Interesting that gCaptain is slow to report on the abbreviated cruise by HMS Prince of Wales from the UK to the US. One would expect that the much-heralded departure of HMS Prince of Wales being put on hold because of a mechanical issue would warrant an update on the website.
Reported in British newspapers.
Hence the reason I come straight to the forum for the news that is fit to print.
This is slightly embarrassing for the Royal NavyâŚ
It hasnât broken down; it has deployed to a static position off the Pile of Shite to undergo anchoring trials.
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Shouldnât have got rid of sails
Chinese parts ?
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I havenât seen anything on USNI News yet.
But gcaptain is always on the ball:
Maybe they ran over a Russian submarine!
Should have employed a donkey greaser.
That is, in my opinion, more embarrassing for the royal navy than a grounding. Having made that transit out from The Solent many times myself, I have to say I was confused how they hit anything once they were down to the south of the Isle of Wight. This makes more sense.
QHM (Queenâs Harbour Master) has ordered survey work around the area where the carriers berth and turn so contact damage is still a possibility.
The whole area was dredged flat prior the arrival of the Queen Elizabeth and all sorts of stuff was dragged up; cannons, anchors, unexploded bombs, etc.
Portsmouth received its first Royal Charter in the year 1194 so it has been around a while, plenty of rubbish dumped in there in the intervening centuries.
âWe think there is significant damage to the starboard shaft. Itâs not working."
Some high end investigating going on there.
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Is the damage from running aground or from not greasing the shaft? Or both?
Or having been aground while alongside damaging the shaft causing overheating while under way?
No alarm warning for overheating?
ânot greasing the shaftâ was a b.s. line put out by a childrenâs comic - the Daily Mail.
The official version says SKF coupling failure, damage to last section of stbd shaft, prop, rudder.
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Coverage by gCaptain of the inability of the Royal Navyâs newest aircraft carrier to fulfill its mission and obligations continue to be vague and lacking concise, leading-edge journalism many expect to find at this site. Correct me if Iâm wrong readers but the Prince of Wales story is and should be a big deal, yet where is the in-depth reporting of this story? If a similar fate befell a countryâs major warship, would we be also reading only tidbits or hearing onlyâŚcrickets?
To be fair there isnât a lot to report; the wavy navy isnât saying a lot.
Whether it was a coupling failure that caused the prop to get damaged and possibly hit the rudder or whether the prop hit something that caused the coupling failure has yet to be determined.
If that is what the issue is in the first place.
It is back in Portsmouth now; Iâll see what I can see when we trundle past it today.
Anyway, the Queen Elizabeth with will picking up some of the slack soon.
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Agreed Hornblower.
A great deal of galley talk out there. I thought the Navy Lookout link had some excellent information particularly regarding the stbd shaft overrun when trialling alongside. Ordering AH30 and seeing AH60âŚâŚâŚâŚ
Itâs not only the HMS Prince of Wales that is out of service:
This almost makes the LCS debacle look good.