Military Wives Choir surface on HMS Turbulent 15.12.11
65The submarine HMS Turbulent has returned to Plymouth after 267 days on deployment to be welcomed by the popular Military Wives Choir.
The submarine, with about 130 sailors on board, is the last unit from Operation Ellamy, the UK's contribution to action in Libya, to return home.
It patrolled off the coast of Libya and assisted in enforcing the embargo on Libyan shipping movements.
As a seasonal treat - and in recognition of the hard work of the long deployment -- the choir performed their hit song to the crew on board the submarine at sea in Plymouth Sound before it entered Devonport Naval Base.
The visit was kept secret from the sailors, including Engineering Technician Tim Forth who was completely taken aback when his singing wife Victoria and her ten fellow choristers burst into song when he innocently entered the submarine's operations room from the missile hold.
The war-fighting centre of HMS Turbulent became an instant temporary concert hall when the choir gave a rendition of its hit 'Wherever You Are' to the shocked engineer. The reunion became tearful when Victoria burst into tears of joy, followed by the choir.
Victoria said: "It is brilliant to see Tim again. It's been a long, long year since he's been gone. It is such a relief he is home. We've all missed him so much. But this has been the icing on the cake seeing him on board and surprising him like this with the choir. It is a bit surreal though. He did look shocked.
"It's been five months since I saw Tim at home. This is not just for me and Tim it is for all the lads on board. All submariners do covert operations and this means they are largely unrecognised as it always has to be kept under wraps. So this is one way of showing them that we appreciate their work, as well as showing how happy we are that they are back.''
HMS Turbulent which featured in the Channel 5 Series 'Royal Navy Submarine Mission' also spent time in the near and Middle East conducting a variety of operations and exercises in support of national objectives.
Commander Ryan Ramsey, the commanding officer of HMS Turbulent said: "It was amazing, but after the camera crew left, the most exciting challenges started. We conducted operations and exercises with our coalition partners and a range of national operational tasking, demonstrating the true flexibility of submarines and the UK's commitment to the region."
During the time away, 85 percent of it was spent at sea with 190 days dived and 50 days on the surface. The team travelled more than 38,000 miles, conducted a variety of challenging submarine missions in the region and found time to train over 70 new submariners from other units and raise over £7,000 for the charity Children's Hospice South West including a rowing race on an indoor rowing machine on board. The men onboard all agree about what they are looking forward to when they return; seeing their families and friends, British weather (they have seen no rain for a long time!) and to be home for Christmas.
Commander Ramsey summed up ten months away: "We are only one of many Devonport based submarines who have done incredible things this year on behalf of the Royal Navy. I am rightly proud of my team who have always delivered despite every challenge, but more importantly I am thankful to our friends and families, many of whom live in the Plymouth area. We couldn't do what we need to do without their support. We're glad to be back in Plymouth."
HMS Turbulent also conducted a number of covert patrols and maritime exercises.
The submarine will now go straight into a busy maintenance period to keep it operational until planned decommissioning later this year.