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Current Location
Atlantic, Caribbean & USA
15:33 GMT - 18 June 2013
Atlantic, Caribbean & USA
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HMS Richmond
HMS Richmond is among the most tried and tested in the Fleet, having pounded Saddam Hussein’s defences on the Al Faw peninsula in the opening hours of the 2003 Iraq campaign, to providing vital aid in the Caribbean after Hurricane Ivan – the tenth strongest storm in history – steamrollered through a succession of islands in 2004.
a deo et rege - From God and the King
Ship's Motto
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HMS Richmond supports Joint Warrior
HMS Richmond supports Joint Warrior
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HMS Richmond Trains Specialist Navigators
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HMS Richmond
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HMS Richmond Trains Specialist Navigators
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HMS Richmond
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HMS Richmond
HMS Richmond has had a busy year so far.
Setting sail in early February following a brief maintenance period in Portsmouth, the Ship’s Company put trainee submariners through their paces off the west coast of Norway whilst taking part in the gruelling multi-national Submarine Command Course.
In March HMS Richmond embarked navigation students from the Maritime Warfare School for an intensive training programme covering several thousand miles along the South Coast of England, Irish Sea, Western Isles, Orkneys and Channel Islands.
Later that same month HMS Richmond literally ‘hit’ a key milestone on her path towards deployment by completing 2 successful firings of her Sea Wolf surface to air missile system off the south coast of England, proving decisively her ability to track and destroy sea-skimming targets.
Currently HMS Richmond is finishing a period of high intensity training at Flag Officer Sea Training, and will soon undertake a comprehensive maintenance period in her base port before deploying later this year.
HMS Richmond is the seventh Royal Navy ship to proudly bear the name and enjoys strong links to several affiliations in both Richmond upon Thames and Richmond, North Yorkshire.
COMMANDING OFFICER
Robert Pedre
- RANK:
- Commander
- JOINED:
- 1993
- SPECIALISATION:
- warfare
- PREVIOUS UNITS:
- HMS's Cattistock, Newcastle, Southampton, Edinburgh,Cottesmore, Northumberland, Illustrious, Cumberland
Military experience
Commander Robert Pedre was born in Taunton, Somerset in 1975 and educated at Davenant Foundation School. He was selected for Royal Navy university sponsorship in 1993 and read Physics at Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, graduating in 1996.
Following initial training at Britannia Royal Naval College, he completed fleet time in the Mine Countermeasures Vessel HMS Cattistock and the Type 42 Destroyer HMS Newcastle. Following a brief exchange with the French Ecole Navale in Brest, he was appointed as an Officer of the Watch in the Type 42 Destroyer HMS Southampton.
As Navigating Officer of the Type 42 Destroyer HMS Edinburgh in 2001, he saw service in the South Atlantic. Highlights of this deployment included navigating the Panama Canal and transits of Patagonia and the Magellan Straits.
He assumed command of the Mine Countermeasures Vessel HMS Cottesmore in 2003, tasked with counter-terrorist operations in the Irish Sea. After attendance on the Initial Command and Staff Course at Shrivenham in 2005, he completed training as a Principal Warfare Officer at the Maritime Warfare School specialising in Above Water Warfare.
He was then appointed to the Type 23 Frigate HMS Northumberland and as Operations Officer deployed to the Mediterranean conducting NATO’s first out of area deployment to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in 2007.
He joined the staff of Commander United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group in 2008 as the lead N5 Maritime Planner, embarking in the Fleet Flagship HMS Illustrious for the Orion deployment. The following 2 years involved extensive liaison with the French, Turkish, Indian and United States Navies. This included a period seconded to the staff of Commander Carrier Strike Group 8 embarked in USS Dwight D Eisenhower.
Selected for promotion to Commander in 2009, he joined the Type 22 Frigate HMS Cumberland as the Executive Officer and Second in Command in early 2010. This period culminated in a 7 month operational deployment to the Middle East conducting oil platform protection, counter-piracy operations and significant engagement with regional partners. A particular highlight of this deployment was the successful evacuation of 454 personnel from Benghazi, Libya and the subsequent embargo operations under Operation Ellamy.
