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HMS Barfleur - HMS Barfleur (D80) was a Battle-class destroyer of the Royal Navy (RN). She was named after the Battle of Barfleur, which involved an Anglo-Dutch Fleet against the French in 1692.
Barfleur was built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Limited on the Tyne. She was launched on 1 November 1943 and commissioned on 14 September 1944.
Second World War Service[edit]
Barfleur was the only ship of the class to see action during the Second World War. She joined the British Pacific Fleet upon commission, seeing action during the campaign against Japan.
She was present in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese signed the official surrender on the deck of the US battleship USS Missouri on 2 September 1945.
Post War Service[edit]
In 1946, Barfleur deployed to the Far East along with the rest of the 19th Destroyer Flotilla, performing a variety of duties, including visiting many ports on 'fly-the-flag' visits. Barfleur returned to the United Kingdom with the rest of her flotilla in 1947, and was subsequently placed in Reserve.
In 1953, Barfleur took part in the Fleet Review at Spithead in celebration of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Barfleur was positioned in the middle of HMS St. Kitts and HMS Crossbow.[1]
Barfleur also became Captain (D) of the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla, which served in the Mediterranean. While there, Barfleur picked-up survivors from a Handley Page Hastings that had crashed in the region. Upon the completion of her task, Barfleur returned the aeroplane's crew to Malta. In 1954, Barfleur moved back home but was returned to the Mediterranean the following year.
The destroyer was involved in the Suez War in 1956, taking part in the Allied landings in early November. Barfleur returned home later in the year for the last time to join the Home Fleet.
In 1958, Barfleur was put in Reserve before being placed on the disposal list and broken up at Dalmuir in 1966.
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HMS Royal Oak - HMS Royal Oak was one of five Revenge-class battleships built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Launched in 1914 and completed in 1916, Royal Oak first saw combat at the Battle of Jutland as part of the Grand Fleet. In peacetime, she served in the Atlantic, Home and Mediterranean fleets, more than once coming under accidental attack. The ship drew worldwide attention in 1928 when her senior officers were controversially court-martialled. Attempts to modernise Royal Oak throughout her 25-year career could not fix her fundamental lack of speed, and by the start of the Second World War, she was no longer suited to front-line duty.
On 14 October 1939, Royal Oak was anchored at Scapa Flow in Orkney, Scotland, when she was torpedoed by the German submarine U-47. Of Royal Oak 's complement of 1,234 men and boys, 833 were killed that night or died later of their wounds. The loss of the old ship—the first of the five Royal Navy battleships and battlecruisers sunk in the Second World War—did little to affect the numerical superiority enjoyed by the British navy and its Allies, but the sinking had considerable effect on wartime morale. The raid made an immediate celebrity and war hero out of the U-boat commander, Günther Prien, who became the first German submarine officer to be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Before the sinking of Royal Oak, the Royal Navy had considered the naval base at Scapa Flow impregnable to submarine attack, and U-47 's raid demonstrated that the German Navy was capable of bringing the war to British home waters. The shock resulted in rapid changes to dockland security and the construction of the Churchill Barriers around Scapa Flow.
The wreck of Royal Oak, a designated war grave, lies almost upside down in 100 feet (30 m) of water with her hull 16 feet (4.9 m) beneath the surface. In an annual ceremony to mark the loss of the ship, Royal Navy divers place a White Ensign underwater at her stern. Unauthorised divers are prohibited from approaching the wreck at any time under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.
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USS Oriskany - USS Oriskany (CV/CVA-34) – nicknamed Mighty O,[1] and occasionally referred to as the O-boat – was one of the few Essex-class aircraft carriers completed only after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was named for the Revolutionary War Battle of Oriskany.
The history of Oriskany differs considerably from that of her sister ships. Originally designed as a "long-hulled" Essex-class ship (considered by some authorities to be a separate class, the Ticonderoga class) her construction was suspended in 1947. She eventually was commissioned in 1950 after conversion to an updated design called SCB-27 ("27-Charlie"), which became the template for modernization of 14 other Essex-class ships. Oriskany was the final Essex-class ship completed.
She operated primarily in the Pacific into the 1970s, earning two battle stars for service in the Korean War, and five for service in the Vietnam War. In 1966 one of the worst shipboard fires since World War II broke out on Oriskany when a magnesium flare was accidentally ignited; forty-four men died in the fire.
Oriskany 's post-service history also differs considerably from that of her sister ships. Decommissioned in 1976, she was sold for scrap in 1995, but was repossessed in 1997 because nothing was being done (lack of progress). In 2004 it was decided to sink her as an artificial reef off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico. After much environmental review and remediation to remove toxic substances, she was carefully sunk in May 2006, settling in an upright position at a depth accessible to recreational divers. As of 2008 the Oriskany is "the largest vessel ever sunk to make a reef".[2]
The Oriskany is mentioned in the 1986 film Top Gun as the ship from which the main character's father had flown during the Vietnam War. She has been featured in films such as Men of the Fighting Lady and The Bridges at Toko-Ri from 1954 and What Dreams May Come (1998).[3]
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USS Oklahoma - USS Oklahoma (BB-37), the only ship of the United States Navy to ever be named for the 46th state, was a World War I-era battleship and the second of two ships in her class. She and her sister, Nevada, were the first U.S. warships to use oil fuel instead of coal.[6][page needed]
The Oklahoma, commissioned in 1916, served in World War I as a member of BatDiv 6,[4] protecting Allied convoys on their way across the Atlantic. After the war, she served in both the United States Battle Fleet and Scouting Fleet. Oklahoma was modernized between 1927 and 1929. In 1936, she rescued American citizens and refugees from the Spanish Civil War. On returning to the West coast in August of the same year, Oklahoma spent the rest of her service in the Pacific.
