Historic Warships News Sheet (News of the Historic Warships Group based at The Historic Dockyard Chatham)

December 2010

Happy Christmas……… to all readers and particularly the volunteers and staff who have done a massive amount of work on the Historic Warships and numerous other items, during the year.

Also – many of you have asked when another News Sheet was going to be produced, the last one being in March this year. Apologies for the delay but the editor has been occupied with a number of other things, a major one being the building of a new web site after the previous hosting organisation advised that they would cease the service at the end of October this year. The new site is up and running and can be seen at www.historicwarships.btck.co.uk The old web site address will route to the new site for another few months so, if you visit the site, please bookmark the new address.

As well as the usual information about the ships and small boats, the intention is to have additional pages of a more general ‘naval and maritime’ nature including a history of Chatham Dockyard and brief history of Destroyers. These pages are currently under development. There is also an ‘Other News Items’ page which will be updated from time to time.

For those who have regularly visited the dockyard during the year, you will have noticed or been aware of some significant activities taking place. The dry-docking of HMS Cavalier was finished in time for the Armed Forces Day celebrations in June, the opening of No 1 Smithery took place in July, in September HMS Cavalier won the Best Education Project in the annual National Lottery Awards and HMS Gannet’s foremast was partially dismantled in October so repairs could be carried out. More details on some of these can be found elsewhere in this News Sheet

The next year will see work continuing on the Historic Ships with HMS Gannet and HMS Cavalier receiving much attention. There will no doubt be plenty of other work to be done elsewhere so 2011 promises to be another busy, and exciting, year.

So it only remains to wish all readers a Happy, Healthy and (in these somewhat austere times) a Prosperous New Year!

Repaired and re-floated.

Following the dry-docking earlier in the year, repairs to Cavalier’s hull and a re-paint were completed in May with the ship being refloated in early June – in time for the Armed Forces Day on Sunday 27 June.

Several holes were found in the hull with some of them needing major work. Contractors were employed to cut out rusted steel plates and weld new ones in. Once all repairs were completed the final coat of paint could be applied and the ship refloated.

As expected, some small leaks were found after refloating but these have been dealt with by our own staff and volunteers. Whilst in dry-dock the ship also had a complete repaint of the hull and superstructure.

The picture above shows Cavalier freshly painted and

afloat again in No 2 Dock.

As well as the hull repairs and painting, significant work has been taking place on the aft superstructure. Rusty steelwork has been cut away and replaced on the forward bulkhead of the Seacat Missile Handling Room, parts of the Squid Deck over the Sickbay have been repaired and attention has now shifted to the port side of the Seacat Missile Compartments. Currently scaffolding is in place around this area.

At the same time, some holes in the main deck above the forward seamen’s mess and the MEO’s cabin have also been repaired.

Clearly there is still a great deal to be done on Cavalier and one project which is planned to take place soon, is that of restoring the 1

st Lieutenants cabin within the Bridge

superstructure.

For 2011 work will continue on superstructure repairs with other work taking place as necessary as and when problems emerge. One fundamental principle applies and

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that is steel rusts, so a ship such as Cavalier needs constant attention and repairs to keep her in good shape.

CMB 103 – more than a makeover!

Reference to the CMB (Coastal Motor Boat - which when in service had pennant number 103) has been made before in previous News Sheets. The CMB has been undergoing repairs for some time now although, with limited resource and funds, the work has to be fitted around other, more pressing, commitments.

During November this year work recommenced with the Wheelhouse skin being replaced prior to painting. The aft section of the Wheelhouse is also being repaired in the workshop before being refitted to the boat. In addition, new rubbing strakes are being fitted and the upper hull section given a new canvas coating which is then painted.

Photo above shows Wheelhouse under repair.

Although, due to her age, the hull is structurally weak, the work will result in CMB 103 looking like she did many years ago when still in service. The last surviving 70 foot CMB, No 103 was originally designed as a minelayer and had a top speed of more than 30 knots.

She is owned by the Imperial War Museum which also owns a 55 foot CMB based at Duxford Aerodrome in Cambridgeshire.

HSL Resplendent!

No, not the name of a vessel but how the HSL (Harbour Steam Launch) looks after it’s repairs and repaint. Over several months the hull was repaired and repainted with the funnel and air intakes being restored, the engine and

boiler room casing renovated and the wheelhouse brought back to its former glory.

The HSL (seen above) sits outside Number 3 Slip but still under cover so protected from the worst of the weather. This picture shows the wheelhouse back in position and the scaffolding, which has surrounded the HSL for a few years, removed.

The funnel and engine room air intakes are yet to be refitted. It is still hoped at some point to refit the engine and boiler.

Cavalier Wins

On 4 September, HMS Cavalier won a National Lottery award for the ‘Best Education Project’ of 2010. This is a tremendous achievement and reflects upon the hard work by all involved in the restoration of the aft end; creating and promoting facilities for youth groups to stay aboard the ship and experience life aboard a World War 2 Destroyer.

Number 1 Smithery

No doubt many readers will already be aware but this year, saw the opening of Number 1 Smithery with its collection of model ships/boats and an exhibition of Stanley Spencer paintings.