Commander Pedre assumed command of HMS Richmond in January 2012.
OPERATIONS
Operation Atlantic Patrol South
CURRENT STATUS: COMPLETED
The South Atlantic Patrol is the Navy's standing commitment to UK overseas territories, Commonwealth countries and other friendly nations in the South Atlantic in order to reassure and maintain a sovereign presence around the South Atlantic.
Standing NATO Maritime Group 2
CURRENT STATUS: COMPLETED
Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 is a multinational, integrated maritime force - made up of vessels from various allied nations, training and operating together as a single team - that is permanently available to NATO to perform a wide range of tasks, from participating in exercises to crisis response and real world operational missions.
Operation Atlantic Patrol North
CURRENT STATUS: COMPLETED
The APT(N) task centres on Reassurance to UK Overseas dependent territories, providing Humanitarian and Disaster relief during the Core Hurricane Season (Jun-Nov) and conducting Counter Narcotic patrols as part of the wider international effort.
Operation Atalanta
CURRENT STATUS: COMPLETED
The protection of vessels of the World Food Programme (WFP) delivering food aid to displaced persons in Somalia and the protection of African Union Mission on Somalia (AMISOM) shipping; the deterrence, prevention and repression of acts of piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia and in the Indian Ocean; the protection of vulnerable shipping off the Somali coast on a case by case basis; and also contributes to the monitoring of fishing activities off the coast of Somalia. Piracy threatens the sea lanes, has severe economic consequences, and impedes the delivery of food aid shipments.
Fleet Ready Escort
CURRENT STATUS: COMPLETED
The Fleet Ready Escort is at short notice to react to any maritime threat to the UK including terrorism and smuggling of arms or narcotics and the like. The Fleet Ready Escort will spend the majority of the year in and around UK waters conducting training and exercises with various UK and military agencies and organisations.
Maritime security
CURRENT STATUS: COMPLETED
British ships and units are committed to operations around the world. Operations focus on maritime security, reassurance and wider regional engagement to build regional maritime capability.
Operation Telic
CURRENT STATUS: COMPLETED
An ongoing UK commitment to clearing and maintaining a mine countermeasures force in the Gulf.
UNIT DIARY
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HMS Richmond supports Joint Warrior26/04/13
HMS Richmond has had a busy few weeks, supporting one of the largest European military exercises in recent years. Alongside almost 50 other ships, plus countless aircraft and land troops, HMS Richmond played her part in Exercise Joint Warrior.
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HMS Richmond Goes Sub Hunting25/02/13
The Captain and Ship’s Company of HMS Richmond have been busy putting trainee submariners through their paces off the west coast of Norway whilst taking part in the gruelling multi-national Submarine Command Course.
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Russian Chief Of Naval Staff Visits HMS Richmond At Sea14/12/12
HMS Richmond was privileged to host Admiral Viktor Chirkov, Chief of Naval Staff Russian Federation Navy and a VIP delegation of senior Russian Naval Officers, during a historic visit to Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) at HMNB Devonport on 13 December.
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HMS Richmond Spring 2012 Command Prize Awarded11/05/12
WEAPONS SYSTEM
Weapons System
Type 23 Weapons System
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4.5Mk8 Gun
medium calibre weapon system
If you're looking for punch and firepower, then the 4.5in main gun, found on the forecastle of all the Royal Navy's destroyer's frigates and destroyers, is the most obvious provider. Even in an age of missiles, there's still a need for a weapon to pulverise enemy positions and demoralise the foe - and the 4.5in gun has done so in the Falklands and Iraq. The gun can fire up to two dozen high explosive shells weighing more than 40kg (80lbs) at targets more than a dozen miles away - and nearly 18 miles if special extended-range shells are used. In various forms, the 4.5in has been the Navy's standard medium gun since before World War 2, embodied today by the Mk8 which has been in service since the early 1970s. There are two types of Mk8 used by the Fleet. The older Mod 0 (with its curved turret), which is gradually being replaced, and the angular Mod 1 (nicknamed Kryten after the robot on the sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf) which is harder for enemy radar to pick up. The main purpose of the gun is Naval Gunfire Support – artillery bombardment of shore targets. In this role the gun is capable of firing the equivalent of a six-gun shore battery. The Mk8 can also be used effectively against surface targets at sea.
