HMS Reclaim
Encyclopedia
HMS Reclaim was a deep diving and submarine rescue vessel of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. She was originally intended to be the King Salvor-class ocean salvage vessel
RFA King Salvor (A291)
RFA King Salvor , initially HMS King Salvor , was the lead ship of a class of 12 salvage vessels of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. A 13th ship was completed as a submarine rescue vessel for the Royal Navy as ....
Salverdant and was fitted with specialised equipment including underwater television cameras and sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
and echosounding apparatus. She was also equipped for submarine rescue work.
At the time of her commissioning in 1949, Reclaim was the Royal Navy's only vessel capable of carrying out deep diving operations. Upon completion Reclaim was attached to HMS Vernon
HMS Vernon (shore establishment)
HMS Vernon was a shore establishment or 'stone frigate' of the Royal Navy. Vernon was established on 26 April 1876 as the Royal Navy's Torpedo Branch and operated until 1 April 1996, when the various elements comprising the establishment were split up and moved to different commands.-Foundation...
, Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
as a diving tender.
Operational service
- 1948: diving from Reclaim, Petty OfficerPetty OfficerA petty officer is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotion OR-6. They are equal in rank to sergeant, British Army and Royal Air Force. A Petty Officer is superior in rank to Leading Rate and subordinate to Chief Petty Officer, in the case of the British Armed...
Wilfred Bollard set a world deep diving record of 535 ft (163.1 m).
- 1951: on 14 June 1951 Reclaim found the submerged wreck of the submarine , missing since 17 April, during which operation her new underwater television apparatus was used. One of the divers from Reclaim working on the Affray was Lionel "Buster" CrabbLionel CrabbLionel "Buster" Crabb OBE, GM was a British Royal Navy frogman and MI6 diver who vanished during a reconnaissance mission around a Soviet cruiser in 1956.-Early life:...
, who later became famous when in 1956 he disappeared in Portsmouth harbour.
- 1956: Lt. George Wookey of the Royal Navy's Clearance Diving BranchClearance DiverA clearance diver was originally a specialist naval diver who used explosives underwater to remove obstructions to make harbours and shipping channels safe to navigate, but later the term "clearance diver" was used to include other naval underwater work...
dived from HMS Reclaim to set a new deep diving record of 600 ft (182.9 m) in Sor Fjord, Norway on 12 October 1956.
- 1960: Reclaim was assigned to , Port EdgarPort EdgarPort Edgar is a marina situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth immediately to the west of the southern end of the Forth Road Bridge in the town of South Queensferry, Scotland. In previous years it had been the site of HMS Lochinvar. In the inter war period Port Edgar was the a destroyer...
for service as a Mine Counter Measures Support Ship and Diving Trials Ship. From January and May 1961 she carried out diving trials in the Canary Isles. She was later relieved as Mine Counter Measures Support Ship by the minelayerMinelayerMinelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...
, which enabled her to concentrate on her roles as deep diving support vessel.
- 1962: Deep Diving Trials programme begun, culminating in ten dives off ToulonToulonToulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
in 1965 to 600 ft (182.9 m).
- 1968: Reclaim took part in the salvage operation on the Air Lingus Viscount 803 Aircraft EI-AOMAer Lingus Flight 712Flight 712, operated by Aer Lingus crashed en route from Cork to London on 24 March 1968 killing 61 passengers and crew. The plane, a Vickers Viscount 803 named "St. Phelim", crashed into the sea off Tuskar Rock, County Wexford. Although the investigation into the crash lasted two years, a cause...
, the "Saint Phelim", which had crashed into the Irish SeaIrish SeaThe Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
off Tuskar Rock on 24 March 1968. Over a period of 26 days, divers working from the Reclaim performed 91 dives in depths of 250 ft (76.2 m), managing to salvage a third of the aircraft's wreckage. Unfortunately, when Reclaim attempted to raise the fuselage to the surface using straps instead of nets, the wreckage broke apart upon reaching the surface and sank.
- 1974: Reclaim despatched to Harstad in Norway in May to recover a ditched Wessex helicopter from HMS Hermes. The chopper was only located when Reclaim, using its underwater camera capability snagged the helicopter with the camera. A largely successful operation was spoiled when the gearbox and engine pulled out of the body of the aircraft.
- 1977: Reclaim attended the 1977 Silver JubileeSilver Jubilee of Elizabeth IIThe Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other Commonwealth realms...
Fleet Review off SpitheadSpitheadSpithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...
.
- 1979: Reclaim (at that time the oldest ship in the Navy), was paid off, to be replaced by the new Seabed Operations Vessel .
Trivia
HMS Reclaim served as a filming location for the Doctor WhoDoctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
serial "The Sea Devils
The Sea Devils
The Sea Devils is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from February 26 to April 1, 1972.-Synopsis:...
" in 1972.
