Minehunter HMS Grimsby joined NATO allies in the Seine Bay for her second spell of searching for unexploded bombs and mines from World War 2 in a month, say the Royal Navy.
HMS Grimsby is currently assigned to NATO’s Mine Countermeasures Group 1 alongside flagship FGS Donau, BNS Bellis, HNLMS Willemstad, HNoMS Otra.
“Earlier this month, Grimsby located 18 pieces of unexploded ordnance – 15 British mines, three British bombs – in the approaches to Oslo as part of a concerted effort by the NATO group. The locations in which the 38 wartime munitions discovered in total were found meant they could not be blown up, even in controlled explosions, so all the minehunter teams could do was mark their locations and inform the Norwegian authorities.
There were no such issues as the group shifted to the Seine Bay – between the Cherbourg peninsula and Le Havre – where 5,000 Allied warships mustered in June 1944 to liberate France… and the Germans tried to stop them. The waters were heavily mined and bombed – by both sides – during the six years of conflict between 1939 and 1945 and although thoroughly swept and cleared down the decades, wartime ordnance continues to be found; roughly one in three mines laid in World War 2 remain unaccounted for.”
The Royal Navy say that Grimsby’s clearance divers plunged into the water and placed a charge on the mine, then fell back to a safe distance and detonated it.
“HMS Grimsby blows up large bit of French coast” would have been a way better title given the picture. LOL
… and the Germans tried to stop them. Wouldn’t it scan better if you had put …from German occupation. I’m bored; I know!
Amazing that they still exist and are still viable 75 plus years later. The pic says it all!!
Oh and btw-your last words brought to mind Monty Pythons “I like Traffic Lights” from their Contractual Obligation Album-
“I like Traffic Lights,I like Traffic Lights,I like Traffic Lights, but not when they are Red…” 🙂
I checked HMS Grimsby on Wikipedia and note that she has almost the same basic armament as the Batch 2 OPV’s-a 30mm,2 Mini Guns and not 2 but 3 GP machine guns! Somehow surely suggests that the Batch 2’s should be up-armed and this would broaden their utility in general terms?
Further to my last, the Batch 2’s are much bigger, faster more capable ships, better able to handle Blue water and seeing as the Navy is so short of hulls surely it makes sense to improve the versatility of all HM’s ships. Whilst I agree to an extent with the argument that they might then be seen as more”Corvettish” and tempt the Treasury to make a case for even fewer escorts, I think it is a chance worth taking. Echo and Enterprise at over 3000 tons apiece could also be enlisted
even in controlled explosions, so all the minehunter teams could do was mark their locations and inform the Norwegian authorities.