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Harpoon
Anti-ship missile System
Harpoon is the long-range lance of the Type 23 frigate, capable of destroying enemy ships far beyond the horizon. Fitted to all Type 23 Frigates, the Boeing (formerly McDonnell Douglas) Harpoon is a sophisticated anti-ship missile capable of striking at targets more than 80 miles away. Harpoon uses a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing to attack its prey. Cruising at Mach 0.9 and carrying a large high explosive warhead it is powered by a lightweight turbojet, but is accelerated at launch by a booster rocket.
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Helicopter
Airbourne weapons System
The Merlin Mk1 have been in service with the Fleet Air Arm since the late 1990s and, after thorough testing and evaluation, the helicopters have been on the front line since 2000. Our job is to find – and if necessary destroy – enemy submarines using our state-of-the-art sonar bouys which we drop into the ocean and Sting Ray torpedoes. Beyond searching for submarines, we carry out traditional maritime helicopter duties: anti-piracy/drug-running patrols, surveillance and reconnaissance, search and rescue, and passenger and load transfers
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Sea Wolf
Surface to Air Missile system
Seawolf is the shield of Britain’s frigate fleet against air attack. Defending Britain's frigate fleet against air attack, the Seawolf missile has been in service for more than 30 years and has proven itself in action in the Falklands. Unlike Sea Viper and Sea Dart, Seawolf is intended to defend an individual ship rather than a task group, engaging aircraft or sea-skimming missiles. It is fired either from a vertical silo on Type 23 frigates, and guided on to its target courtesy of a tracking system on the ship. The original Seawolf had a very limited range of just six miles, but the frigate fleet is in the middle of receiving the latest, more potent version of the missile system. It means that Seawolf can track – and destroy – a target the size of a cricket ball travelling at three times the speed of sound well beyond the limit of the original missile. If the system was placed in the middle of London, it could track its target over the M25 and knock it out of the sky over the North Circular - and the whole action would last under 20 seconds. Each Type 23 frigate carries out at least two Seawolf firings on ranges off the UK coast before each deployment.
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DLH Decoy Launch System
active decoy system
The DLH system is carried by the Navy's frigates and is designed to lure attacking anti-ship missiles away from the unit.
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Torpedo
Magazine torpedo launch System (MTLS)
Dropped by Lynx and Merlin helicopters, and launched from the MTLS, Sting Ray is a small lightweight torpedo designed to destroy enemy submarines. It weighs seven times less than torpedoes fired by submarines, racing through the water at more than 50mph at targets half a dozen miles away, delivering a 100lb explosive charge powerful enough to punch through the double hulls of modern submarines. Once Sting Ray is fired it uses the information provided initially by the helicopter and gathers fresh intelligence on its target using its sonar and onboard software which is designed not to be fooled by the enemy submarine’s decoys.
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Towed Array
Sub Surface detection system
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30mm Gun
Medium Calibre gun system
ABOUT THE UNIT
KEY STATISTICS
- Pennant
F239
- Displacement
4,000tonnes
- Complement
185personnel
- Length
133Metres
- Beam
16.1metres
- Draught
7.3metres
- Top Speed
28knots
- Range (Nautical)
7,800miles
- Launch Date
06/04/93
- Commissioned date
22/06/95
TAKE A LOOK
PHOTO GALLERY
Richmond
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130618-HMS Richmond celebrates 20th anniversary
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HMS Richmond celebrates 20th Anniversary
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130618-HMS Richmond celebrates 20th anniversary
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HMS Richmond celebrates 20th Anniversary
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130618-HMS Richmond celebrates 20th anniversary
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HMS Richmond celebrates 20th Anniversary
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130618-HMS Richmond celebrates 20th anniversary
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HMS Richmond celebrates 20th Anniversary
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130618-HMS Richmond celebrates 20th anniversary
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HMS Richmond celebrates 20th Anniversary
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130618-HMS Richmond celebrates 20th anniversary
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HMS Richmond celebrates 20th Anniversary
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HMS Richmond trains for success at Fost
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HMS Richmond trains for success at Fost
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HMS Richmond trains for success at Fost
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HMS Richmond trains for success at Fost
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HMS Richmond supports Joint Warrior
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HMS Richmond supports Joint Warrior
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HMS Richmond supports Joint Warrior
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HMS Richmond supports Joint Warrior
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HMS Richmond supports Joint Warrior
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HMS Richmond supports Joint Warrior
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HMS Richmond awards presentation
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HMS Richmond awards presentation
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HMS Richmond awards presentation
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HMS Richmond awards presentation
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HMS Richmond awards presentation
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HMS Richmond awards presentation
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HMS Richmond awards presentation
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HMS Richmond awards presentation
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HMS Richmond awards presentation
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HMS Richmond awards presentation
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HMS Richmond Damage Control Exercise
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As part of the exercise a simulated emergency helicopter crash on deck was declared. Fire fighting team raced into action.
