HMS Nottingham managed a passable imitation of a submarine during a High Seas Firing.

The seas were not actually that high during the Sea Dart missile shoot in the South West Approaches, but the Type 42 destroyer caught the odd heavy wave – goffers, in Naval parlance – and ploughed in deep while she was streaking along at 30 knots.

The accompanying pictures, taken by LA(PHOT) Ray Jones, of FRPU West at Devonport, suggest that the warship, which nearly sank after striking Wolf Rock off Lord Howe Island in 2002 during a global deployment, is again ready for action.

Nottingham had looked a sorry sight as she sat low in the water at Lord Howe Island, off the east coast of Australia, a huge hole punched in her hull.

It was only the prompt and brave actions of her ship’s company, who shored up the damage in a heavy sea immediately after the grounding, which ensured the destroyer survived, and she was towed stern-first into Newcastle then Sydney, spending weeks in preparation for the long journey home on the back of a heavy-lift ship.

Now, after an extensive refit and repairs, carried out at Portsmouth, the ship is again preparing for front-line service.

Speaking shortly after Nottingham successfully completed Basic Operational Sea Training (BOST), Logistics Officer Lt Cdr Gillian Russell said: “We are now off to the Joint Maritime Course in Scotland, and that will be the last tick in the box before we deploy for three months in January.

“We are completely up and running again and raring to go – and we are the most modern Type 42 in the Fleet.”

There are just a handful of sailors on board now who were serving in Nottingham ‘before the rock’, but the ship’s company, under Commanding Officer Cdr Steve Holt, has a positive attitude towards their ship.

“We like to think of ourselves as HMS Nottingham II – we are the new, improved Nottingham, better than ever,” said Lt Cdr Russell.