Naval Service General Discussion - Fleet, Manpower, Policy

Dohvolle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122162563#Comment_122162563

NZ doing more or less the same role as we'll be using them for, and they didn't think so, even though they were already fitted for Rafael Typhoon (removed before we took them over).

Deck is rated for a 40mm apparently. It's all about threat. They won't be sent to the Med where they might have to face off against people traffickers with RPGs & AKs. That's not their intended purpose.

Larbre34

I guess to wargame her role, she could come up against drug and people traffickers, in MV Matthew or yacht Brime type scenarios. We also hear of homemade submarines involved in the drugs trade too. and in case where the smugglers are becoming better armed, there's no substitute for a big deck gun with remote FC

sparky42

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122169553#Comment_122169553

Are you expecting a homemade submarine in the Irish Sea? Or are we going to be threatening RN subs?

Larbre34

Well the former, obviously.

Drug trafficking mother ships like MV Matthew hand off smaller shipments to yachts and trawlers, as we know, and increasingly to "narco-subs". These vessels can cost a few million dollars to build, but are a canny investment by the drug cartels, as they can return hundred of millions in sales, per vessel.

Examples of these subs that are capable of crossing the Atlantic, have already been discovered.

And so, we can rule nothing out in terms of what the IPVs may encounter. The more nation states invest in security and intelligence around smuggling and trafficking, the more criminals invest in turn. Its a cat and mouse game as old as seafaring.

jonnybigwallet

Emm....The last time I looked, these narco subs are not equipped with torpedoes, deck guns etc.

Dohvolle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122174514#Comment_122174514

They aren't even subs.

Larbre34

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122174514#Comment_122174514

Of course they aren't, but the banditos inside them carry small arms.

The threat of a remote FC deck gun will end any potential blackguarding before it begins.

Dohvolle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122189310#Comment_122189310

There has been no evidence that the operators of these craft are armed.

Happy to be proven wrong of course.

Most that have been boarded at sea have been done by small fast craft and assault rifle armed boarding teams, supported by helis with door mounted MGs.

https://youtu.be/s23dWyLwM4A?si=douuaEZFHGk5WdIi

https://youtu.be/xn9f6WXDJRw?si=O5RX5m5RCzuNKtNh

roadmaster

I see on the Navys Social Media Eithnes last day is tomorrow as she heads for the scrapyard

Dohvolle

Today.

She's gone.

Larbre34

-Alfred, the Lord Tennyson.

roadmaster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122210836#Comment_122210836

I was down in the Naval Base a few times in the past and each time when i spoke to POs about eithne they always said in its day it was one of the best naval ships built with world class technolgy onboard. Was that true or was it just old lads with very fond memories?

Dohvolle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122211117#Comment_122211117

It was true. It was way ahead of its time for an offshore patrol vessel. It says a lot about its design that a number of OPVs in service today bear similarities to it's layout, but it was the first.

The naval service had never operated a vessel with a CIC before, something common on all warships, and has not done so since either.

Accom for crew was excellent by any standard, and each grade was separated by deck, so once you were off duty, you weren't going to be sharing space with your supervising NCOs or Branch officers, and likewise.

I have never heard anyone who served on her complain about her, though there was a few design issues in the early days, which were easily rectified after a few years.

Its design permitted, if needed, for her to be upgraded from an OPV role to a Corvette/frigate role.There was plenty of space on deck to fit SHORAD etc if so desired, and the deck aft had been used to operate Side Scan Sonar with some success during the Air India crash recovery.

We can only hope the result of the time and effort put into designing P31, will be seen again in its eventual replacement, given that they have had 2 decades to iron out the requirement.

zone 1

reports of another russian sub of our west coast again france UK and norway sending aircraft during the week.

Dohvolle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122215033#Comment_122215033

Its the same sub all week. Discussed elsewhere here.

roadmaster

HSA were on the naval base at somestage i presume they could not go in without been invited?

Would they have been there due to the external contractors and visiting them happened to see other issues and naval service are just following there advice?

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster/arid-41414152.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2qh3L2-5bYKsvxdC7xVGO_sSsJKj4aHHuG4guZaX5No4pHyBNMFQWNAMs

Larbre34

HSA can visit any work place, on demand, but usually by appointment and reasonable engagement.

Secure locations are a matter for local rules, but the canteen wouldn't count as a secure location, so they are there quite reasonably.

Grassy Knoll

bars of soap and damp are the least of the H&S issues when you consider it is effectively beside a former toxic dump, contaminated former industrial site and buildings that are falling down …

Dohvolle

What buildings are falling down?

