The four ships which form the core of the Royal Navy’s amphibious fleet are helicopter carriers HMS Illustrious and Ocean and assault ships HMS Albion and Bulwark – the latter is also Britain’s flagship. With the exception of Portsmouth-based Illustrious, the amphibious force – which deploys as part of the UK’s Response Force Task Group – is concentrated in Devonport, close to many of the Royal Marines’ assault and raiding units, and the commandos’ training centre in Lympstone.
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Current Location
Harstad, Norway
15:26 GMT - 16 February 2012
Exercise Cold Response
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Assault Ships
Vessels in Action
HMS Bulwark
HMS Bulwark is the Flagship of the Royal Navy and the nation. Along with sister ship HMS Albion, Bulwark’s role is to deliver the punch of the Royal Marines ashore by air and by sea, with boats from our landing dock in the belly of the ship and by assault helicopter from the two-spot flight deck. We can carry 256 troops, with their vehicles and combat supplies, and this can be swollen up to 405 troops – although life won’t be comfortable…
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HMS Bulwark
HMS Bulwark is the Flagship of the Royal Navy and the nation. Along with sister ship HMS Albion, Bulwark’s role is to deliver the punch of the Royal Marines ashore by air and by sea, with boats from our landing dock in the belly of the ship and by assault helicopter from the two-spot flight deck. We can carry 256 troops, with their vehicles and combat supplies, and this can be swollen up to 405 troops – although life won’t be comfortable…
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HMS Albion
HMS Albion, along with her sister ship HMS Bulwark, is one of the Navy’s two amphibious assault ships with a single aim: to deliver the punch of the Royal Marines ashore by air and by sea. We do that using landing craft from our cavernous loading dock – the ship can flood her stern to allow the boats in and out – and helicopters from our vast flight deck.
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HMS Illustrious
Having had an extremely busy end to 2011 which saw us complete Basic Operational Sea Training, we are now continuing our preparations to become the UK’s High Readiness Helicopter and Commando Carrier. Once we take over this role from HMS Ocean, we will be ready to deploy anywhere in the world at short notice carrying out whatever task is required of the Ship and her Ship’s Company.
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HMS Ocean
An amphibious assault ship, HMS Ocean is designed to deliver troops to the centre of the action by helicopter or by landing craft – we have six helicopter operating spots on our flight deck and our hangar can hold many more aircraft. We have our own Royal Marine assault squadron, 9ASRM, and we also carry four Mk5 landing craft vehicle and personnel (LCVP).
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1 Assault Group
1 Assault Group Royal Marines is the lead for Amphibious Warfare and Royal Navy Board & Search Training. The Group is tasked with training and developing core amphibious and surface assault skills and equipment, including the provision of Operational Support for the Ministry of Defence. 1 Assault Group Royal Marines (1 AGRM) is located within HM Naval Base Devonport, Plymouth.
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