Destroyer making a big impression

Destroyer making a big impression

HMS Manchester – peeling away at the right – escorting the USS Harry S Truman

A PORTSMOUTH-based destroyer is impressing her American counterparts while patrolling with them.

HMS Manchester left the UK in November to join the US Carrier Strike Group 10 escorting the 102,000-ton nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman operating in the Gulf region.
The group is performing a variety of maritime security roles as well as 'riding shotgun' on the Truman.
US assessors have been particularly impressed by the way the Type 42 destroyer has carried out oil platform defence duties, and by the p

rofessionalism of the British naval boarding teams.
Manchester's Commanding Officer, Commander David Dominy, said: 'HMS Manchester has proved to be a flexible, wholly effective escort in the Harry S Truman's strike group, helping to reinforce the trust the US Navy has in the Royal Navy, and our ability to fully contribute to operations.'
The deployment is the culmination of a year of preparation under a memorandum of understanding signed by the US and British governments.
Manchester has also become the first Royal Navy warship to be fitted with US equipment necessary to operate the American CIS communications system, which she was able to evaluate with an eye to the entry into service of Britain's new Daring class destroyers and 60,000-ton aircraft carriers.
HMS Manchester is due to return to Portsmouth this summer after a deployment that will have lasted almost seven months.

Sailors on parade for visit of French president

Standing proud on the deck of their ship overlooking Portsmouth harbour, these sailors are preparing to parade before the French president today.

A troop of sailors journeyed from Portsmouth to London to mark Nicolas Sarkozy's two-day visit to the UK.
The French anti-submarine frigate Latouche-Treville arrived in Portsmouth naval base yesterday as part of the president's entourage.
This morning the sailors travelled to Carlton Gardens, near Whitehall, where Mr Sarkozy and his new wife, supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni were due to lay a wreath and observe a minute's silence at the statue of General Charles de Gaulle.
Yesterday, their captain, Vincent Liot de Nortbecourt, in full uniform, visited the Lord Mayor's parlour at Portsmouth's Guildhall, a tradition for seamen visiting a foreign port.
Lord Mayor Mike Blake said: 'He was last in Portsmouth 12 years ago and was happy to be back and to see the changes that have occurred since – like the Spinnaker Tower.'
The Latouche-Treville will return to Brest on Monday.