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Farewell Black Duke.......


Whitewolf

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The two Forts have been withdrawn from sale. I would suspect the Type 23 is Montrose, she is actually fitted with Artisan.  We badly need RFA Argus as an LPH stand in and the C130s but clearly that counts for nothing..... 

Edited by Whitewolf
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5 hours ago, bismarck builder said:

why the hell are we getting rid of HMS Argus

Think the plan was to replace, but that got put on hold last year.

 

More importantly, does anyone know the asking price for the type 23 and annual mooring costs in the Thames? Might be more cost effective than buying a home in London?

 

David

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Montrose will be snapped up by a Foreign Navy, no doubt about it. Her sale is nothing short of lunacy as the RN is already chronically short of escorts with nothing new due in service for at least another 4 years at the earliest!  Monmouth was due to have a full LIFEX including new engines and would have remained a key asset for many years to come.

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ARGUS is getting old and very costly to maintain (I first landed on here over 30 years ago).  There was a plan to replace her with the Littoral Combat Ship but that was the only maritime upgrade that didn't get approved in the Integrated Review;  I understand that a Bay class LHDA will be given an upgrade.

 

Unfortunately it's typical of a defence policy that is driven by treasury officials rather than what capability is actually needed.  Retire the old capability early as a savings measure because the new is due next year, then that goes right and you are without capability for 2-4-10 years.  Look at FA2/GR9 to F35, SKASaC to Crowsnest, CVS to QEC.  I understand that the 7 E3Ds are also going early this year before the 3 replacement E7s enter service in 2023.

 

 

 

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Let it go people they all old and clapped out ....uneconomic and not enough manpower.

Monmouth when it was alongside the frigate complex in Guz looked well nearly as bad as the bronners.

Interesting about the lovely Fort boats (only gash barge worth bothering with 😀) reckon they will rob one to service paul.

Not sure the 'special needs' will be happy about loosing the J's as for Puma anyone that knows me will understand whst I think about that.

Hope the crabs get a decent helo that they want .👍

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2 hours ago, junglierating said:

Let it go people they all old and clapped out ....uneconomic and not enough manpower.

Monmouth when it was alongside the frigate complex in Guz looked well nearly as bad as the bronners.

Interesting about the lovely Fort boats (only gash barge worth bothering with 😀) reckon they will rob one to service paul.

Not sure the 'special needs' will be happy about loosing the J's as for Puma anyone that knows me will understand whst I think about that.

Hope the crabs get a decent helo that they want .👍

The 23s maybe old, but they are still rated as one of the best ASW ships in existence. The LIFEX refits have extended their lives (which of course should never have needed to be extended in the first place) allowing them to continue until we eventually get the T26s into service. The biggest enemy we face is our own  god awful politicians and procurement processes..... 

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9 minutes ago, Whitewolf said:

The 23s maybe old, but they are still rated as one of the best ASW ships in existence. The LIFEX refits have extended their lives (which of course should never have needed to be extended in the first place) allowing them to continue until we eventually get the T26s into service. The biggest enemy we face is our own  god awful politicians and procurement processes..... 

Won't disagree but Monmouth 30 years old Argus 40 plus Fort boats 40 plus ....cant polish a ...well you know.

You only get out what you put in.....ive a more base pharse for that but UK PLc lack of investment and boy doesnt it show 

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15 hours ago, junglierating said:

Won't disagree but Monmouth 30 years old Argus 40 plus Fort boats 40 plus ....cant polish a ...well you know.

You only get out what you put in.....ive a more base pharse for that but UK PLc lack of investment and boy doesnt it show 

Age is not always a factor, our ex- HMS Hermes  served for longer with the Indian Navy than it did the RN, likewise our ex- HMS Ocean is still going strong with Brazil. Its a case of how well something is maintained. Like you say, we just don't put in the investment!

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On 9/17/2021 at 11:45 AM, Whitewolf said:

Age is not always a factor, our ex- HMS Hermes  served for longer with the Indian Navy than it did the RN, likewise our ex- HMS Ocean is still going strong with Brazil. Its a case of how well something is maintained. Like you say, we just don't put in the investment!

Would you want our sailors in 50 to 60 year ships?

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  • 3 months later...

I’d agree with JR, I did a stint on Argus and she was a secondhand ship in the 80’s. A stop gap for the Engadine. She’s had her day, served the fleet well in gulf wars and many a conflict. Every time she returns to Falmouth she need longer in port.

 

As for the Monmouth, if you’ve every been in a force 10 gale with the goffers banging into the ship, you’d want to be in your pit knowing the ship was structurally sound and not some old chunk of junk.

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