Minehunters Home – two Minecountermeasure vessels have returned “home” for an extended tour of duty “East of Suez”.    The Sandown Class PEMBROKE returned to a rousing reception at the Clyde Naval Base, and a similar numbers lined the waterfront at Portsmouth to cheer in Hunt Class vessel MIDDLETON.    The warship’s arrival home was marked with a flypast by CHIPMUNK T.10 and a SEA FURY FB11 of the Royal Navy Historic Flight.    The crews of the two ships changed every six to eight months,

The Bahrain Minecountermeasure Squadron currently comprises four (4) Minehunters :_

            Hunts Class:       QUORN                   ATHERSTONE

            Sandown Class    SHOREHAM               RAMSEY

Operating out of Bahrain conditions were tough – temperatures in high summer can exceed 50 degrees Celsius, yet at certain times of the year the Gulf could be mistaken for the North Sea, with grey waves of 15-20ft and winds gusting to 50mph.

The voyage home for the MIDDLETON and PEMBROKE was not without incident, as they were called on by stricken 40,000tonne container ship NEW DEHLI EXPRESS to provide protection from potential pirate attacks as the crew of the container ship worked to repair the ship ’s machinery after a major breakdown in ‘Pirate Alley’ in the Gulf of Aden.    The MIDDLETON and PEMBROKE also visited Malta to help mark the 70th Anniversary of the Pedestal Convoy.