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HMS Richmond Damage Control Exercise
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A fire fighting teams moved quickly to deal with any potential fire danger
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HMS Richmond Damage Control Exercise
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A 'casualty' is recovered from the 'crash' site by the highly trained first aid teams
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HMS Richmond Damage Control Exercise
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Rescue teams with specialist cutting equipment practice freeing trapped aircrew
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HMS Richmond Damage Control Exercise
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Immediate first drills are carried out in the Medical HQ
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HMS Richmond Sea Wolf firing
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HMS Richmond Sea Wolf firing
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HMS Richmond Seawolf firing
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HMS Richmond Sea Wolf firing
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HMS Richmond Sea Wolf firing
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HMS Richmond Sea Wolf firing
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HMS Richmond Sea Wolf firing
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HMS Richmond Sea Wolf firing
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HMS Richmond Sea Wolf firing
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HMS Richmond Trains Specialist Navigators
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HMS Richmond Trains Specialist Navigators
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HMS Richmond Trains Specialist Navigators
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HMS Richmond welcomes Royal Naval association visit
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HMS Richmond Goes Sub Hunting
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HMS Richmond Goes Sub Hunting
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LCH Hall presented the Winter 2012 Command Efficiency Prize by Cdr Pedre RN
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HMS Richmond’s Affiliates At Sea
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HMS Richmond’s Affiliates At Sea
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VLUU L200 / Samsung L200
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Richmond hosts Army top gunners
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Richmond’s gunnery officer, Lt Cdr Tom Edwards, helped organise the visit.
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Russian Chief Of Naval Staff Visits HMS Richmond At Sea
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Admiral Chirkov, Commander-in-Chief Russian Federation Navy. He was hosted by Rear Admiral Clive Johnstone CBE.
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Russian Chief Of Naval Staff Visits HMS Richmond At Sea
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Admiral Chirkov, Commander-in-Chief Russian Federation Navy. He was hosted by Rear Admiral Clive Johnstone CBE.
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HMS Richmond
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HMS Richmond
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HMS Richmond Remembers
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HMS Richmond Remembers
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HMS Richmond Remembers
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HMS Richmond
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HMS Richmond
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HMS Richmond
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HMS Richmond
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Three Richmond sailors recognised
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HMS Richmond’s Autumn 2012 Command Prize was awarded by Commander R G Pedre RN (Commanding Officer) to LET(WE) Fannan in recognition of his outstanding contribution onboard over the last few months.
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Three Richmond sailors recognised
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Chief Petty Officer Kevin Hewson has been rewarded for 30 years service in the Royal Navy by being presented with the ‘Bar to the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal’. The award was presented to Chief Hewson by the Commanding Officer, Commander Robert G Pedre Royal Navy, during a presentation on the flight deck onboard HMS Richmond.
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Three Richmond sailors recognised
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Petty Officer Engineering Technician (Marine Engineering) Richard Dearden has been rewarded for 15 years service in the Royal Navy by being presented with the ‘Long Service and Good Conduct Medal’. The award was presented to Petty Officer Dearden by the Commanding Officer, Commander Robert G Pedre Royal Navy, during a presentation on the flight deck onboard HMS Richmond.
