HMS ''Reclaim'' was a deep diving and submarine rescue vessel of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. She was originally intended to be the ''King Salvor''-class ocean salvage vessel ''Salverdant'' and was fitted with specialised equipment including underwater television cameras and

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

and echosounding apparatus. She was also equipped for submarine rescue work. At the time of her commissioning in 1949, ''Reclaim'' was the Royal Navy's only vessel capable of carrying out deep diving operations. Upon completion ''Reclaim'' was attached to HMS ''Vernon'',

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

as a diving tender.

Operational service

* 1948: diving from ''Reclaim'',

Petty Officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies. Often they may be superior to a seaman, and subordinate to more senior non-commissioned officers, such as chief petty officers. Petty officers are usually sailors that have ...

Wilfred Bollard set a world deep diving record of . * 1951: on 14 June 1951 ''Reclaim'' found the submerged wreck of the submarine , missing since 17 April, during which operation her new underwater television apparatus was used. One of the divers from ''Reclaim'' working on the ''Affray'' was Lionel "Buster" Crabb, who later became famous when in 1956 he disappeared in Portsmouth harbour. * 1953: Attended the Coronation Fleet Review at

Spithead Spithead is an eastern area of the Solent and a roadstead for vessels off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast, with the Isle of Wight lying to the south-west. Spithead and the ch ...

. * 1956: Lt. George Wookey of the Royal Navy's Clearance Diving Branch dived from HMS ''Reclaim'' to set a new deep diving record of in Sor Fjord, Norway on 12 October 1956. * 1960: ''Reclaim'' was assigned to ,

Port Edgar Port Edgar is a marina on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth, immediately west of the Forth Road Bridge and the town of South Queensferry, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Originally a naval base, HMS ''Lochinvar'', Port Edgar is now a busy marina ...

for service as a Mine Counter Measures Support Ship and Diving Trials Ship. From January and May 1961 she carried out diving trials in the

Canary Isles The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the continent being 100 kilometres (62 mi ...

. She was later relieved as Mine Counter Measures Support Ship by the

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine, military aircraft or land vehicle deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for ins ...

, which enabled her to concentrate on her roles as deep diving support vessel. * 1962: Deep Diving Trials programme begun, culminating in ten dives off

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

in 1965 to . * 1968: ''Reclaim'' took part in the salvage operation on the Air Lingus Viscount 803 Aircraft EI-AOM, the "Saint Phelim", which had crashed into the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

off Tuskar Rock on 24 March 1968. Over a period of 26 days, divers working from the ''Reclaim'' performed 91 dives in depths of , managing to salvage a third of the aircraft's wreckage. Unfortunately, when ''Reclaim'' attempted to raise the fuselage to the surface using straps instead of nets, the wreckage broke apart upon reaching the surface and sank. *1974: ''Reclaim'' despatched to Harstad in Norway in May to recover a ditched Wessex helicopter from HMS Hermes. The Wessex was only located when Reclaim, using its underwater camera capability snagged the helicopter with the camera. A largely successful operation was spoiled when the gearbox and engine pulled out of the body of the aircraft. * 1977: ''Reclaim'' attended the

1977 Silver Jubilee The Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the Silver jubilee, 25th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was celebrated with large-scale parties and parades throughout the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth ...

Fleet Review off

. ''Reclaim'' was the only ship to attend both the Coronation and Silver Jubilee reviews. * 1979: ''Reclaim'' (at that time the oldest ship in the Navy), was paid off, to be replaced by the new Seabed Operations Vessel . * 15 May 1982 arrived at

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

, Belgium for demolition.

Trivia

HMS ''Reclaim'' served as a filming location for the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' serial "

The Sea Devils ''The Sea Devils'' is the third serial of the ninth season of the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 26 February to 1 April 1972. It was written by Ma ...

" in 1971. It was the last British warship to have sails. Although rarely used, they could add half a knot to her speed.

References

External links

Photograph of HMS ''Reclaim''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reclaim 1948 ships King Salvor-class salvage vessels of the Royal Navy