THIS is a “mind-boggling” – and extremely rare – view of one of Britain’s cutting-edge warships.

On the bed of a dry dock in Rosyth, crew and shipwrights gather around the keel of HMS Somerset shortly before the waters lapped around her hull once more.

The Devonport-based frigate is in the finishing stages of a £7.3m overhaul at the hands of Babcock on the Forth.

Somerset, like her sisters Richmond, Northumberland and Westminster, is being converted to carry a Merlin helicopter, fitted with the world-class Sonar 2087 to find the quietest submarines and generally being revamped for at least another decade’s service in the front line.

The ship will return to duty this summer, but to celebrate the milestone of external work being finished below the waterline, those who had worked on her were invited to a party beneath the 3,500-ton hull.

“In the water, Somerset is a spectacular sight, but seeing her out of water, in all her splendour, is mind-boggling,” said Lt Cdr Simon Chapman, the ship’s Senior Naval Officer.

“We now have one of the most formidable warships in the world – she’s in magnificent condition and will be a powerful asset for years to come.”