Number 1 Smithery, the main building alongside Museum Square (the large area of pea shingle opposite the covered Slips) was the recipient of over £13m of lottery and other funds resulting in a complete restoration and fitting of a purpose built exhibition area inside the original building structure.

The official opening attracted considerable attention from the press and media and took place on 24 July being billed as ‘The Greatest Launch at Chatham since HMS Victory.’

The Stanley Spencer paintings exhibition consists of paintings of shipyard workers, done by Stanley Spencer during World War 2. Spencer was a renowned artist and was specially commissioned by the government to record the work of ship workers during that time. He made a series of sketches and then produced some remarkable paintings exhibited in No 1 Smithery, up to 12 December

this year.

The picture to the left shows the exhibition. Photo courtesy of the Historic Dockyard, Chatham.

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A large collection of model ships and boats, including many loaned from the Imperial War Museum and National Maritime Museum collections, occupies a considerable part of the space within No 1 Smithery.

Fixed in positions around Museum Square are various items of heavy dockyard machinery which would have been used when the yard was in its heyday, building iron and steel ships for the Royal Navy.

One massive item is the set of steel plate rollers which some of our group’s members worked on ‘de-rusting’ and repainting, prior to the rollers re-assembly opposite the entrance to Wheelwrights Restaurant.

Gannet’s revamp In 2009 Gannet was

dry-docked and the hull cleaned and inspected. All was well and this year the ship benefited from a complete repaint of the hull with many of the masts and yards also being repainted and some more of the running rigging replaced. The photo above was taken on 1st October but, unfortunately, later that month, whilst work

was being carried out on the foremast, some serious rot was discovered which resulted in the foremast being disassembled leaving the lower section in place awaiting removal and replacement with a new piece.

Unfortunately the mast had rotted from the inside so early detection was not possible and by the time the problem was evident, it was too late to save that section.

The photo below shows the foremast with the top sections and yards missing – it will have to be removed and replaced in 2011.

The yards, topmast and boom are currently under cover in Number 3 Slip and are having their paint rubbed down with any necessary repairs carried out followed by a complete repaint.

The gaff (boom) was found to have some rot in one section which has been cut out and is waiting to have a new piece of timber fitted in.

All the yards, top mast and gaff have been thoroughly rubber down and inspected with an anti-rot compound being inserted in some small drilled holes which are then plugged. Whilst these items are under cover it’s an ideal opportunity to carry out a thorough clean and repaint to ensure they can withstand the weather for many years to come. Repairs should be completed next year.

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Around the Dockyard

Mention has been made in previous News Sheets of some of the buildings that comprise the Historic Dockyard. Number 1 Smithery has already been mentioned above and Number 3 covered Slip has been mentioned as the place where, amongst many other things, Gannet’s foremast yards are being stored whilst work on them is carried out.

Number 3 Slip was completed in 1838 and at the time was the one of the world’s largest timber span structures. A mezzanine level was added in 1901 and can be accessed today.

From the mezzanine level, the view of the roof is spectacular and well worth a visit.

This level was added when the Slip was no longer used for ship construction and was utilised for storage of ships boats.

Currently Number 3 Slip, also known as ‘The Big Store’ is used to house and display many of the larger objects, as well as a number of ships boats.

The boat pictured below is a 32 foot motor cutter which was repaired and repainted in 2009.

A more unusual exhibit is a midget submarine, known as an ‘X’ craft.

These boats (the term is used in the Royal Navy for a submarine) are famous for the attacks on the German Battleship, Tirpitz, during the Second World War. Lesser known is their use in the Far East against the Japanese Navy. The vessels constructed for this purpose (a total of 12) were known as ‘XE’ craft and were slightly larger than the earlier ‘X’ craft as well as being equipped with air conditioning.

On display in Number 3 Slip is XE8 which was never used in action the vessel being completed too late in the war. She was used as in X craft in the 1955 film, Above Us the Waves, about the attack on the Tirpitz. Subsequently being used as an underwater target she was raised in 1972, taken to the Imperial War Museum at Duxford and after some restoration, loaned to the Historic Dockyard Chatham.

Currently XE8 is undergoing some conservation work but can still be viewed although scaffolding does obstruct some parts.

Aside from the ships boats and XE3, Number 3 Slip houses part of the Royal Engineers Museum’s collection of large objects, old dockyard machinery, a collection of cannons, the railway coach used by Lord Kitchener in the First World War and many other items.

A visit is highly recommended – you may be surprised at just what there is to see!

Where are these?

If you think you know the answer, let the editor know.

Some reminders to Historic Warships volunteers:

• Parking of cars – please ensure you park in the designated car parks which can be found at:

o Anchor Wharf (CDHS)

o Helipad Car Park (all groups)

o J Block Car Park (all groups)

o Main Visitor Car Park (all groups)

There may be times you may need to load or

unload your vehicle within the immediate area

you are working on site, but please move it to

one of the allocated areas as soon as you can.

• T-cards: Please use the T-cards situated to the

left, just inside the outer door to the workshop,

to show your whereabouts.