Grassy Knoll

I am referring to the dilapidation in particular some of the old storehouses of 6 only two I believe to be in use, the other four were until lately either in burnt out ruins #4;or rotting away:9-11. IMHO it is hard to think of a work ‘campus’ where this level of wrack and ruin would be tolerated. I will acknowledge recent work under way or,planned on some of these:but remediation and rebuilding has taken decades at this stage with a considerable amount remaining.

Dohvolle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122264959#Comment_122264959

There are 6 Storehouses, numbered as follows. 4,6,8,9,10 & Royal Naval Hospital. Building no 11, was to the rear of Block 6, stopped being used at the end of the 19th century, and was "put to torch" by someone in the 1920s. It's been derelict since, but I believe there are plans to build a new GYM there in the coming years. It went to tender last year.

8,9,10 and Hospital were, from the 1940s leased as offices by Irish Steel, the other 2, which face north, were used by the NS. 4 was used as an archive, storing all ships logs and paperwork since 1947 and earlier. It housed Barrack Services and was used also by CMRC until the fire in 2008. The fire destroyed all the contents and internal structure (wood floors and stairs, unlike the other storehouses, built in the early 1800s) 4 is currently being renovated. New windows went in a few weeks back.

6 is Naval HQ, and was renovated extensively in the early 2000s.

Block 8 was supposedly used as a grain store during the famine in Ireland. I'm not sure at what point it came back to the Naval Service, but it was at some point in the 1970s as Niall Brunicardi recorded it as being in Naval Hands in his book "Haulbowline, Spike & rocky Islands from 1976. After that it was used as Naval Stores. 8 was also extensively renovated and reopened last year as single accommodation.

Block 9 faces east, and used to be attached to the steel mill by walkway on the 3rd floor. 10 is next to this. The Royal hospital block is the southernmost of the 3 buildings. 2 of these were damaged by fires, in 1999 and 2001, while in the ownership of Irish Steel & Ispat. The latter fire did significant damage to the roof of block 10, and a protective covering roof was put on this before the Factory closed. These buildings have remained idle since the Steel plant was demolished in 2008. They have never been used by the Irish Defence forces. There is a matter of missing radioactive materials since the latter fire. A full decontamination of this site would be necessary before anyone makes plans for its use. The DF should not be lumbered with the cleanup, when they didn't make the mess in the first place. Past governments invited the Mittal family in to run Irish Steel. All ISPAT did, was wind it down, strip assets, and leave a toxic dump behind.

I understand there is a plan to refurbish Block 9 for the Naval Service. There are many plans. Some are reasonable, some far fetched. Some completely ignorant of the fact the Island is a working military facility and dockyard, and not a tourist attraction. The Spencer Jetty, close to block 9 was also significantly renovated in recent years, and can now be used as a berth for Naval Vessels on short stay.

The main point is, further to your reply, 4 is currently being renovated. As we speak you can see a mobile tower crane working on it.

The rest is outside the perimeter of the Naval base and as irrelevant to it as the Prison outside the walls of Collins Barracks in Cork, or the plans for the CSO building in Rathmines, next door to Cathal Brugha.

There are derelict buildings all over Ireland, many are former DF properties.

They aren't the DF's problem!

jonnybigwallet

Youve done your homework there Doh!

Thanks

Dohvolle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122265747#Comment_122265747

Yeah, first read NBs book when I was still in primary school. His son was my lecturer in college, I'm proud to call his grandson (serving officer in NS) among my friends.

I know the island well, and would love to see it used to its full potential as much as any man or woman, but also am a realist, and would prefer to see a navy spend money on people and ships instead of renovating historic buildings that have nothing to do with day to day operations, on the Defence dime.

Because if they want to go down that road, I have an extension that needs re-roofing. With a proper roof it could be used to store countless naval historic books.

roadmaster

They have finally lost the plot in the dail. I wonder is she just confused between meters and feet as the MRV will be between 120 & 150 meters and 600 feet is close to 200 meters.

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/half-kilometre-warship-query-baffles-irish-parliament/

mupper2

On one hand, goofy on the other, good she's actually asking the question…

sparky42

still wondering why UKDJ made an article about it, I mean I’d put money on some strange/stupid/WTF questions/comment from MPs in the commons.

Dohvolle

George follows me on twitter, and I tweeted it last night. Lo and behold an article today.

News is Nooz.

roadmaster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122283834#Comment_122283834

So did Deputy Murphy get confused with the metric system?

davetherave

Once she figured out the difference between Feet and Metres she came back to ask if a 210 metre vessel could dock in the Naval Base.

She has also wanted to know if a C17 could land and park in Baldonell.

And if an A380 could land in Baldonell

roadmaster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122283953#Comment_122283953

Some one is giving her very poorly worded questions such as the Hercules C-17 military aircraft.

Whats the end game with these weird questions such as the A380?