Yes I was on it for a long, long time. Other vessels were far, far better. And yet now, I'm trying to think or remember specifically why that was.
It came down to the little big word, respect. As junior rates we seemed to have gained none, from anybody above, and so a reflective wave of utter contempt was sent back.
That, and the higher than average operational tempo made for a very unpleasant ship at times. * A typical example. In my Junior Rates mess deck there were 15 of us, crammed in like sardines. Our beer allowance was 3 little cans a day per man. 3 x 15 was and is 45. As I recall our beer was issued in crates of 24 at a time, so we were issued 2 crates of 24 being 48. We were then expected to withdraw 3 beer cans and place them somewhere else, and place the rest of the beer in the fridge for issue of 45 cans for that day. With me so far? Upon evening rounds a fattish female officer opened the fridge and proceeded to count out every can of beer in front of us, and low and behold we were 3 cans over our issue. For this, we were punished by having our beer issue withdrawn for one full week.
It sounds like an episode from the TV comedy "Porridge" at times, that little vignette, but all true. Little spiteful unimaginative tricks like this do not make for happy times, any young officers reading this.
Anyway put the helicopter on that carrier they use as a floating museum in New York. We should do a similar thing with HMS Illustrious - what a good tourist attraction that would be.
Last edited by Hangarshuffle; 31st Aug 2014 at 22:09.