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| HMS LARGO BAY |
On completion of our year training in H.M.S. Ganges, our group was sent up north to the Largo Bay for our sea training, this was to last about 3 months. Largo Bay was an old Bay Class frigate, which at that time was designated for the final part of boys training (Sea Training).
The ship was based at Scapa Flow, in the wilds of Scotland. It was early in February 1953, when after a long arduous trip we finally arrived there, cold, hungry and confused. It was almost dark when we at last staggered up the ship’s gangway with our kit. Exhausted after our long trip up the east coast of England and Scotland, it wasn’t long before we (having practiced the art) had our hammocks slung, and managed to clamber into them, most of us falling into a deep sleep almost immediately.
It seemed that only minutes had passed before there was a great clamouring on the ship. The bosun’s call screeching over the ship’s broadcasting system; Petty Officers yelling from the hatchway to our mess deck, followed by leading hands almost tipping us out of our ‘micks’.
Turned out of our beds confused, disorientated and still sleepy, we were told to dress and wear our oilskin coats and proceed up on deck.
The ship was tied up alongside the quay in the harbour, but pitching and rolling as if at sea. When we managed to make our way topside, we were soon soaked by the sheets of spray breaking over the ship, some waves as high as the ship’s funnel.
The sky, what we could see of it, was the colour of pewter with low black clouds scudding rapidly, and almost ceaselessly there were crashes of thunder and flashes of forked lightning all over the place. But the worst thing was the ice cold rain driven by the screaming wind.
We boys, not knowing just what to do, were milling about trying to keep out of this deluge. The ship was still pitching and rolling, and going up and down being forced by the storm onto the wall we were tied alongside.
A Leading Seaman detailed some of us lads, and took us aft to the ship’s quarter deck store to hoist up the hurricane hawsers stored down below. The storm was so fierce, tugging and pulling at the oilskins we wore that we found it difficult to stand up, let alone haul heavy gear from the stores down below.
After several abortive attempts to get the hawsers on deck; which consisted of thick steel ropes with an eye at either end, together with a heavy twisted Manilla cable-laid rope in the central section, finally with the help of more lads we managed to get these hawsers on deck.
Then it was left to the seasoned sailors to pass one end to the shore; some ropes straight across and others to act like springs from forward on the ship to a point on the quay well aft, and vice versa from aft of the ship to forward on the quay. In addition, there were a number of heavy wire ropes out too. But it seemed like only minutes before these began to break. The long ends of the hawsers dropped over the side, and the wires tightened and thinned as the ship was forced from the wall, and with the water and oil in them being squeezed out, they finally parted with a high pitched howl and a bang! This continued throughout the night. As the wires snapped they whipped dangerously back and forth, but luckily the ship’s company were trained sailors and no one was hurt. That night, our first on a ship, was a lesson we were never to forget.
Finally we were allowed to make our way back to the mess, and during the night the storm gradually abated, the seas calmed, and when our heads hit the pillows that night, we slept the sleep of the dead.
I think we were allowed a morning off to wash our clothes and ourselves, but on the following morning at dawn we were up and running around the dockyard, a daily routine from then on whenever we were in harbour.
Training on the ship went much of a pace. We cleaned the ship both inside and out; we chipped, we scrubbed, we laid out our kit for inspection, and we even went to sea.
Finally, we were to go on a ‘jolly’ across the North Sea to Norway. We crossed the North Sea and it was nice and calm for once. Then we sailed up a beautiful fjord, the water was slate grey and as smooth as glass as we ran slowly up towards our destination.
We passed below a rugged dark wall rising up steeply on either side of the ship; on the sides of which were dotted pastel coloured houses clinging precariously to the side of the cliffs; all surrounded by lime-coloured aspen and dark pine trees.
Slowly we made our way to the small town of Flekkefjord, which we were allowed to visit, but for us boys our time ashore was short, and there was little to do, but this will always be remembered by me all as my first ‘run ashore’.
Soon after leaving we were reminded of the fact of our status or perhaps lack of it, I should say, when one of the lads was caught having a crafty smoke in the loo, and was placed on a charge - his punishment 3 cuts of the cane.
None too soon for me, the sea training came to an end, after which we were split up into three groups to go to the various barracks for onward drafting to a ‘proper’ ship.
The ship was based at Scapa Flow, in the wilds of Scotland. It was early in February 1953, when after a long arduous trip we finally arrived there, cold, hungry and confused. It was almost dark when we at last staggered up the ship’s gangway with our kit. Exhausted after our long trip up the east coast of England and Scotland, it wasn’t long before we (having practiced the art) had our hammocks slung, and managed to clamber into them, most of us falling into a deep sleep almost immediately.
