Military Galleries

HMS Caprice 1972 : HMS Caprice was the last WWII destroyer to remain in service with the Royal Navy. These pictures were taken in 1972 during her period as Engineers' training ship. The ship operated on a day running basis out of Devonport, normally flashing up from cold during the morning watch (0400-0800), putting to sea at 0900 after the Captain arrived on board, returning at 1600 to Slip Jetty, then shutting down and connecting to shore power. Friday was a day for routine maintenance in harbour. Every "term" we took a trip somewhere nice for a few days. In 1972 we went to Brest in the early part of the year and then to Oporto in June. There are photographs of the Oporto visit in this gallery. These trips afforded the possibility to stock the ship with good wine, port, cheese, etc. (This was well before EC membership - and Portugal was a fascist dictatorship anyway). Some of the photographs were taken of other ships and submarines at Devonport; a distraction from long duty weekends, I suppose. If anyone can help me identify any ship, submarine or person in these pictures, I would be grateful! Use the comment box or contact me on djwilkes1@gmail.com. The final commission book covering this period is available at http://www.hmscaprice1968.org.uk/book.htm. By the way if anyone wants to download anything from my album they can do so, at full resolution, by placing the mouse arrow over the big picture on the right of the screen, whereupon a dialog box will drift across from the rt hand side; the last option allows you save an original size copy to your computer.

HMS Caprice 1972

HMS Caprice was the last WWII destroyer to remain in service with the ...

Updated: Aug 25, 2011 2:19am PST

HMS Hermes 1973/4 : I joined Hermes in mid 1973 when she was just finishing a conversion from fixed-wing aircraft carrier to helicopter carrier (to operate in the anti-submarine role using Sea King Helicopters or the Commando role using mainly Wessex). There are some pictures of PSTs (Preliminary Sea Trials) and then of an exercise called "Swift Move" that started in the North Sea and moved up to the Arctic off Northern Norway (Sept/Oct '73, see www.uss-newport-news.com/hist/1973.htm) . It was a massive NATO exercise involving mainly US and GB naval forces. Hermes was anti-submarine flagship and the USS Newport News had overall command. We were harrassed by the Soviet Navy, in particular by a Kanin Class destroyer that evidently had combustion problems in its after boiler room. At one point there was a fire on board and a torpedo was fired (www.lists.peacelink.it/armamenti/msg00252.html). There is a picture taken from one of our helicopters of this event. The exercise "wash up" took place in Oslo, hence the photographs taken in Oslo Fjord. Finally there are some photographs of Hermes returning to Devonport from Cyprus at the beginning August 1974 after having been deployed to rescue British civilians caught up in the invasion of Cyprus by Turkey. I would appreciate any comments, corrections, etc - use the comments box below - thanks.

HMS Hermes 1973/4

I joined Hermes in mid 1973 when she was just finishing a conversion f ...

Updated: May 23, 2008 2:38am PST

HMS Bulwark 1973 : These photographs were taken between January and March 1973. HMS Bulwark sailed straight after Christmas leave for the USA. It was a cold and rough crossing. We made a brief call at Roosevelt Roads (nr Jacksonville NC) to refuel and embark 40 Commando who had been training with the US Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune. Then it was Charleston South Carolina for a week or so and down to Vieques for an amphibious exercise (Rum Punch) with the US forces followed by a few days in Puerto Rico. Then back to Deveonport for Easter. In order to download anything from this album it can be done, at full resolution, by placing the mouse arrow over the big picture on the right of the screen, whereupon a dialog box will drift across from the rt hand side; the last option allows you save an original size copy to your computer.

HMS Bulwark 1973

These photographs were taken between January and March 1973. HMS Bulwa ...

Updated: Nov 12, 2012 3:59am PST

RN Dockyards, Murmansk and other places : Some miscellaneous photographs from my time in the RN and of the fine ships at the breakers' yard at Cairn Ryan in the 1970s. In addition there are photographs of Murmansk fjord showing the disposal location for ships of the Soviet Navy. Included are a couple of active Soviet ships in the Baltic in 1971 and one or two other things. Plus some pictures of HMS Plymouth downloaded from the Daily Telegraph (I think)

RN Dockyards, Murmansk and other places

Some miscellaneous photographs from my time in the RN and of the fine ...

Updated: Jun 19, 2012 3:59pm PST