jerrytug
N/A
You have to go online to book free tickets in advance, and print them out,a quick google will find the site.Tight security as per usual. Hope someone sees this who didn't know about it.
HMS Bulwark, Greenwich,31st/1st, free guided tours + frisking by matelot
- Thread starter jerrytug
- Start date
Athene V30
Active member
As the international commemorations for the 70th anniversary of D-Day draw closer, the Royal Navy’s Fleet Flagship HMS Bulwark is being prepared for her pivotal role in the celebrations.
The iconic assault ship will lead the Royal Navy’s contingent of five ships and the Royal Marines alongside an international flotilla to the beaches off the coast of Normandy in northern France where a number of high-profile ceremonies and services will be held.
The events will kick off with a demonstration of the ship’s amphibious ability to be manned both on land and in water in Southsea on June 5th and conclude with services at the Bayeux Cathedral, cemetery, and Arromanches, as well as ceremonies at Sword Beach on June 6th and then at the Port en Bessin commune on June 7th.
“HMS Bulwark, as the nation’s very high readiness warship, is ideally placed to lead the Royal Navy’s contribution to the D-Day events,” said HMS Bulwark Commanding Officer Captain Dean Bassett.
“After demonstrating her capability to around 35,000 people in Southsea, HMS Bulwark will provide a backdrop to the commemorations on June 6 where the various British landings took place.
“She will provide a degree of modern capability to offset the historic nature of D-Day and provides context as to what the sailors, marines and soldiers experienced 70 years ago.”
On Monday 19th May, HMS Bulwark used Browndown Beach in Gosport to practise her forthcoming demonstration, sending landing craft filled with marines from the ship to the beach and flying a Merlin and a Sea King helicopter to provide air cover.
“We launched landing craft from HMS Bulwark onto the beach where they were then involved in a short firefight,” explained Royal Marine and Amphibious Operations Officer Lieutenant Colonel Rich Maltby. “We also sent the quick reaction force, which is a group of Marines held at short notice to move, to engage the enemy and neutralise the threat.
“This is similar to what we will demonstrate in Southsea but there will be more craft available to use as well as elements of 40 Commando to make it a spectacular, crowd-pleasing event.”
As well as HMS Bulwark, Royal Navy frigate HMS Richmond will join the international flotilla to France as well as minehunter HMS Ledbury and patrol vessels HMS Ranger and HMS Express. The Royal Marines will be represented by elements of 1 Assault Group.
Attendance at the commemoration is expected from the Royal Family, the chiefs of all three Armed Services, the Prime Minister David Cameron, Secretary of State for Defence Philip Hammond, and 15 Heads of State and VIP representation from the Allied countries.
The D-Day landings on June 6th 1944 involved a combined force of British, Canadian, American, and French forces, which involved hundreds of units from the Royal Navy. Around 132,000 Royal Marines and Allied soldiers were transported by ships and injected onto the beaches of Normandy by landing craft and sea boat with 23, 400 arriving by air. The Royal Air Force and Allied aircraft provided air support with 11,000 aircraft. The largest seaborne invasion ever launched, it was pivotal in heralding the end of the Second World War in Europe. Sadly, it took place at a cost of around 4,300 British and Commonwealth casualties listed as dead, wounded or missing.
For more information about D-Day events across the UK and France, see the relevant government website page here.
The iconic assault ship will lead the Royal Navy’s contingent of five ships and the Royal Marines alongside an international flotilla to the beaches off the coast of Normandy in northern France where a number of high-profile ceremonies and services will be held.
The events will kick off with a demonstration of the ship’s amphibious ability to be manned both on land and in water in Southsea on June 5th and conclude with services at the Bayeux Cathedral, cemetery, and Arromanches, as well as ceremonies at Sword Beach on June 6th and then at the Port en Bessin commune on June 7th.
“HMS Bulwark, as the nation’s very high readiness warship, is ideally placed to lead the Royal Navy’s contribution to the D-Day events,” said HMS Bulwark Commanding Officer Captain Dean Bassett.
“After demonstrating her capability to around 35,000 people in Southsea, HMS Bulwark will provide a backdrop to the commemorations on June 6 where the various British landings took place.
“She will provide a degree of modern capability to offset the historic nature of D-Day and provides context as to what the sailors, marines and soldiers experienced 70 years ago.”
On Monday 19th May, HMS Bulwark used Browndown Beach in Gosport to practise her forthcoming demonstration, sending landing craft filled with marines from the ship to the beach and flying a Merlin and a Sea King helicopter to provide air cover.
“We launched landing craft from HMS Bulwark onto the beach where they were then involved in a short firefight,” explained Royal Marine and Amphibious Operations Officer Lieutenant Colonel Rich Maltby. “We also sent the quick reaction force, which is a group of Marines held at short notice to move, to engage the enemy and neutralise the threat.
“This is similar to what we will demonstrate in Southsea but there will be more craft available to use as well as elements of 40 Commando to make it a spectacular, crowd-pleasing event.”
As well as HMS Bulwark, Royal Navy frigate HMS Richmond will join the international flotilla to France as well as minehunter HMS Ledbury and patrol vessels HMS Ranger and HMS Express. The Royal Marines will be represented by elements of 1 Assault Group.
Attendance at the commemoration is expected from the Royal Family, the chiefs of all three Armed Services, the Prime Minister David Cameron, Secretary of State for Defence Philip Hammond, and 15 Heads of State and VIP representation from the Allied countries.
The D-Day landings on June 6th 1944 involved a combined force of British, Canadian, American, and French forces, which involved hundreds of units from the Royal Navy. Around 132,000 Royal Marines and Allied soldiers were transported by ships and injected onto the beaches of Normandy by landing craft and sea boat with 23, 400 arriving by air. The Royal Air Force and Allied aircraft provided air support with 11,000 aircraft. The largest seaborne invasion ever launched, it was pivotal in heralding the end of the Second World War in Europe. Sadly, it took place at a cost of around 4,300 British and Commonwealth casualties listed as dead, wounded or missing.
For more information about D-Day events across the UK and France, see the relevant government website page here.