| PRESENTLY on what
is likely to be her final tour of duty in one of Britain’s final
remants of Empire, HMS Dumbarton Castle is the constant defender
of the UK’s interests in the South Atlantic.
The ship arrived in the Falklands last October, taking over
from her sister Leeds Castle which was heading north after
nearly four years in the South Atlantic.
Although this is possibly the twilight of Dumbarton Castle’s
career, the pace of operations has actually picked up as 2005
opened.
The 81-metre ship embarked an entire infantry company (normally
there’s space aboard the Castle class ships for about
25 embarked personnel) for Exercise Purple Strike, a combined
forces war game around the Falklands.
Embarked personnel is nothing unusual for Dumbarton Castle.
On almost every sortie a group of soldiers from the RIC – Roulement
Infantry Company – stationed in the Falklands goes to
sea and is put ashore in the far-flung corners of the islands,
either by sea boat or helicopter.
Working with the sister forces based in the Falklands is integral
to the guardship’s duties. Air defence exercises are
regularly conducted with the RAF’s F3 Tornado jets as
are flying exercises involving air force and civilian helicopters.
The ship also frequently drops in on some of the more remote
settlements on the hundreds of islands which make up the Falklands.
The Castle class has taken it in turns to rotate duties around
the Falklands – three years in the South Atlantic, three
years based in the UK – for the past two decades.
Unique in the small ships fleet, the Castles can accommodate
a helicopter up to Sea King size.
That helicopter facility will remain in the successor offshore
patrol ship just ordered by the Navy to replace Dumbarton and
Leeds Castles (see page 3).
Although the core of Dumbarton Castle’s time is spent
around the Falklands, she pays regular visits to the more remote
dependency of South Georgia (about twice every three months)
and occasional ones to the South Sandwich Islands.
The latter archipelago is about as far south as any warship
is permitted to travel – Antarctic waters are off limits
to military vessels.
The ship’s company of 50 typically spends six months
aboard before returning to the UK.
They are supported by a shore-based team of Royal Navy engineers
who ensure the ship is ready for duties.
Today’s Dumbarton Castle is the third British warship
to bear the name.
The first was actually a Scottish warship, a sixth-rate frigate
which saw action against the French at the beginning of the
18th century. She was added to the RN in 1707 – then
captured the following year by the French privateer Le Jersey
whilst guarding merchantmen off Waterford.
It was more than two centuries before the name again appeared,
this time as a Castle class corvette in the latter stages of
WW II.
Launched in Dundee in September 1943, the second Dumbarton
Castle was thrown into convoy operations in the North Atlantic
until the war’s end.
After a brief spell as a search-and-rescue ship, she was mothballed
in 1946 and finally broken up 15 years later.
Today’s bearer of the name was built in Aberdeen and
hurtled down the slipway of the Hall Russell yard in June 1981
and was handed over to the RN nine months later.
She and her sister were immediately sent south when the Falklands
crisis flared up one month later, earning the ship a second
battle honour.
As ‘Falklands guardship’ – as she’s
commonly referred to – it is Dumbarton Castle’s
duty to protect the islands and the UK’s territorial
waters, including fishery stocks, oil and gas installations,
to a 200-mile limit.
Additional tasks include continuing to foster good relations
with the islanders, conducting boarding operations of passing
ships and boats if needed, and the dispersal of oil slicks
should any occur in territorial waters.
(Ship of the Month April 2005)
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