The Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious sails from Portsmouth Jan. 21 to lead a 13-ship multi-national Task Group to the Indian Ocean. (UK MoD photo)
Posted on 01/23/2008 7:14:39 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
Faulty Fridge Causes Aircraft Carrier To Turn Back
Jan 23 2008 Press Association
A FAULTY meat fridge is forcing a Royal Navy aircraft carrier to return to base today just two days after setting off for the Indian Ocean.
HMS Illustrious departed from Portsmouth Naval Base on Monday to head the multi-national Task Group Orion 08 which will be carrying out exercises and diplomatic visits during the next four months in the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean.
Navy spokesman Anton Hanney said a refrigeration unit used to store meat on the warship had been found to be in danger of breaking down.
He explained: "She has a minor problem with her refrigeration unit. It hasn't broken down but because she is off the south coast, the sensible thing is for her to come in and get that fixed before she goes off again.
"It wouldn't be prudent for her to go off with the chance of the unit breaking down while she was in warmer climates and then engineers would have to be flown out to her to fix it.
"It will not delay her programme in any significant way, she will be able to make up 24 hours without a problem."
Mr Hanney said Illustrious was likely to undergo the repairs at Portsmouth this afternoon before heading off again tomorrow.
Orion 08, which incorporates more than 2,500 personnel, 13 ships, a nuclear-powered submarine and fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft is aimed at boosting peace and stability in the area by exercising with a number of navies in the region.
During its deployment, the Task Group will be visiting 20 ports in the Mediterranean, Africa, Middle East, South Asia and the Far East.
A navy spokesman said: "The deployment is part of the Royal Navy's regular operating pattern, repeating a similar deployment to the Indian Ocean in 2006.
"It will exercise deploying a maritime strike force for a prolonged period away from the home base and working with allies."
The Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious sails from Portsmouth Jan. 21 to lead a 13-ship multi-national Task Group to the Indian Ocean. (UK MoD photo)
There's a joke in there somewhere.
HMS Illustrious departed now returning due to a refer plant?
You have got to be friggen kidding me are their any machinist mates on board? Its got aircraft to bring in spare parts if not on board.
Once again, the crown embarrasses the west.
The Sun Always Sets on the British Empire.
I wonder if Britian is still planning on building its supercarrier...
I wonder why they couldnt fix the issue at sea, which would seem like good training...
It’s a cover story.
They’re picking up James to drop him off at Dr Zodiac’s Arctic base, and the meat fridge is the same size as an Aston Martin.
Reminds me of the bumper sticker I saw once along time ago when the British still built many brands of autos for export to the US:
Why do the British drink warm beer? Because they have Lucas refrigerators!
She’d have been the HMS Odorous, if they hadn’t fixed the ‘fridge.
In Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a space ship’s departure is delayed centuries waiting for a delivery of lemon scented towelettes.
Howmany of these fridges does an aircraft carrier have?
I can understand how a faulty fridge could be a serious problem but I agree, the know how to fix it should be on board.
Good grief, they can fix a million other things on board the ship, why not the fridge unit too? Didn’t they bring any spare parts?
It is an aircraft carrier, they don’t have HVAC/refrigeration techs aboard?
It reminds me that the Canadian army can't even field one battalion to help us overseas. That's just what their military has devolved to.
What’s a few maggots in the meat? The British Navy ain’t what it used to be. ;-)
Hmmmm...couldn’t the Brits have simply airlifted a new unit or parts to fix the current one, rather than wasting all the money on fuel to return to port? This doesn’t make sense...
Thank God they didn’t have to retreat during a battle.
Refrigerated meat aboard ship?
Guess they don’t eat powdered eggs (to order) or
drink powdered milk or drink bug juice are these guys sailors or cruise ship passengers?
They need to be at home port to avoid Greenpeace protesting the ship if they were to bring onboard that banned substance, freon.
Why don’t the British make personal computers?
Because they can’t figure out how to make them leak oil.
Got to be a cover story. Knowing the brits, I’d bet they forgot to load weapons before leaving.
They don’t have people who can maintain all that?
Is this Scrapple?
“bug juice”
Ah, yes, bug juice. Remember soaking brass fire nozzles in that stuff? Cleans and shines at the same time.
