You know you are old when you see ships that were launched as the cutting edge replacement to the Leander class moored up in Fareham Creek waiting to be turned to razor blades.
I don't suppose I'm the only one who's shed a tear when a ship you've served on goes to the breakers. All the life and fun we had on them is but a distant memory. I've got a section of the wooden rail from the Wardroom on HMS Fearless on my home office desk, looking at it always makes me smile.
It’s so sad to see these ships like this , but unfortunately time catches up with them I sailed back from Gibraltar on the Monmouth as a guest of my son on a PCAS trip ( parents and children at sea ) , he was returning from a 6 month tour of the Gulf and Indian Ocean, he said the tech in the new ships Diamond and Duncan was miles ahead of the type 23 also the on board accommodation was miles better too He also said any new recruits would prefer the new ships compared to the old ships and they needed to modernise to encourage the next generation of sailors to actually join up , saves time and money press ganging people in and around our coast line I guess 😎😎😎😎😎
I remember while serving on the fighting ice-cream (F99) type 22 frigate seeing the 23`s for the first time and thinking wow they look like bad ass upgraded 22`s !!! now there getting scrapped !!!! feeling old !!! RIP Monmouth & Montrose ..... thankyou for your service xxx
What is this country coming to, by all means scrap ships, but only if we have ships to replace them, at this rate, we will become a coastal navy, and won't be able to commit to our Nato role.
If I remember correctly during the Libyan crisis, HMS Campbelltown was the only ship available and in the area to help evacuation because, it was sailing home to be scrapped via the med. This was post the 2010 defence cutbacks where Nimrods would be replaced with a Hercules and a chap with Binoculars.
The vast beauty that is “The Trots” in Portsmouth Harbour. Magnificent desolation and a large proportion of unloved sailing vessels sitting on their moorings and given the last storm that has just come through quite a few will end up on the beach at Portchester as they break free from their UV destroyed line. I’ll be honest it’s unusual to see the harbour so calm. I blame those frantic Storm Namers…….
I served in the RAN and was sent to the RN to work with them for a while. I never served on a Duke class but the rest of the fleet, I remember, called them the "Skoda Class".
1x Type 26 Frigates is being fitted out and 3 under construction along with the Type 31 Frigates. These type 23s are over 30 years old, and if they can't sell them on to another navy because they are so old and worn out they have to be scrapped. And the Ark Royal was worn out well before 1980. Meanwhile still 10 Type 23 active.
Remember going on a tourist boat trip around Portsmouth as a kid and the guide describing the type 23s as the newest ships in the Royal Navy. Makes you feel old.
When I joined the Royal Navy .at the queens silver jubilee there was 99 ships.i doubt these days if we could muster 20.what a demise.of the greatest navy in the world.
No surprise there, with the accountants scribbling away our armed forces, the question is, will they be at the front of the queue to sign up when WW3 breaks out??...
I was there the day this video was made doing my Yachtmaster exam and remember every time I went to Portsmouth, I looked at these ships with sadness has I knew they were going to get scrapped. One of my crew mates even asked me how much would the ship cost to purchase for private use.
just the operating expenses would be utterly prohibitive for anyone who isn't a billionaire, the operating expenses are near equal to a medium size jet (a320/737).. running even just one of her diesel generators would cost a couple hundred a day in fuel.. if you wanted to use her 25+ knot capability you'd be looking at over £2000 an hour in diesel fuel for her twin gas turbine powerplant!! nor are these built for the lower crewing levels civilian vessels are built for either, very little automation of systems.
Very sad to see, as a civilian contractor on Queen Elizabeth on her she trails in the US for F35 test and evaluation, HMS Monmouth was the escort ship. And the Commadeer of Elizabeth had been Captain of Monmouth.
Interesting that Montrose still has her MK8 gun, would have thought this would have been recovered prior to decommissioning; also Monmouth still has her fore and aft Type 911 directors; would be nice if these one of these could be preserved somewhere like the Explosion! museum in Priddy's Hard. We are so bad at preserving our contemporary naval heritage. We used to keep our boat moored a little further up the harbour When HMS Kent and Sirius were on the trots; there was also the East German Koni class frigate Rostock moored there for a while.
Those two ships served us very well and had a hard life - a symptom of a small fleet and global commitments. Apparently the hulls were very tired. Surprised Montrose's gun is still fitted ....
