ON A glorious spring morn, HMS Sutherland heads into Plymouth Sound – the last ship to depart as part on the RN’s headline deployment of 2011, Cougar.
The Type 23 frigate departed Devonport today to join up with flagship HMS Albion, which sailed yesterday, and a flurry of Royal Fleet Auxiliaries: two Bay-class landing support ships (Mounts and Cardigan), one tanker (Wave Knight), and one floating warehouse (Fort Rosalie).
In addition to the ‘big ticket items’, green berets of 40 Commando are deploying with the task group aboard Albion and also Cardigan Bay, which sailed from Marchwood port in Southampton Water yesterday.
Despite intense (and rather wide-of-the-mark) media speculation involving a link-up with current NATO operations in Libya, Cougar is a long-planned deployment (preparations were under way last summer…) designed to test the RN’s ability to deploy a substantial amphibious force a long way from the UK – in this case the Mediterranean, then through Suez for further amphibious work with Allied forces in the Indian Ocean.
Sutherland and Albion have spent the opening weeks of 2011 undergoing top-up training to prepare them for this deployment – which will keep the various ships in the force away from Britain for up to six months – while the staff of task group commander, Cdre John Kingwell, tested out Albion’s impressive command facilities with a week-long exercise while the ship was alongside in her home port.
0 comments:
Post a Comment