...a Fortune Magazine article from the 1980s on Jaguar's quality problems.
The founder of Jaguar was too British in that he wouldn't buy real electrical parts from West Germany, instead, opting to buy the poor quality British stuff at the time.
Was that Lucas, perchance?
Not that German electrical stuff is all that great. One of my VWs had a number electrical parts failures.
Great fun when the power window switches break when it starts raining, and the window(s) are down....
I think they've stopped keel-hauling, too.
Too bad.
I don't know about theirs but ours have two big walk in coolers both forward and aft plus a walk in freezer both forward and aft. Add to that a couple of smaller walk ins but those are the main ones. In a pinch you can make a walk in refrigerator a freezer but it would be a pain to do. Also on our carriers the walk in refrigerators serve a dual purpose. They also serve as the morgue and I'm not making this up. I was in A-Gang AC&R Shop on a carrier. When someone died at sea in the cooler they went till a fly off could happen. Till then one of us was stationed at the door 24 hours a day to keep the temp steady.
I find this story quite amusing though. Heck we would have never left port LOL.
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Uhhh...turning around an entire carrier group is less expensive than flying out a couple of engineers with some parts? Geez...it is a carrier....
This reminds me of the old TV commerical where the exec. officer tells the captain of an ocean liner that they’ve run out of Colombian coffee. Hard about!
Done deal.... usually.... for a real navy!
Someone has to tell me if this target has an A-gang?
Loose the A/C and you loose electronics. A carrier has roughly 2000 tons of Chill Water cooling systems. That would be about 6-10 chillers depending on each individual units capacity. The chill water loop can be isolated or operated in a one loop system.
This sounds like they had a compressor about ready to lock up and are turning back to replace it. But it could have been done at sea if that were the case. A walk in cooler compressor on a carrier is about the size of a 4 cylinder engine and should be able to be lowered down a hatch rather than cutting the deck. The problem may have been if the compressor needed replaced {they can be overhauled at sea as well} that is was so big that they will have to cut the decks open to get to it. That in turn effects the ships water tight integrity and might be the reason.
Cover story. Some game’s afoot.
2500 sailors and bad meat is a recipe for a night show joke.
For want of a nail, the shoe was lost..
For want of the shoe, the horse was lost..
For want of the horse, the rider was lost..
For want of the rider, the battle was lost..
For want of the battle, the kingdom was lost..
And all for the want of a nail.
Yep, much easier to reroute a carrier and her crew then inconvenience a couple of engineers by flying them out.
USS John C Stennis; HMS Illustrious.
All carriers are not created equal.
Yes, right up there with eating shipboard baked ‘raisin bread’.
Used to use so much Brasso on the bright work your fingers would turn and oh yes, what would the environmentalists say about ‘burning the old polish off your Navy Last’s?’, just another good job for lighter fluid....get so many layers of polish on the softened leather they would virtually crack....
what a great, misspent youth and to think people fought to get out of it...
How would this affect the Rum, sodomy and the lash?
To call this thing an aircraft carrier is like calling donkey a horse.
“Loose the A/C and you loose electronics”
A/C has nothing to do with a meat refer plant. Not even close.
My guess is based on yesterdays story of the government going around confiscating toy “replica” guns they are going to put them on the carrier and go fight their replica war.
Great picture contrasting flat tops. Note how much greater effort is shown in the turbulent wake of HMS Illustrious. By comparison, CVN Stennis is coasting.
Yeah, typical Brit driver too. Looks like they bent the front of that ship when they ran into sumpin too!! Take it to Geico to have an estimate done. LOL
I believe it is more Russian in design.
The poster was asking about having techs do fix it though. AC&R shop maintains both equipment on a ship. I was just giving him an idea of the A/C cooling capacity. I wouldn't know it unless I had worked on that and the walk ins as well :>}
“They’re picking up James to drop him off at Dr Zodiac’s Arctic base, and the meat fridge is the same size as an Aston Martin.”
Oooh! An Aston Martin with skis and a minigun.
Next thing you know, they'll be surrendering to Iranians pirates. ;-)
You’re right, it probably is a cover for something.
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