Also surprising to see Monmouth's fire control antennas still mounted while Montrose's are gone. Handsome ships, to me it's a real shame that they are going for scrap. Regards, USN enlisted retired.
@@robertf3479 Always sad to see fighting ships retired but these are very tired hulls. Their last refits took a lot longer as extra supports had to be fitted. 28 years of hard life have taken their toll. But new Type 26 and Type 31 Frigates are now on their way. Respects for your service Sir. Ex RAF.
@@1chish That sounds very familiar. The USN Spruance class was retired at around the 24 - 26 year point although I thought their hulls were good for another 10 to 20 years service. Considering how long the Ticonderoga Aegis cruisers have lasted despite being built on the Spruance hull and main plant, I would have thought the USN would have brought the Spru-cans up to the electronic standard of the 4 "Kidd" class (also on the same hull) but with VLS launchers fore and aft like today's Ticonderoga CGs. and still be in service approaching retirement like the CGs. But no one listens to me.
@@robertf3479 Its basically the laws of diminishing returns. It is less costly to build a new hull than tear an old one apart, strengthen it and modify it. And you still have an old hull.
@@robertf3479 Should have added our Type 23s that are left have been upgraded to take the Sea Ceptor air defence missile and their Harpoon will be replaced by the new NSM anti ship missiles which the US Navy is also buying. Our Type 45 destroyers are having their Sea Viper air defence missiles upgraded from Astor 15 and Astor 30 to all being Astor 30 Block 1 NT which gives them anti ballistic capability AND they are adding a 24 cell Mk 42 VLS silo for Sea Ceptor. Their Harpoons are also being replaced by NSM. So we do upgrade when it makes sense but its increasingly less cost effective on older ships.
Monmouth has been moored in the same place for a couple of years, we sail past it regularly. The word within the sailing community, is that it has been sold to Greece. No idea if that is for recommissioning or breaking up.
There are cars on the road older than these plus this video was put on 2024 and the narrator is still referring to her majesty’s ship….it is his majesty’s ship at this time…
I never referred to either as Her Majesty's Ship, I used HMS. I made reference to Her Majesty's Naval Base... because that is what they were called when they moved home port in 2017.
The Queen died 5 years after they moved. Would you not say, speaking about the past, that the ships moved from Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport (not Plymouth, as per the video) to Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth in 2017. I'm glad people are listening to the narration though, I was on the fence about putting info in or just having it as a drone flight.
No one wishes to join the forces in numbers we allegedly require. Should u give your life for the wages they get? lol no way and I am a veteran of army. It’s not just the money in general other work place environmental influences suck:- promotion,housing,mental health care,bullying,sexism, anti gay, racism and poor family support. Not to forget snobby elite officer class still exits. Many see force’s employees as cannon fodder.
At the time, defence spending and technological progress was high- if a ship would be obsolete within its service life, it didnt need to be built to last 30 years. The great thing is, the 23s that arent falling to pieces are still the worlds premier asw frigate with a much improved self defence armament- now there is so little of them left, they will be worked to their graves (the scrapyard)
If they were looked after better . They'd still be a use for them . With the way things are being reported at the moment about Russia and the like. With rebels or terrorists supporting Russia. Are we in the first years of a developing ww3.
If we want an effective modern force we need numbers on the ground,air and sea. As a country we need to pay more to the lads and lasses that put their life on the line every day. Buy better equipment and sack all involved in program cock ups eg. Sa80😮 HMS Prince of Wales 😮tracked app and family😮historically Nimrod 😮 and all the others that cost us billions of wasted money. If we cannot afford it reduce our global reach. Let’s stop living in the past this is not 1945 we are not a big global player anymore 😂
We have two perfect ships here going to waste, instead of housing migrants in expensive hotels you could fit 500 on each of these, save money then tow them out back to France or Rwanda
Why is the main gun still on this ship at this point? Is the gun that bad that they can't salvage it for parts on current ships. I'm sure they demilitarize them before sold for scrap but would think you would be able to sell it to a 3rd world navy still equipping british ships & equipment in service today.
The MK8 Guns will only be used on the Type 45's going forward,there must be a healthy reserve of them tucked away somewhere.Exports were small so not much use for them overseas.
