Funautical: Daring

If you missed your chance to tour this type 45 or 'D' class air defence destroyer while it was at anchor in the Little Russell, here's your chance to virtually climb aboard.

The type 45 destroyer, one of the Royal Navy's newest and most capable ships, is anchored off St Peter Port, for a three day visit. Her primary reason for its visit is a rather sober one, in memory of those who lost their lives on HM Ships Charybdis and Limbourne.
More than 20 bodies from HMS Charybdis washed up in Guernsey after it was torpedoed by German forces in 1943. The bodies were buried with full military honours at Le Foulon Cemetery by the Island's German occupiers.
The Charybdis was sunk on 23 October 1943. About 460 lives were lost and the bodies of 21 sailors and Royal Marines were washed up on the Guernsey coast within days of the sinking. Only about 100 of the crew were rescued.
HMS Limbourne was torpedoed on the same day, resulting in the loss of more than 40 crew. It was later deliberately sunk to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.

HMS CHARYBDIS - IN HEAVY SEAS

At 1.38am the German Elbing T23 sighted Charybdis a few miles north of the Sept Isles off northern Brittany. Charybdis had picked it up on radar and was swinging to port but was hit by a full salvo of six enemy torpedoes. As the British destroyer Limbourne came into sight, it too was fired on, with it being struck before yet another torpedo tore into the Charybdis.

Daring, is a very young member of the Royal Navy's fleet, it may not have been around for long, but already the links established between the ship and the people of Guernsey are extremely strong. The ship is more than 150 metres long and has a range or 7,000 nautical miles. It is designed to be a flexible multi role vessel able to carry out a variety of tasks across the world, from air defence to humanitarian and anti piracy functions. The crew have just come back from a six and a half month operation in the gulf, where they took part in exercises included projects to strengthen relationships between several foreign navies and to combat piracy (Operation Scimitar Anzac).

Cheers Gaz for organizing a great morning.