HMS CATTISTOCK Ship Visit
On Monday, Merchant Taylors' CCF Royal Navy section Drake Division had an amazing trip to HMS CATTISTOCK, a Royal Navy minehunter. Merchant Taylors’ Company has a military affiliation to the 2nd Mine Countermeasures Squadron (MCM2), her parent unit. RAdm Clink (Ret’d), the Clerk of the Company kindly invited the pupils to visit.
Writes Nischal V. (Divs)
HMS CATTISTOCK was berthed alongside HMS BELFAST on the Thames. We got to meet the crew aboard the minehunter ship, all of whom were very friendly. They took us on a capability tour of the ship which included handling some weapons, operating the firefighting equipment, seeing the diving gear and bomb disposal systems, visiting the Operations Room, and getting to sit in the Captain's chair on the Bridge.
It was stunning to see the way that the RN dealt with dangerous mines at sea, carefully manoeuvring around them and using advanced technology such as the SeaFox unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) to disable them. I had a great time on the ship with my fellow cadets and we all found it very interesting.
Thanks to the staff for organising!