Your looking at a 2 year refit just to give it another 3 years of life. Montrose was absolutely shagged when it returned from the Gulf. Basically flogging a dying horse
As someone who spent 21 years in Plymouth, but now lives in Portsmouth, I can confirm that these two were originally Devonport ships, before being transferred to Portsmouth; which is where they are currently located at Gosport. Devonport is a hilly place, as is the Hamoaze. If this was Devonport, you would have seen the Royal Albert Bridge and the Tamar Bridge.
@@russbetts1467 thanks Russ, sorry for my ambiguity I was pointing out in the video , the orator calls it HMRNB Plymouth , wheras i think its rather HMRNB Devonport I know the ships are in Portsmouth now.
@@justincase6645 Sorry, I jumped in there too quickly. Yes, people frequently say Plymouth, when they mean Devonport. Shows lack of knowledge by the commentator; a frequent problem on YT. Thanks for your qualification to my correction. My family has a long History with the Royal Navy, starting with my Maternal Grandfather joining the Navy in Devonport in 1915, as a Stoker... on the suggestion of the Local Magistrate, after he and his younger brother were caught poaching by the local Gamekeeper. Granddad rose to the rank of CPO Stokers and spent 19 years in Submarines, as it paid better. He spent most of his Naval career on what was then the Far East Fleet. His wife and three daughters would only see him for three months out of every three years, between Refits at Devonport. Granddad left the Navy in 1937 and joined the General Post Office, as it was then. When WW2 broke out in 1939, he promptly signed up again and was posted to Gosport on Boom Defences, where my mother went to work in Priddy's Hard, filling shells for the ships... and that's where she met and married my father, who worked in the Magazines. If you've never been to 'Explosion', it's well worth a visit. Other members of the family served in the RN. I let the side down by joining the Army.
@@russbetts1467 hi Russ , no problem mate , wow! That is some family history , it always amazes me the social history out there that remains just that , family history , unless a chance encounter on a platform like this , My granda came from Cawsands ,he worked in the yard or a yard , not sure , but after the first world war , the government took part of the war debt from Germany in shipping tonnage , which put lots of men out of work , my granda moved to Sunderland , which had a massive Shipbuilding history , he had 13 brothers and their stories are a book in itself , lol Nice to meet you and hear of your grandads long Naval service , i was speaking to a young lad recently , his present draft is 4 months on 4 Months off , can you imagine ? Different times to be sure ,
@@bertiewooster3326 hey comrade go drink a Vodka. the PoW is not 'broken down' Dufus. She just sailed across the Atlantic, spent 2 moths developing flight systems and sailed back. We are not in decline and neither are we going anywhere. You may want us to but go shove it.
Hopefully some of the newer 23s are in a good enough state to be sold when the 26s and 31s are in service- but they will probably be even more overworked by then precisely because their sisters have been decomissioned leaving such a small frigate fleet
With all due respect, a ships hull is made out of several inches thick of sheet steel, and with the correct rust preventive maintenance, these hulls could last 50 years plus, it's if the engines and electronics could be updated with the hulls maintenance that's the main factor, and as for HMS Glasgow and HMS Cardiff, they haven't even started sea trials, and won't join the fleet till 2025 at the earliest.
The steel is much thinner than that. Back in around 2005 there were proposals to update the last four Batch 3 Type 22s with SWMLU. One of the ships actually was refitted. The mast was completely corroded and needed replacing. I was told that you could stand on the foredeck and look directly downwards to see the dry dock bottom after the corroded deck and hull plates were cut away.
These ships are in terrible condition and should have been scrapped years ago. The Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary should have a fleet size that they can afford to maintain at a professional level 🤔
All of the steel will be recycled and reused. A fighting ship is not like repainting your house. Once you need new engines, ripping out literal miles of wiring, new electronics, new weapons.. just start again.
Back in the day, when we had a naval bases that these ships would’ve gone into a mothball fleet just in case, but then you realise we can’t even man. The ships that are actually frontline. Why would we need a mothball fleet will never be able to send them back to see what a shame.
I don’t think they have anyone to crew them, and they’d have to be heavily upgraded which costs a lot of money the government doesn’t have. Sad though.
Just remember all the service pipework throughout the ship corrodes out Hydraulics, Air and steam Also the ship has to be airtight for NBCD All those rubber seals Then there are electrical cables as well Thats just for starters
