Why HMS Prince of Wales returning to Portsmouth was the greatest moment to happen to the city this year

The News, Portsmouth

HMS Prince of Wales - Reporter experience

Transcript

00:00 So after being in America since September, HMS Prince of Wales has finally returned to

00:18 Portsmouth. She has been on deployment in America and it's been a long time coming.

00:22 Families have gathered all the way from as far as Scotland and East Yorkshire to be all

00:26 the way down here to see their loved ones come aboard ship. HMS Prince of Wales was

00:30 originally going to be deployed to America last August but it developed a fault just

00:34 as she was going past the Isle of Wight in the Solent. Since then she was taken to Scotland

00:39 for several months of repairs. It was later found that there was a fault with her starboard

00:44 shaft, it was later misaligned and there were other faults also found on the other parts

00:48 of the ship. Now though after months of being in Scotland, she left the fort, 4th of the

00:54 4th in July and then returned home to Portsmouth this August and then one week later she returned

01:02 to America for her actual deployment around the Virginia coast. Multiple tests have been

01:06 done by the crew. They have been involved in exercises with F-35 fighter jets, unmanned

01:13 drones and countless deployment exercises with the US Navy and other NATO allies. It's

01:20 been a long time coming for the Royal Navy to finally welcome HMS Prince of Wales back

01:24 to Portsmouth after months of her deployment but it's certainly true that after many months

01:29 of uncertainty around her repairs, she has finally made her triumphal return.

01:35 So Richard, what's it like to finally be docked back in Portsmouth after the deployment in America?

01:52 So it's a very special occasion, returning Prince of Wales back to her base port of Portsmouth

01:57 with a great reception on the jetty from all our families and loved ones and to return

02:02 the sailors and see them in their happy reunions as we return to their families is a real privilege

02:07 to be able to watch.

02:08 And what's it like seeing your own wife and children back home this time?

02:12 Well of course very special, I have three young boys and time away, it can be difficult

02:18 at home sometimes so to return home and take up my lion's share is important.

02:24 What do you think of the deployment itself? Obviously it was a long time coming with the

02:27 repairs in Scotland, do you think the crew got as much as they could out of it?

02:32 So the repairs in Scotland effectively enabled further enhancements of the ship which enabled

02:37 the delivery of Western 23. Every task that was given to us to deliver we have done and

02:44 actually in some areas we have exceeded expectations with regards to the amount of aviation that

02:48 has conducted during the course of the deployment. So Prince of Wales returns ready for 24, ready

02:53 to take over that mantle of the very high readiness strike carrier from Queensland and

02:58 she's all set.

02:59 And how beneficial was it to work with the US Navy with the F-35 exercises?

03:04 Well not just in the F-35, I think in regards to the rotary wing and just the sailors on

03:08 a day to day basis working with their cruisers and destroyers, with the US Navy and the US

03:16 Marine Corps we are interchangeable, interoperable and there's a level of understanding there

03:21 that we have with the other nation.

03:22 There are a lot of firsts on this deployment as well, obviously you used Mojave for the

03:26 first time, the unmanned drones and some of the other things, do you think this will be

03:29 a deployment that sets the crew up for further deployments in the future do you think?

03:33 So I think some of those things you talked about I think that actually sets up carrier

03:37 strike for the future, so regardless whether it's Queen Elizabeth or Prince of Wales, the

03:41 advances we've made in carrier aviation will enhance both ships.

03:45 So it's been really important, really valuable and I think we'll reap the rewards in both

03:50 ships in the future.

03:51 What were the main benefits you guys got out of the deployment itself?

03:56 Well a deployment for sailors is important, it's the lived experience of sailors visiting

04:02 different countries and experiencing those different styles of living when they go ashore

04:06 and an amazing experience for them.

04:08 From a capability perspective as we've discussed, the enhances in F-35, uncrewed aviation, the

04:15 enhances in rotary wing aircraft and as I said the interoperability between the US Navy,

04:20 US Marine Corps and the Royal Navy.

04:22 Do you see further exercises alongside the US Navy in 24 or in the short future?

04:28 Well I think that's an ongoing thing, I think ourselves and the US Navy and the US Marine

04:32 Corps operate in many different areas around the globe so I think that is a friendship,

04:37 a partnership that will continue.

04:38 Thank you.

04:39 Thank you.

04:39 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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