Field Day

RN Section Field Day 24 to 25^th September 2007

The section traveled down to HMS Excellent in Portsmouth on Monday night and boarded HMS Bristol for an overnight stay. HMS Bristol is permanently berthed at Whale Island, the Ship remains in commission, has an RN Commanding Officer and is administered as a Department of HMS Excellent. A Type 82 Destroyer of 7000 tons, and the seventh ship to bear the name, Bristol was commissioned in 1973; she was finally withdrawn from service in 1991 and configured for her current role in 1993. Currently one third of her compartments are used for accommodation, providing 460 berths for the fourteen thousand Sea Cadets and CCF cadets who pass through her every year. The section undertook a test on safe weapon handling before making up their bunks and retiring for an early start next day.

On Tuesday morning we headed to our parent establishment HMS Collingwood. HMS Collingwood is the lead establishment of the Maritime Warfare School (MWS) and the largest naval training organisation in Western Europe. At any one time the MWS is training about 10% of the Service and has an annual throughput of over 30,000 Officers and Ratings, both regular and reserve. The Command Training Group - previously the Royal Navy School of Leadership and Management had organised a full day’s programme for us, beginning with communication and team building exercises. One of these involved launching an egg from a second storey window, the cadets were given two balloons, two pieces of string and A4 paper to ensure it had a safe landing!! This was followed by an hour on the DCCT – Dismounted Close Combat Trainer, an indoor small arms training simulator. Laser sighted, gas powered SA80 rifles were used in a number of scenarios to test the cadet’s weapon handling skills and marksmanship. Despite at times excessive numbers of rounds being fired, several cadets proved themselves good shots and there were a number of confirmed kills! We then moved to look at ships weapon systems, including a 4.5 inch gun and the Phalanx. Fitted in all frigates and destroyers the 4.5 inch MK 8 gun is the Royal Navy's standard medium calibre general purpose gun. The primary purpose of the gun is Naval Gunfire Support, the provision of artillery bombardment against shore targets. In this role the gun is capable of firing a 21kg shell at 25 rounds per minute in excess of 22,000m and can provide artillery support equivalent to three shore based batteries. The Mk 8 can also be used effectively against surface targets at sea as well as a limited anti-air capability. The cadets saw the working parts of the gun in very close proximity as a training round was loaded and fired. Phalanx provides a "last-chance" defence by automatically detecting, tracking, and engaging anti-air warfare threats such as anti-ship missiles and aircraft. The Phalanx is fitted in Type 42 Destroyers, LPD (Landing Platform Dock), LPH (Landing Platform Helicopter), and AOR (Auxiliary Oilier Replenishment). This 20mm automatic Gatling gun CIWS (Close-In Weapon System) has a range of approximately 1 mile and can fire at the rate of 3,000 rpm.

Just before lunch we moved to the Bridge Simulators, highly realistic computer generated graphics are used to train all RN personnel. These simulators allow seafarers of all standards to experience and refine every aspect of navigation and ship handling - from basic watch keeping to the use of the latest electronic navigation aids and advanced ship handling practice. Giving the ability to practice routine and emergency responses in a safe but realistic environment, just as well as several or our cadets managed to steer a destroyer into a fuel replenishment ship! After lunch the cadets changed into sports gear and received a full safety briefing before running HMS Collingwood’s Obstacle course. High ‘A’ frames, water filled pits, cramped concrete tunnels, cargo nets and a 10 foot wall were just some of the challenges faced by three teams in a closely fought competition.

All in all a very successful, busy and interesting Field Day, our thanks go to Lt Kirwan our PELO and his team at HMS Excellent for providing us with such a fantastic training opportunity.

Lieutenant Commander GS Lawson Shiplake College CCF