HMS Ark Royal
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The Last Commission: |
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| 1976 to 1978 | ||
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Work Up Phase 2 20-28 September 1977 |
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| All good things come to an end and once more we were off when we slipped from the buoy on the 20th September and returned to the Moray Firth. Even before we slipped, the first of our distinguished visitors who were to visit us during the second phase of the work up was already on board. He was the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor William Hudson who was maintaining the long established link between the City of Leeds and HMS ARK ROYAL, and he enjoyed his short stay. | ||
| The next few days were very busy especially from the VIP aspect, with Wednesday 21st being the big day. First the First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Terence Lewin GCB, MVO, DSC, ADC, accompanied by Mr Russel-Wood, the Deputy Treasurer of the Royal Household were embarked by helicopter from RAF Lossiemouth, |
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| Then, Commander His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales arrived. The official reason for the visit of Prince Charles was to gain practical experience of fixed wing carrier operations from HMS ARK ROYAL. The Prince arrived in a Buccaneer of 809 Squadron, piloted by the Commander Officer, Lieutenant Commander Tony Morton, and the recovery at 1145 was carefully observed by the knowledgeable goofers. | ||
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| During the next few hours, both Prince Charles and the First Sea Lord made separate visits to mess decks and to various parts of the ship including Flyco where the flying operations were observed. The main purpose of the Prince’s visit was to experience a steam catapult launch, and he is the first member of the Royal Family to do this. After yet another photographic session by the press who were covering the event, the aircraft and its occupants were ready for launching from the waist catapult at 1545. All went well and before leaving the area, Lt. Cdr. Morton brought the Buccaneer in for a low level pass of Ark’s port side. |
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The First Sea Lord departed early on the 22nd and sent us the following signal:- “Thank you for an exhilarating 24 hours and for looking after me so well during such a busy period. Best wishes to you all for a successful workup and deployment.”
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The next important visitor of the week was Dr John Gilbert, MP, Minister of State for Defence and was accompanied by the Flag Lieutenant for the Admiralty Board, Lieutenant Commander C. D Prentice. They arrived from RAD Lossiemouth on the 23rd and this visit followed a similar pattern to that of Prince Charles. However Dr Gilbert launched and then recovered on board Ark in a Buccaneer, before returning to Lossiemouth by an 824 Squadron Sea King.
Throughout the week, flying continued as normal as far as possible and other departments went about their usual routines. The week ended quietly with a typical Sunday at Sea approach, except for the weather which prevented any form of flight deck recreational activity because of the gale force winds.
One of the ship’s departments, the Guided Weapons Section, had reason to be pleased with themselves during the week, as there were two successful firings of the Martel Missile at the Aberporth Range from Buccaneers of 809 Squadron launched from HMS ARK ROYAL.
The second week of this phase of the work up also had its share of visitors. The major group to visit were the NATO Defence Review Committee on the 28th. Although flying continued during the week, most people’s minds were thinking of the weekend ahead and the ship’s official visit to Hamburg. On completion of night flying on Wednesday 28th September, the ship headed southwards and left the safety of the Moray Firth to cross the North Sea. By the morning of the 30th the ship was in the vicinity of the River Elbe estuary, and the start of a long day for the Special Sea Dutymen began. |
 NATO Defence Review Committee
Dr John Gilbert, MP, Minister of State for Defence |
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