Sailors from the Plymouth-based Royal Navy warship HMS Somerset have enjoyed the rare chance opportunity to visit the spectacular sights of Iceland, while on a break during a North Atlantic patrol. Although the North Atlantic is a regular operating area for Royal Navy warships it is not often that there is a stop in Iceland. During a visit to refresh the crew and top up … [Read more...]
HMS Somerset rugby players in WW1 memorial match
Royal Navy sailors from a South West warship, fresh from a major illegal drugs haul operation, took part in the First World War memorial rugby match to raise money for charity. HMS Somerset’s rugby team took part in the 2nd Alfred Cox Cup, playing against Ide RFC raise money for the Royal British Legion and remember those that died in the First World War. Ide RFC reformed … [Read more...]
HMS Somerset sails into Leith for Gallipoli centenary
Royal Navy warship HMS Somerset will sail into the port of Leith, Edinburgh, at approximately 7am on Friday, April 24 for a four day visit. The Type 23 Duke Class frigate is visiting Edinburgh in support of the service of commemoration for the centenary of the Gallipoli campaign being held at the Scottish national war memorial. The ship will be open to the public on Sunday, … [Read more...]
Royal Navy warship HMS Somerset family day
The Royal Navy warship HMS Somerset took special guests to sea for a rare taste of life at sea. More than 200 lucky people, aged from six to 86, came onboard the Plymouth-based warship to join their relatives who serve as the ship’s company and see where they spend their working days and understand their jobs when they go on worldwide deployments. The excited relatives and … [Read more...]
Cdr Mike Smith awarded OBE
The captain of a Plymouth-based Royal Navy warship has been awarded the OBE in this year’s military operational honours. As the commanding officer of HMS Somerset, the only major warship operating in the Middle East during the first half of 2014, Commander Smith consistently demonstrated the highest standards of leadership. The duty of being the solitary UK frigate demanded … [Read more...]
Lt Nick Bell achieves 2000 flying hours
The Royal Navy helicopter pilot on board the Plymouth warship HMS Somerset has achieved 2,000 flying hours – a major milestone for pilots. Lieutenant Nick Bell, 34, pilot of a Merlin with of Four Flight, 829 Naval Air Squadron, from Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, in Cornwall, was congratulated by his flight crew and his ship’s captain Commander Mike Smith when they heard … [Read more...]
HMS Somerset teaching Warfare Officers at sea
The Plymouth warship HMS Somerset has been at the centre of an advanced course for the next generation of warfare officers. HMS Somerset has spent the week at sea on complex war-fighting exercises designed to test skills of the next generation of Royal Navy principal warfare officers as the ship became a dynamic floating classroom. Under pressure students of the 13-month long … [Read more...]
HMS Somerset romantic homecoming
The Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset was welcomed back home to Plymouth by hundreds of cheering families and a romantic proposal today after a successful patrol policing Middle East policing shipping lanes. The warm welcome to Devonport Naval Base by 600 family and friends included sailor Leading Engineering Technician Christopher Chris Barker, 30, going on bended knee on the … [Read more...]
HMS Somerset hands over to HMS Northumberland
HMS Somerset has officially handed over her Operation Kipion duties to sister ship HMS Northumberland, after spending six months in the Indian Ocean and Gulf region. The two Devonport based Type 23 frigates met at sea to transfer essential stores and key information to enable HMS Northumberland to continue the fight against piracy, narcotics smuggling, and criminal use of the … [Read more...]
HMS Somerset Deploys
Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset left Plymouth for a six-month deployment to support UK interests globally. The Devonport-based warship quietly slipped out of Plymouth Sound fully prepared for the mission ahead. The ship was waved off in the traditional fashion by friends and family at Devil’s Point. The crew of 215 will return after completing varied operational tasking in … [Read more...]
