“On this day in history” HMS Gravelines placed in commission, 1946

“On this day in history” 14 June 1946, Royal Navy Battle-class destroyer HMS Gravelines (D24) was placed in commission.

Ordered in the 1942 naval estimates, Gravelines was built at Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, and launched in November 1944. She was not completed until 1946 (RN priorities towards the end of the war did not call for her immediate completion, and indeed many other Battle-class orders were cancelled) and after acceptance trails she was placed immediately in the Reserve Fleet.

In 1949, Gravelines was brought out of reserve and joined 3rd Destroyer Flotilla serving in the Mediterranean with her sister ships HMS Armada (D14), HMS Vigo (D31), and HMS Saintes (D84). Based in Malta, the flotilla served in continuation with the Mediterranean Fleet based in Malta.

In 1951, Gravelines was detached for service East of Suez, serving at Basra during a crisis over proposals for Iraqi oil nationalization.

Gravelines was in reserve again from 1953 to 1955, when she rejoined 3rd Destroyer Flotilla, serving with the Home Fleet.

In 1958, Gravelines commenced a refit at Devonport, but this was cancelled and she was laid up pending disposal. Gravelines was scrapped at Rosyth in 1961.

 

 

 

Royal Marines want 7.62 man-stopper not 5.56 pea-shooter

Here we go again! Uncorking the “SA-80 is useless” genie from the bottle. Haven’t we had this debate every 2-3 years since the 1980s?

(Oh, and nice job by BFBS using a photo Rock Ape instead of a Royal Marine!)

Is SA80 rifle right for Royal Marines?

Is SA80 rifle right for Royal Marines?

An alternative to the SA80 assault rifle may be favoured by some Royal Marines according to Defence IQ ahead of this year’s Annual Infantry Weapons Conference in London.

It claims some commandos operating on the frontline in Afghanistan find the weapon lacking in what specialised forces require when engaging at close quarters, despite being improved greatly since its first introduction to British Armed Forces.

Defence IQ says ‘insiders’ “have quietly criticised the rifle’s 5.56mm calibre ammunition as being too small to effectively defeat a target with a single round and occasionally find themselves vulnerable to a counter attack from wounded insurgents.”

In addition, it says, the rifle “rattles”, causing a problem for covert operations, requires duct tape to prevent it from clogging with dust, and lacks the manoeuvrability of other modern assault rifles such as the Diemaco C8.

Instead it claims ‘a source’ has said today’s Commandos “would much rather have a 7.62 mm rifle familiar to Special Forces. Problematically, the 7.62 sharpshooters that can switch to a short-barrel mode are currently available only to one or two troops per section but are themselves underperforming due to an inadequate magazine.

“The weight versus the rounds isn’t really an issue. A twenty round magazine weighs exactly the same as a thirty round magazine for the SA80, so that’s a trade-off they’re willing to make. Twenty rounds in that sharpshooter is not enough, especially at close-quarters. That’s a massive limitation of that weapon system,” said the source.

Defence IQ is hosting Infantry Weapons 2013 at the Copthorne Tara Hotel in London from September 24th to 26th. It will be assessing how these issues affect global forces with input from industry specialists and senior military weapons system representatives, including those from the UK, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Norway, France, and Poland.

http://bfbs.com/news/sa80-rifle-right-royal-marines%3F-64190.html