HMS Minerva`s 1975 West Indies Deployment. World Naval Ships Forums Archive

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HMS Minerva`s 1975 West Indies Deployment. World Naval Ships Forums Archive

HMS Minerva`s 1975 West Indies Deployment.

Posts 1 to 29

Just a taster of some photos I took while serving in HMS Minerva during her Windies deployment in 1975. Many more to come in due course, including close-ups of RAS, VERTREP, salvage ops, banyans and ships in company, etc. Apologies in advance for the mediocre quality but they were taken with a [URL="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nwmangum.com/Kodak/images/ti18-1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nwmangum.com/Kodak/TI18-1.html&usg=__P42gsLN9hsj3BpoHiAm4cxatXB0=&h=152&w=320&sz=9&hl=en&start=6&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=OXGUVUZ7j-dluM:&tbnh=56&tbnw=118&prev=/images%3Fq%3DKodak%2B110%2Bpocket%2Bcamera%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GB:official%26tbs%3Disch:1"]Kodak 110 pocket camera[/URL] (remember them?) and the smallish prints have been kept in albums from which the adhering clear acetate is difficult to remove without causing damage. I have therefore left it on during scanning. As far as I'm concerned ([I][B]and only where I'm concerned[/B][/I]), I'd prefer people to save their valuable time and mine by not posting their thanks unless they have a specific comment or actually download and save any of my pics (rather than just opening them for a quick shufti as I tend to do). However, I'm not even going to die in a ditch over this. In my view, not only do such posts clutter up threads but I would feel obliged to acknowledge each one, thereby consuming more of my scarce time and causing even more clutter. I am just glad that people find any of my pics sufficiently interesting to take a closer look. Anyway, I'm sure most regular members reciprocate enough by posting their own photos or contributing useful supplementary information. :) Incidentally, I have run the MCDOA website for the past eight years and published hundreds of photos on it, most of which I have taken myself. The website receives around 18,000 visits per month and if I received a message from each internet surfer who had clicked on a thumbnail or other lower res version of a pic to see it in its full glory, I wouldn't have enough hours in the day to read them, let alone acknowledge them. As it is, I am kept busy enough answering specific queries.
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HMS Minerva RAS in the Windies in 1975. I'll leave someone else the fun of identifying the RFA.
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HMS Minerva mid-Atlantic early 1975. The three-day long storm had abated enough for the Wasp to fly!
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Rob , those are some grand photos .......where have you kept them hidden,in your brown pusser,s case in the attic ......?? ;) cylla

Yep i forgot to say , the other ship is R.F.A RELIANT ....:eek: cylla

[QUOTE=CYLLA;121615]Yep i forgot to say , the other ship is R.F.A RELIANT ....:eek: cylla[/QUOTE] Well spotted. As an ex-Tribal man, you might be interested to know that GURKHA's on the other side of her.

HMS Minerva's Wasp (424), takes to the skies.
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Rob, In the second image ,there appers to be a pile of ex-torpedos ,where was the photo taken ? cylla

Cylla - They were gas cylinders, not torpedoes. I think we were in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad at the time. In May 1975, HMS MINERVA encountered an abandoned tanker called MT EPIC COLOCOTRONIS which the the ship's company promptly renamed 'EPIC COLO[I]CATASTROPHE[/I]'. She had suffered an explosion in her engine room which had shattered a main circulating water inlet valve so she was on fire and and in danger of sinking at the same time. Her crew was standing off in a small tug called ELSBETH. The Master arrived on board and signed Lloyd's Open Form after which we sent across a boarding party and diving team to put out the now smouldering fire, inspect the hull and plug the leaks. Our Wasp VERTREPed portable pumps across to start pumping out. As a member of both teams, I was lucky enough to receive double wacks of salvage money some months later. A salvage tug called the SMIT SALVOR eventually arrived on the scene and took the tanker in tow. I hadn't realised how topical this incident was until I googled 'EPIC COLOCOTRONIS' today: [URL="http://www.environmental-research.com/erc_papers/ERC_paper_11.pdf"]HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF OIL SPILLS FROM ALL SOURCES (1960–1998)[/URL] [QUOTE="1999 International Oil Spill Conference"]33: 13 May 1975; tanker Epic Colocotronis; USA; Caribbean Sea, 111 km NW of Puerto Rico - 18 million gallons (61,220 tonnes)*[/QUOTE] Funny but I can't remember much oil spillage at the time; otherwise we wouldn't have dived in it.
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HMS Minerva and USS Farragut (DDG-37) alongside at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, Puerto Rico plus another pic of her Wasp (424).
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SODS (Ship's Operatic & Dramatic Society) Opera and 'Beauty Pageant' on board HMS Minerva during 1975 Windies deployment. These events were also watched by members of the public.
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Following the above colourful shots of so many beautiful maidens, it's back to grim reality with a black and white view of a fast moving CLEOPATRA after she had lost her forward guns'. Sorry to burst the bubble! Regards.....Paul
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No problem, Paul. Continuing this photographic diary of HMS MINERVA's Windies deployment in 1975, I once found myself seconded for a week to HMJS DISCOVERY BAY, a [URL="http://www.jdfmil.org/Units/coast_guard/cg_history.php"]Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard[/URL] patrol boat engaged in countering drug-smuggling, gun-running and people-trafficking operations. We tended to lie up somewhere during the day and patrol at night when 'trade' was more likely. The attached photos show DISCOVERY BAY at her base ([URL="http://www.jdfmil.org/Units/coast_guard/cg_operation.php"]HMJS CAGWAY[/URL] at Port Royal), portraits of the XO (blues), CO (whites), me at the helm, lying up for the day at [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocho_Rios"]Ocho Rios[/URL] and a vist to Cousteau's diving tender [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RV_Calypso"]RV CALYPSO[/URL], an ex-BYMS minesweeper.
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P.S. Glad to see that people are finding some of my pix interesting enough to take a closer look. Thank you. I'm not seeking gratitude or public adulation but, should you feel the urge to express your appreciation for any of them (or even the opposite), please click on the scales (reputation) icon in the top right hand corner of the relevant post instead of cluttering up the thread. After all, that's what it's there for. You can even leave a comment. More to come in due course.

