York knuckles down to Falklands mission - finally

FRESH from an “eventful” – and unscheduled – start to her South Atlantic deployment (she was called upon to evacuate civilians from Benghazi at the height of the growing crisis in Libya) HMS York has belatedly begun her patrol of the Falklands.

Britain’s fastest destroyer (34kts – quicker than Daring, Dauntless and Diamond which are more than 20 years younger...) had just one day alongside at East Cove Military Port (perhaps a blessing given its bleakness) before beginning her South Atlantic duties in earnest.

More than 3,000 people enjoy the sights of (HMS) Edinburgh

YOU never forget your first minigun...

A youngster inspects one of HMS Edinburgh’s last lines of defence during the destroyer’s four-day flag-flying visit to Leith.

She was one of more than 3,000 people who sampled life aboard the Type 42 as the ship took a break from a punishing early spring training schedule.

The Fortress of the Sea has just completed Operational Sea Training off Plymouth and is just about to embark on the latest Joint Warrior war game off North-west Scotland.

In between she found just enough time to pay her first visit to Edinburgh in more than two years.

Navy's Libyan rescue mission "undoubtedly" saved lives

THE men and women of HMS York “undoubtedly” saved lives when they rescued civilians stranded in Libya as fighting engulfed the country.

The destroyer picked up 43 civilians – 11 Britons and 32 other nationalities from a dozen countries – from the eastern port of Benghazi during a fleeting visit to the city on Thursday and safely transported them to Malta.

Among them was oil engineer Steve Tindal from Swansea, part of a group of three oil workers escorted to the port by the self-styled Jalu People’s Army as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office urged all Britons still in Libya to make for Benghazi.

Sailors help major evacuation effort

BUT if you’re thinking ‘HMS Cumberland’ or 'HMS York' and ‘Libya’ you’d be wrong.

No, these are Britons caught up in the latest unrest between Ginger and Brownia. Saving their bacon is the good ship Albion, which has dispatched her landing craft to ‘Freeport’ to evacuate them.

The Brownian enclave of Freeport is actually Wilsons Beach, just around the corner from Weston Mill Lake Jetty (hence the unmistakable outline of HMS Ocean in the background).

York delivers aid to Benghazi and prepares to evacuate last Britons

TONS of medical aid has arrived in war-torn Benghazi aboard HMS York as the destroyer arrived for the latest stage of the civilian evacuation.

York sailed into the eastern Libyan port late this morning in the third rescue sortie carried out by the Royal Navy since the unrest in the North African nation became critical.

HMS Cumberland has already ferried more than 400 civilians – including in excess of 100 Brits – safely from rebel-held Benghazi to Grand Harbour.

Cumberland goes 'beyond the call of duty' to rescue civilians in Libya

HMS Cumberland is due back in Malta today after her second rescue mission to save foreigners caught up in Libya’s spiralling civil war.

Some 200 civilians – many of them oil workers from refineries in eastern Libya – boarded the frigate in driving rain in rebel-held Benghazi yesterday.

The port is the focal point of the international evacuation effort and several hundred Britons are still thought to be spread across the country.

York sails south to replace her sister

GLIDING past Round Tower, this is the sight of a stretched Type 42 destroyer, HMS York to be precise, sailing on deployment.

D98 (where life is great, according to the matelot's adage) is bound for the Falklands to relieve her sister.

Britain’s fastest destroyer (34kts) is due in the Falklands in the middle of next month, allowing her sister Gloucester to head home.

The Type 42 will spend a few months in and around the Falklands and South Georgia, returning to Portsmouth in July via the Caribbean and finally the USA.