Shipbucket

Here is my work so far on the LongBow Trials Barge. i have alway had a thing for this vessel, seeing it rusting away on family holidays down devon as a child so i thought id give it a go.
A Breif history of the Longbow....
She was built for Wijsmuller Bros Marine UK as the Semi Submersible Heavy Lift Barge "Ocean Servant 1" in 1976 and was Comandeered by the MOD in 1984 to test the Sea Wolf VLS GWS 26 system to be fitted to the Type 23 Frigates. Following completion of the trials she was mothballed from 1987 to 2003 in Brixham harbour, Devon, UK whilst the MOD decided what to do with her. There was several sejestions to despose of the vessel following completion of the Sea Wolf trials and it's eventual deployment on the Type 23 and aborted deployment on the Fort Victoria Class.
In 2003 she was again brought into use by the MOD for testing the then joint Franco/italian/United Kingdom PAAMS (Principle Anti Air Missile System) missile system (later to be called "Sea Viper" when the UK pulled out of the Horizon Frigate Programme and concentrated on it's own Type 45 Destroyer Design). she was fitted with the Samson radar and a 4 chamber VLS for the PAAMS (Aster15 and Aster30) Missiles. she carried out a number of succesfull and some not so succesfull launches at the French missile test ranges before the Sea Viper trials were concluded by the French and Royal Navy's abord there respective ship's (HMS Daring and Dauntless for the RN).
In 2010 talk was sejesting a repreive as a air defense barge to be parked at the mouth of the River Thames as part of London's hightened security for the 2012 olympics but this was droped and HMS Ocean and a Type 45 Destroyer were made available instead. there was also plans to use Longbow as a test platform for the new CAMM (Common Anti Air Modular Missile) soon to be deployed by the Royal Navy (Type 23 and Future Type 26), RAF (Replacement for ASRAAM) and the ARMY (replacement for Rapier). but this was dropped as testing aboard a Type 23 was deemed Cheaper.
In 2012 she was sold for scrap to a Turkish Breakers, ending an eventfull 36 year career.

Very cool.

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Very interesting!

interesting.
I somewhat hope you will show us her entire lifecycle, with the 2 test systems (of which one is drawn now) and as the Super Servant?

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Drawings are credited with J.Scholtens
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That is my plan, finding reference to her sea wolf days is proving a nightmare. I have some images of her that I took as a kid when she was dumped in brixham harbour. She had already been stripped of the sea wolf equipment. The rear structure was still on her deck though so I am wondering if the same box albeit modified was used for sea wolf. But her radar fit is still a mystery.

i have using what i could find, some photographs of Longbow in her Mothballed state from 1987 - 2003 and from a grainy video of some test shots of the Sea wolf system in the 1980's, and from my knowlegde of as to what systems are needed to target, and launch a Sea Wolf missile and engage a target, so far come up with this configuration for her 1984 appearance. i have no ida what the yellow apperatus on the rear is but it appears to be movable and i would asume it is were the a second 910 tracker is located. the video i have is taken from a camra on the forward structure and show a small bank of 9 VLS tubes the rear most blanked off imediatly aft of the forward structure with the main radar on a pedastal roughtly a midships behind that you can make out one 910 tracker.



the yellow structure on the rear is in all of the picture of her laid up in brixham, and remains somewhat of a mystery... but i think maybe it had a second 910 tracker....

also here is her appearance before the MOD purchased her as Ocean Servant 1, owned by Wijsmuller Bro Uk marine salvage.

Interesting craft, and beautifully done.

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Thank you Kim for the crest

"Never fear to try on something new. Remember that the Titanic was built by professionals, and the Ark by an amateur"

and as i remember seeing her as a child mothballed in brixham (minus 15 years worth of rust)....

Excellent work on a very interesting vessel.

Intresting vessel, but what strikes to my eye is to use the grey color railing against the beige (or what ever color that is ) backround. The reason why its grey in the equipment sheet is becouse back then mostly all ships were in hazegray pattern, and the idea is that the railing color is one notch darker than the hull color.
so I would suggest you seek color in same wane to match the background color in places where the railing is not facing thin air or grey objects.

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