HMS Boxer Floodlit
This is a professional Royal Navy photographer's photo and the MoD holds copyright. I acquired a print whilst serving aboard Boxer.
The lead ship of the Royal Navy's Type 22 Batch II specialised anti-submarine frigates, she is seen here alongside in Kiel, in what was then West Germany, during the 1985 Kiel Woche.
At this point, Boxer was in yet another year (her fourth!) as the platform for the agonisingly drawn-out trials for the new Operations Room computer system, CACS 1, (Computer-Assisted Command System 1), which Ferranti were having immense trouble getting to work. It was intended to be capable of tracking up to 500 targets, including those detected by radar, sonar and electronic support measures (ESM).
Upon leaving Kiel we had a change of our published programme and turned right instead of left. This led to a very interesting week in the Baltic, running up the coastline of what was then the Soviet Union, observing various nautical and aerial activities (see my Warsaw Pact album).
Designed for operations in the GIUK Gap or further north during the Cold War, the class proved to be an expensive liability in the 1990s when ships with guns, smaller crews and greater flexibility were required. They were all disposed-of much earlier than had originally been planned.
On the other side of the mole from Boxer can be seen the very distinctive 'mack' of an American Knox-class frigate. Although her hull number is obscured in the image, she was the USS McCandless (FF-1084).
Scanned from a print.
HMS Boxer Floodlit
This is a professional Royal Navy photographer's photo and the MoD holds copyright. I acquired a print whilst serving aboard Boxer.
The lead ship of the Royal Navy's Type 22 Batch II specialised anti-submarine frigates, she is seen here alongside in Kiel, in what was then West Germany, during the 1985 Kiel Woche.
At this point, Boxer was in yet another year (her fourth!) as the platform for the agonisingly drawn-out trials for the new Operations Room computer system, CACS 1, (Computer-Assisted Command System 1), which Ferranti were having immense trouble getting to work. It was intended to be capable of tracking up to 500 targets, including those detected by radar, sonar and electronic support measures (ESM).
Upon leaving Kiel we had a change of our published programme and turned right instead of left. This led to a very interesting week in the Baltic, running up the coastline of what was then the Soviet Union, observing various nautical and aerial activities (see my Warsaw Pact album).
Designed for operations in the GIUK Gap or further north during the Cold War, the class proved to be an expensive liability in the 1990s when ships with guns, smaller crews and greater flexibility were required. They were all disposed-of much earlier than had originally been planned.
On the other side of the mole from Boxer can be seen the very distinctive 'mack' of an American Knox-class frigate. Although her hull number is obscured in the image, she was the USS McCandless (FF-1084).
Scanned from a print.