It seemed that only minutes had passed before there was a great clamouring on the ship. The bosun’s call screeching over the ship’s broadcasting system; Petty Officers yelling from the hatchway to our mess deck, followed by leading hands almost tipping us out of our ‘micks’.
Turned out of our beds confused, disorientated and still sleepy, we were told to dress and wear our oilskin coats and proceed up on deck.
The ship was tied up alongside the quay in the harbour, but pitching and rolling as if at sea. When we managed to make our way topside, we were soon soaked by the sheets of spray breaking over the ship, some waves as high as the ship’s funnel.
The sky, what we could see of it, was the colour of pewter with low black clouds scudding rapidly, and almost ceaselessly there were crashes of thunder and flashes of forked lightning all over the place. But the worst thing was the ice cold rain driven by the screaming wind.
We boys, not knowing just what to do, were milling about trying to keep out of this deluge. The ship was still pitching and rolling, and going up and down being forced by the storm onto the wall we were tied alongside.
A Leading Seaman detailed some of us lads, and took us aft to the ship’s quarter deck store to hoist up the hurricane hawsers stored down below. The storm was so fierce, tugging and pulling at the oilskins we wore that we found it difficult to stand up, let alone haul heavy gear from the stores down below.
After several abortive attempts to get the hawsers on deck; which consisted of thick steel ropes with an eye at either end, together with a heavy twisted Manilla cable-laid rope in the central section, finally with the help of more lads we managed to get these hawsers on deck.
Then it was left to the seasoned sailors to pass one end to the shore; some ropes straight across and others to act like springs from forward on the ship to a point on the quay well aft, and vice versa from aft of the ship to forward on the quay. In addition, there were a number of heavy wire ropes out too. But it seemed like only minutes before these began to break. The long ends of the hawsers dropped over the side, and the wires tightened and thinned as the ship was forced from the wall, and with the water and oil in them being squeezed out, they finally parted with a high pitched howl and a bang! This continued throughout the night. As the wires snapped they whipped dangerously back and forth, but luckily the ship’s company were trained sailors and no one was hurt. That night, our first on a ship, was a lesson we were never to forget.
Finally we were allowed to make our way back to the mess, and during the night the storm gradually abated, the seas calmed, and when our heads hit the pillows that night, we slept the sleep of the dead.
I think we were allowed a morning off to wash our clothes and ourselves, but on the following morning at dawn we were up and running around the dockyard, a daily routine from then on whenever we were in harbour.
Training on the ship went much of a pace. We cleaned the ship both inside and out; we chipped, we scrubbed, we laid out our kit for inspection, and we even went to sea.
Finally, we were to go on a ‘jolly’ across the North Sea to Norway. We crossed the North Sea and it was nice and calm for once. Then we sailed up a beautiful fjord, the water was slate grey and as smooth as glass as we ran slowly up towards our destination.
We passed below a rugged dark wall rising up steeply on either side of the ship; on the sides of which were dotted pastel coloured houses clinging precariously to the side of the cliffs; all surrounded by lime-coloured aspen and dark pine trees.
Slowly we made our way to the small town of Flekkefjord, which we were allowed to visit, but for us boys our time ashore was short, and there was little to do, but this will always be remembered by me all as my first ‘run ashore’.
Soon after leaving we were reminded of the fact of our status or perhaps lack of it, I should say, when one of the lads was caught having a crafty smoke in the loo, and was placed on a charge - his punishment 3 cuts of the cane.
None too soon for me, the sea training came to an end, after which we were split up into three groups to go to the various barracks for onward drafting to a ‘proper’ ship.
| Class and type: | Bay-class frigate |
| Displacement: | 1,600 long tons (1,626 t) standard 2,530 long tons (2,571 t) full |
| Length: | 286 ft (87 m) p/p 307 ft 3 in (93.65 m) o/a |
| Beam: | 38 ft 6 in (11.73 m) |
| Draught: | 12 ft 9 in (3.89 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 2 shafts, 4-cylinder vertical triple expansion reciprocating engines, 5,500 ihp (4,100 kW) |
| Speed: | 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph) |
| Range: | 724 tons oil fuel, 9,500 nmi (17,600 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h) |
| Complement: | 157 |
| Sensors and processing systems: | • Type 285 fire control radar • Type 291 air warning radar • Type 276 target indication radar • High Frequency Direction Finder (HF/DF) • IFF transponder |
| Armament: | • 4 × QF 4 inch Mark XVI guns on 2 twin mounting HA/LA Mk.XIX • 4 × 40 mm Bofors A/A on 2 twin mounts Mk.V 4 × 20 mm Oerlikon A/A on 2 twin mounts Mk.V • 1 × Hedgehog 24 barrel A/S projector • 2 rails and 4 throwers for 50 depth charges |
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