed Type 26 (leading to the purchase of River Batch 2 OPVs to at least get something for the money contractually committed to pay to BAE, originally intended for Type 26 construction, & keep the workforce's skills), & decided to extend the lives of T23s to cover the gap until the delayed T26s started to arrive. But they didn't plan or pay for the work necessary to keep all the T23s in the water long enough, & kept working them hard.

So now the hulls are so knackered they'd need rebuilding to keep operating, & as well as the money, there may not be enough yard capacity to do that while building T26 & T31. Bloody politicians. The Tories claimed to be pro-defence. Hah!
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It's been both sides over decades that have neglected RN fleet numbers. They're both to blame.
 
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swerve

Super Moderator
I addressed one aspect of that, the recent slump in frigate numbers because of the unscheduled retirements of frigates. At the moment, that's a crippling problem.
 
StevoJH

StevoJH

The Bunker Group
swerve said:
I addressed one aspect of that, the recent slump in frigate numbers because of the unscheduled retirements of frigates. At the moment, that's a crippling problem.
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If the UK government was being serious about the problem, they would rebuild the T23’s as necessary to keep them in service until T31 and T26 came online.

T23 fit in the undercover refit docks at Devonport? So shouldn’t take away resources from T31 at Rosyth.
 
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ADMk2

Just a bloke
Staff member
Verified Defense Pro
Takao said:
Best ship in the fleet :)

I have two equipment claims to fame: over 10 years in Aviation and ME deployments - have never seen a CH-47 in the flesh. And I have spent more time on HMAS Brisbane (II) than any other RAN vessel - including LPD, LPA and LHD!
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You’ve not been to Townsville in all that time? They fly over at least weekly…
 
A

At lakes

Well-Known Member
well i have never been in the australian navy or the army and i have never been to Townsville but during the victorian bush fires i saw them about 4 maybe 5 times a day for two weeks. during the lead up to the Sydney Olympics they were using the airport at Albion Park for practice. and i was night shift on the 000 lines we took a large amount of calls or complaints of these Chooks approaching low over Warilla just south of Wollongong to the approach at Albion Park NSW about the noise and they were shaking the house. After a while I just said you are quite safe they are on our side and i would simply hang up
 
Takao

Takao

The Bunker Group
ADMk2 said:
You’ve not been to Townsville in all that time? They fly over at least weekly…
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I'm proud that I've spent less than 100 hours in Townsville :) Darwin is my choice of northern postings.

It's just never aligned, plus after Black Hawk / Huey I streamed recce/attack, so 1 Avn was my focus. Then I escaped Avn into wider Army and never had much to do with 16X again. The Hamel's I was out field for never had the CH-47s serviceable enough to attend - and the one time they did the Tiger's had been grounded, so even that didn't align!

Oh, and my flights in ME were either Spanish Army (so Puma's) or UH-60....
 
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MickB

Well-Known Member
Takao said:
I'm proud that I've spent less than 100 hours in Townsville :) Darwin is my choice of northern postings.

It's just never aligned, plus after Black Hawk / Huey I streamed recce/attack, so 1 Avn was my focus. Then I escaped Avn into wider Army and never had much to do with 16X again. The Hamel's I was out field for never had the CH-47s serviceable enough to attend - and the one time they did the Tiger's had been grounded, so even that didn't align!

Oh, and my flights in ME were either Spanish Army (so Puma's) or UH-60....
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Takao said:
I'm proud that I've spent less than 100 hours in Townsville :) Darwin is my choice of northern postings.

It's just never aligned, plus after Black Hawk / Huey I streamed recce/attack, so 1 Avn was my focus. Then I escaped Avn into wider Army and never had much to do with 16X again. The Hamel's I was out field for never had the CH-47s serviceable enough to attend - and the one time they did the Tiger's had been grounded, so even that didn't align!

Oh, and my flights in ME were either Spanish Army (so Puma's) or UH-60....
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At a Kingaroy airshow watched a chook roll down the runway on tail wheels only.
Same show had a Caribou roll down the runway om the nose wheel only, seemed to be at almost a walking pace.
 
M

MickB

Well-Known Member
MickB said:
At a Kingaroy airshow watched a chook roll down the runway on tail wheels only.
Same show had a Caribou roll down the runway om the nose wheel only, seemed to be at almost a walking pace.
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Thought these days might be lost then I recalled the footage of C17s at Riverfire, good to see,
 
S

swerve

Super Moderator
StevoJH said:
If the UK government was being serious about the problem, they would rebuild the T23’s as necessary to keep them in service until T31 and T26 came online.

T23 fit in the undercover refit docks at Devonport? So shouldn’t take away resources from T31 at Rosyth.
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Do they have the capability to rebuild them to the extent necessary? If not, how long would it take to bring them up to capability, e.g. recruiting & training workers. From what I've read, you're almost talking about new hulls in some cases. How long would it take? What else would have to be delayed or forgone?
 
spoz

spoz

The Bunker Group
Verified Defense Pro
(Rant mode on)

For God’s sake, take discussion of T23s to the RN thread. They have NOTHING to do with the RAN whatsoever. The fact the Brit government have made an even bigger mess of their Navy than we have of ours, while most unfortunate from the perspective of those of us lucky enough to have served with them in the past, is also not relevant to this thread!

Yes, I would very much like the RN to rebuild, and a discussion of the Devonport facilities might be interesting (they were certainly state of the art 30 years or so ago). But it all belongs in the RN thread, where those interested in the RN, of whom I am certainly one, are both more likely to find it and to read it with interest.

(Exit rant mode)
 
I

iambuzzard

Well-Known Member
Takao said:
Best ship in the fleet :)

I have two equipment claims to fame: over 10 years in Aviation and ME deployments - have never seen a CH-47 in the flesh. And I have spent more time on HMAS Brisbane (II) than any other RAN vessel - including LPD, LPA and LHD!
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I loved how narrow the beam was on HMAS Brisbane. She was a true greyhound with two guns. I got the guided tour from a mate who was in gunnery and had another mate who was a cook on board.
 
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Larso66

Member
I am unfamiliar with the Huon minesweepers - would they be adequate for deployment to the Gulf if Australian participated (very unlikely) in getting the straights moving again?
 
Todjaeger

Todjaeger

Potstirrer
Larso66 said:
I am unfamiliar with the Huon minesweepers - would they be adequate for deployment to the Gulf if Australian participated (very unlikely) in getting the straights moving again?
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Probably not TBH. The Huon-class MHC is mostly out of service with the RAN by now, with only two still in commission. Further, they are by their designation MHC, Minehunter Coastal, meaning that they are on the small side, just over 50m in length and ~732 tonnes displacement. The Persian Gulf is a very long way away from Sydney for vessels of this size, especially for vessels with a speed of 14 kts and range of 1,600 n miles. Sure, such a transit could be planned out and arranged but it would likely a month or more since a direct transit is ~7,000 n miles.
 
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SammyC

Well-Known Member
I would suggest they are old technology as well. There are better fully remote systems that can do this job without putting a boat into the middle of the straight.
 
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