donald_of_tokyo wrote: ↑30 May 2022, 13:45
At last, the crew of HMS Argyll walkted into HMS IronDuke.
Almost sure that, HMS Montrose's crew, when she came back to UK for decommissioning in 2023, will walk into HMS Argyll.
twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/1531241965483966465
Then, this means, RN is manning only 3 of GP Type-23s (Lancaster, Argyll/Iron Duke, and Montrose).
According to twitter, HMS Lancaster is now visiting Antwerp, and was joining Exercise Joint Warrior at the north, before it.
Argyll/Iron Duke is now in sit-down/stand-up phase.
The 180 x3 = 540 crew can man all 5 T31. Also, with lighter armaments and brand-new equipment, availability and sea-going days of 5 T31s will be at least twice what we see with the 3 GP Type-23s. In principle, RN can have two T31 in Persian Gulf, and another one in NATO fleet, with yet another one ready to deploy to another theater. (while one is in low readiness for basic training etc.) Looking forward to see it.
PS Actually, 4 T31 is more than enough to "replace" the tasks currently covered by the 4 T23 GPs (among which only 3 is manned). And, to my impression, GP T23 are now "very active" compared to the past several years...
We say RN is shrinking. Yes, it is shrinking on paper. But, in number count of active warships, we can say RN is expanding. Very inactive navy with numbers of ship on the list, or slightly smaller navy but more active one. Yes, yes, large in BOTH list AND activity is the goal, but, with "Either/Or", current move is NOT so discouraging.