On 7 December 1941, Oklahoma was sunk by several bombs and torpedoes during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. A total of 429 crew died when she capsized in Battleship Row. In 1943 Oklahoma was righted and salvaged. However, unlike most of the other battleships that were recovered following Pearl Harbor, the Oklahoma was too damaged to return to duty. She was eventually stripped of her remaining armaments and superstructure before being sold for scrap in 1946. She sank in a storm while being towed from Oahu in Hawaii to a breakers yard in San Francisco Bay in 1947.
Australia’s Air Task Group (ATG) consisting of six RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornets, an E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft and a KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport aircraft continue to support Operation OKRA with missions in Iraq.
The ATG comprises around 400 RAAF personnel who have deployed to the Middle East. Australia’s efforts are in response to a request for assistance by the Iraqi Government in combating ISIL terrorists.
Operation OKRA is the Australian Defence Force's contribution to the international effort to combat the ISIL terrorist threat in Iraq.
Australia's contribution is being closely coordinated with the Iraqi government, Gulf nations and a broad coalition of international partners.
A mobile shelter provides some protection for mechanics as they service a P-40 Warhawk on the windswept runway of Fort Glenn Army Airbase on Umnak Island.
HMAS Choules central to Operation RENDER SAFE 2014
Published on CAPT Chris Rickey (author), CPL Matthew Bickerton (photographer)
Location(s): Torokina, Bougainville Island
The Royal Australian Navy's Landing Ship Dock, HMAS Choules, is seen at anchor off the coast of Bougainville during Operation RENDER SAFE 14.
At anchor two kilometres off the coast of Bougainville sits HMAS Choules, the Royal Australian Navy's Landing Ship Dock, a 180 metre long, 16,000 tonne vessel, currently providing significant life support to almost 450 Australian and international defence force personnel deployed on Operation RENDER SAFE 2014.
Sitting in the Captain's chair is Commander Ashley Papp, who maintains responsibility for both the ship's company and the embarked forces while onboard HMAS Choules.
"We are the perfect sea base for Operation RENDER SAFE," he said.
"We are the hub, the home, the hot showers and hot food for the embarked forces.
"The Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams face very tough working conditions on shore, in the jungles and HMAS Choules is the best asset to support them and the operation."
A Navy Clearance Dive team prepares to launch a Zodiac inflatable boat from HMAS Choules during Operation RENDER SAFE 14 in Torokina, Bougainville.
Where the ship really comes into its own is the availability of the well dock, which is basically a floating dock designed specifically for amphibious operations.
"We have baptised a lot of soldiers, sailors and airmen into how the well dock is utilised at sea during operations," Commander Papp said.
"The flexibility of HMAS Choules is one of her major assets, we are launching clearance divers and geo-spatial specialists through the side ramp and we are utilising the ship's well dock to launch the larger vessels, which is a first for us," he said.
From the ship's flight deck an Australian Army MRH-90 helicopter provides transportation and logistic support to the teams on the ground, another example of the tri-service nature of this operation.
Two Australian Army amphibious vehicles depart HMAS Choules and head towards Torokina, Bougainville, during Operation RENDER SAFE 14.
"We are very much a joint and collaborative environment, HMAS Choules is very used to hosting Army and Air Force personnel as well as civilians," Commander Papp said.
"We are purpose-built and no other ship currently in the fleet can do what we do in that tri-service space, and we do it very well."
For the Commander of Joint Task Force 663, Captain Jay Bannister, Operation RENDER SAFE 2014 is not only providing assistance to the people of Bougainville but also an opportunity for the ADF to put its Amphibious Task Group (ATG) to the test in an operational environment.
"This is a really good amphibious experience for HMAS Choules, for my staff and great exposure for other Air Force and Army elements in the Joint Task Force as well," Captain Bannister said.
"This is what amphibious operations are about; it's tough getting from the ship onto the beach and into operations and then back again. It takes a lot of detailed planning and we are all learning a lot from this."
Pallets of rations and vehicles wait to be moved ashore into Torokina, Bougainville, from HMAS Choules, during Operation RENDER SAFE 14.
Operation RENDER SAFE is Australia’s enduring commitment to the removal of Explosive Remnants of War which continue to pose a potential danger to communities across the South West Pacific.
The focus of Operation RENDER SAFE 2014 is in the Torokina district of Bougainville where grounds, villages and community gardens remain contaminated by unexploded ordnance.
Torokina was the site of fighting between Japanese and Allied forces, and was an air base for the Allies during the Second World War.
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