Some ships and aircraft of the RN, Royal Netherlands Navy and Colombian Navy with which HMS MINERVA exercised during her Windies deployment in 1975. I'll leave others the challenge of identifying them. :) Not the best quality owing to the fixed focus and small format of my 110 pocket camera at the time but you get the idea. Incidentally, thanks to all those who have clicked on the 'reputation' icon for my other pix although this was never my object in posting them.
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Although these are interesting pictures Rob this is meant to be a photogallery for Leanders and not your 1975 tour. If you have anymore to add then I suggest you start a photogallery for the tour and the above pictures can be moved there. I am not trying to be difficult but merely trying to keep the galleries fit for purpose. If you like I could put them all into a photogallery called HMS Minerva`s 1975 West Indies Deployment then you could add to them any other pictures you might have.

I'm more than happy for them to be transferred to a dedicated photogallery, please, Terry.

Excellent Rob - now you have your own dedicated gallery of the deployment so please feel free to add any more pictures you might have. Many thanks.

Thank you Terry.

Rob Thanks for those terrific photos. The SODS Opera brought a smile as we had a home coming SODS Opera on LLANDAFF in1976 having been deployed for several months and the Stokers Mess appeared clad in ladies underwear !! And this in the days before the girls went to sea. Where did they get all this gear from at short notice ???? Regards Gerry

Thank you Gerry, Isn't it odd how it always tended to be the stokers? Mind you, the two fellows dressed as 'Hinge & Bracket' were midshipmen. Classy or what? Funny that you were in LLANDAFF in '76. At the end of '75, I went straight to JAGUAR, another diesel 'steamer'.

[QUOTE=SCRG1970;122624]Rob Thanks for those terrific photos. The SODS Opera brought a smile as we had a home coming SODS Opera on LLANDAFF in1976 having been deployed for several months and the Stokers Mess appeared clad in ladies underwear !! And this in the days before the girls went to sea. Where did they get all this gear from at short notice ???? Regards Gerry[/QUOTE] SCRG1970, I believe i have a answer to your question ,where the ladies underwear come from. During my time on board certain ship,s ,we found large amounts in the "rag bag" either in the bosun,s store or paint shop.of decent quality ;) cylla

Cylla A plausible answer but some of these were matching sets that seemed to fit !! I have my doubts !!! Regards gerry

I'm preoccupied with other projects at the moment but, just to maintain the momentum (particularly for rugby fans), here are some familiar faces from the British Lions touring team in HMS Minerva's wardroom in Bermuda in 1975. The group included my all-time hero Gareth Edwards. Who will ever forget [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwCbG4I0QyA"]his amazing try for the Barbarians[/URL] vs. the All Blacks during their fabulous match in 1973?
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Rob, Thanks for sharing your experience and the nice photoes with us. Just curious wheter MINERVA ever deployed to Singapore during the Indonesia/ Malaysia Confrotation in the sixties.Kind regards. tipahmh

tipahmp. Having a check on "wikipedia "......i found this HMS Minerva (F45) was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She was built by Vickers Armstrong.[1][4] She was launched on the 19 December, 1964,[1][2] and commissioned on 14 May, 1966.[1][2] In 1968, Minerva deployed to the West Indies during some troubles there, operating from Bermuda. Island hopping was carried to show the"flag". In 1970, Minerva, like many other British vessels including other Leanders, deployed on Beira Patrol, an operation designed to prevent oil from reaching the landlocked Rhodesia via Mozambique, before visiting various ports around Asia and the Pacific. The following year, Minerva deployed on her second Beira Patrol which proved relatively quiet. This may answer your question ;) cylla

cylla, Thank you for your kind response. Best regards. tipahmh

[QUOTE=Rob Hoole;121840]HMS Minerva and USS Farragut (DDG-37) alongside at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, Puerto Rico plus another pic of her Wasp (424).[/QUOTE] The American warship with the hull number 37 is the USS South Carolina (DLGN/CGN 37).

Gents I just thought I would drop a line about the Belize guardship role during that small crisis in 76/77 . Seemed to be all puff and posture by Guatemala Being from the land of Oz this deployment was very exciting and a real eye opener, particularly Bermuda. We spent some time as Radar picket in a beautiful part of the country close to the border - Punta Gorda Any anecdotes would be good to hear. I am enclosing a photo of ACHILLES firing a MK 10 mortar salvo. A favourite as I was the PWO Tas Cheers all
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