Fleet Support Limited (FSL) has completed the final Royal Navy ship maintenance project under the allocated programme of work to Portsmouth Naval Base.
The 10-month task on HMS York included fitting the first new 4.5 inch Mark 8 MoD 1 gun to a Royal Navy Type 42 destroyer. She was formally accepted back by C-in-C Fleet on December 14 after a successful Fleet Date Inspection.
The extensive package of work on the 1982-built ship grew significantly from the original programme when further maintenance and rectification work became necessary as the ship was surveyed.
Using a partnering ‘Team Portsmouth’ approach to manage the project, all parties were actively involved in finding innovative ways of resolving the many emergent problems that this Upkeep period offered. This approach will now become standard practice for FSL and will be developed and honed to work even more effectively on future projects.
FSL Managing Director Ian Booth commented: “The success of the project firmly demonstrated the technical skills within FSL and showcased our abilities in providing an integrated design, engineering and setting to work package.
“These skills are a key element of the heavy engineering capability we offer the Fleet and we will be competing to maintain this through the 2005 work programme which we are currently bidding for.”
Major programmed elements of the docking period included introducing flat screen technology to the operations room, installing an integrated PC network, upgrading the command and control information system, blasting and painting internal tanks, along with the external surfaces of the ship, and a considerable habitability upgrade. In addition, extensive surveys revealed the need for significant superstructure repairs and a total strip-out and refurbishment of the galley was required.
Having been accepted back into the Fleet, HMS York is now at the forefront of capability among Type 42 destroyers, following the installation of the new gun, which replaces the previous 4.5 inch unit.
FSL had already gained experience of the new gun after fitting a similar unit to a Type 23 frigate but the task on the Type 42 destroyer involved a considerable number of design and installation modifications over three decks.
Having removed the old gun, along with its associated controls and hydraulic pack, FSL gutted the control room and rebuilt it to accommodate new electrical cabinets, also installing new controls and fitting a replacement ammunition feed system, before the new gun, weighing some 15 tonnes, was positioned.
The new gun’s main role is naval gunfire support and its secondary role is surface and tactical illumination. Its distinctive shape is designed to reduce radar cross sectional area.
Advantages over the older gun include weight reduction, easier maintenance, lower running costs and increased reliability. The Mod 1 uses modern digital technology with only the final stage of ammunition loading being hydraulic.