ROYAL  NAVY

HMS OCEAN

'Britain’s biggest warship', HMS Ocean is currently in her home port of Devonport and in the midst of a scheduled period of maintenance. She returned in the latter part of last year from Greenwich, London, where she was moored for the duration of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

More usually, as a helicopter carrier and amphibious assault ship, Ocean is designed to deliver troops to the centre of the action by helicopter or by landing craft – we have six helicopter operating spots on our flight deck and our hangar can hold many more aircraft. We have our own Royal Marine assault squadron, 9ASRM, and we also carry four Mk5 landing craft vehicle and personnel (LCVP).

Built on the Clyde by Kvaerner Govan, Ocean was a new approach to naval shipbuilding using commercial-build methods and techniques. The ship was launched in October 1995, and named by Her Majesty the Queen on February 20 1998.

We were commissioned in September 1998 in our homeport of Devonport – the heart of the Navy’s amphibious fleet. Until the arrival of the Queen Elizabeth class carriers, HMS Ocean is the largest warship in the Navy’s surface fleet.

Ocean deployed as part of the Cougar deployment with the Response Force Task Group (RFTG) in April 2011.

After working up with the group she was diverted to Libya where she conducted Strike operations using Apache attack helicopters from 4 Regiment Army Air Corps in support of the NATO mission Op Unified Protector. The Apaches have been ably assisted during the operation by other helicopters embarked in HMS Ocean. 

These have included Sea King Mk 7 Airborne Surveillance and Control (SKASaC) helicopters of 857 Naval Air Squadron conducting maritime surveillance operations and Lynx Mk 7s of 847 Naval Air Squadron providing force protection and logistic support, as well as US Air Force HH60 Pavehawks. 

The US airmen from the 56th Rescue Squadron based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, were on standby for personnel recovery or medical evacuation operations in the event of incidents involving any NATO aircrafts or ships.

ABOUT THE UNIT

KEY STATISTICS

PENNANT

L12

BEAM

36.1METRES

COMPLEMENT

450PERSONNEL

DISPLACEMENT

21,500TONNES

DRAUGHT

6.7METRES

LENGTH

208.2METRES

RANGE (NAUTICAL)

8,000MILES

TOP SPEED

16KNOTS

LAUNCH DATE

11/10/95

COMMISSIONED DATE

30/09/98

MILITARY LIFT

660MARINES AND AIR GROUP PERSONNEL

HMS ALBION

HMS Albion, along with her sister ship HMS Bulwark, is one of the Navy’s two amphibious assault ships with a single aim: to deliver the punch of the Royal Marines ashore by air and by sea. We do that using landing craft from our cavernous loading dock – the ship can flood her stern to allow the boats in and out – and helicopters from our vast flight deck

Like our younger sister HMS Bulwark we were built at Barrow-in-Furness, where we were launched in March 2001 by Princess Anne. We are based in Devonport, the home of the Navy’s amphibious fleet. Our motto is ‘fortiter, fideliter, feliciter’ – ‘boldly, faithfully, successfully’ and we live to that maxim.

Albion in currently in a period of extended readiness since early 2012.

ABOUT THE UNIT

KEY STATISTICS

PENNANT

L14

DISPLACEMENT

18,500

TONNES

COMPLEMENT

325

PERSONNEL

LENGTH

176METRES

BEAM

25.6METRES

DRAUGHT

7.1METRES

TOP SPEED

18KNOTS

RANGE (NAUTICAL)

8,000MILES

LAUNCH DATE

09/03/01

COMMISSIONED DATE

19/06/03

MILITARY LIFT (LPD ONLY)

305TROOPS