With the first Type 45 destroyer, DARING (D32), now on her third and final set of sea trials, the second and third ships of the class are being moved around at BVT Surface Fleet's yard at Scotstoun. The latest ship to have been launched, DIAMOND (D34), which entered the Clyde at Govan last November, left one of the former Elderslie Drydocks last night and is currently berthed awaiting the departure of DAUNTLESS (D33) from the other drydock. Presumably this will allow the fitting of the sonar dome to the forward end of DIAMOND's hull when she is moved into this dock. The fourth of the class, to be named DRAGON, is due to be launched on November 17 at 1500. This view highlights the typical distortion found in the shell plating of a welded ship, due to localised heating around the welds joining the plating to the frames inside the hull.
1 comments:
Nice shot of her various angles to minimise radar reflections...note the encapsulated after-deck, the non-slip surfaces must be getting laid on the flight deck...Denholm Industrial Services have been known to use this method of covering areas on RN vessels to lay the material, thus protected from the vagaries of the weather. I have seen one of the aircraft carrier's deck covered in a large temporary shelter at Portsmouth for the same purpose during a refit some years ago.
The structure aft of the accommodation block seen on LARGS BAY last weekend was a Temporary Aircraft Shelter (TAS) which is likely another of the Denholm divisions' products (from Ably Shelters) and is used extensively in the Middle East for protection of aircraft and helicopters from the blowing sands etc to permit maintenance to be carried out, plus other military applications.
Maybe, in the case of LARGS BAY, it was used as an "entertainment centre" as she was berthed in Leith beside the BRITANNIA for the duration of the Edinburgh Festival and was used for several functions hosted by FOSNNI.
see www.denholm-group.co.uk as to how diversified the Denholm organisation is these days...
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