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HMS Richmond hosts Air Staff Course Officers
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Summer 2012 Command Prize
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Captain Durkin presents the prize to LS(UW) Harvey
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HMS Richmond's Affiliates' Day
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HMS Richmond's Affiliates' Day
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HMS Richmond's Affiliates' Day
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Writer Latham-King receiving her prize from Commander Pedre
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HMS Richmond on the High Ropes at HMS Raleigh
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HMS Richmond on the High Ropes at HMS Raleigh
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HMS Richmond on the High Ropes at HMS Raleigh
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HMS Richmond on the High Ropes at HMS Raleigh
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HMS Richmond on the High Ropes at HMS Raleigh
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HMS Richmond
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HMS Richmond
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HMS Richmond
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HMS Richmond
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Richmond honours the dead of Force Z
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Wreath Laying for HMS Prince of Wales and ResoluteImage is of a general view of the ceremony *** Local Caption *** Stills Only
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HMS Richmond arrives at Devonport for a £20m refit
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HMS Richmond arrives at Devonport for a £20m refit. The Royal Navy Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond today begins an extensive £20M refit at Devonport dockyard, which includes installing the £4M Seawolf missile system. The Seawolf short range ship defence missile system is a £300M upgrade programme being rolled out across the fleet of Type 23 frigates and is designed to combat the increasing threat of faster, lower flying and more manoeuvrable missiles. This system can track a target the size of a cricket ball at twice the speed of sound from over 20 miles away and launch two missiles to destroy it. The MOD signed the contract for the refit in September with Babcock and the work will be carried out at their Devonport facility. The work is expected to last until next spring, with the ship due to return to the Fleet in the summer following sea trials. In addition to routine maintenance work, the refit contract includes a number of upgrades to better equip the vessel for her worldwide roles. These include installation of a new £800K command system that will be more cost effective to maintain and is compatible with other new ships entering service.
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HMS Richmond arrives at Devonport for a £20m refit
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HMS Richmond arrives at Devonport for a £20m refit. The Royal Navy Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond today begins an extensive £20M refit at Devonport dockyard, which includes installing the £4M Seawolf missile system. The Seawolf short range ship defence missile system is a £300M upgrade programme being rolled out across the fleet of Type 23 frigates and is designed to combat the increasing threat of faster, lower flying and more manoeuvrable missiles. This system can track a target the size of a cricket ball at twice the speed of sound from over 20 miles away and launch two missiles to destroy it. The MOD signed the contract for the refit in September with Babcock and the work will be carried out at their Devonport facility. The work is expected to last until next spring, with the ship due to return to the Fleet in the summer following sea trials. In addition to routine maintenance work, the refit contract includes a number of upgrades to better equip the vessel for her worldwide roles. These include installation of a new £800K command system that will be more cost effective to maintain and is compatible with other new ships entering service.
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HMS Richmond arrives at Devonport for a £20m refit
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Library Image: Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond at sea. The Royal Navy Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond today begins an extensive £20M refit at Devonport dockyard, which includes installing the £4M Seawolf missile system. The Seawolf short range ship defence missile system is a £300M upgrade programme being rolled out across the fleet of Type 23 frigates and is designed to combat the increasing threat of faster, lower flying and more manoeuvrable missiles. This system can track a target the size of a cricket ball at twice the speed of sound from over 20 miles away and launch two missiles to destroy it. The MOD signed the contract for the refit in September with Babcock and the work will be carried out at their Devonport facility. The work is expected to last until next spring, with the ship due to return to the Fleet in the summer following sea trials. In addition to routine maintenance work, the refit contract includes a number of upgrades to better equip the vessel for her worldwide roles. These include installation of a new £800K command system that will be more cost effective to maintain and is compatible with other new ships entering service.
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HMS Richmond arrives at Devonport for a £20m refit
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Library Image: Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond at sea. The Royal Navy Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond today begins an extensive £20M refit at Devonport dockyard, which includes installing the £4M Seawolf missile system. The Seawolf short range ship defence missile system is a £300M upgrade programme being rolled out across the fleet of Type 23 frigates and is designed to combat the increasing threat of faster, lower flying and more manoeuvrable missiles. This system can track a target the size of a cricket ball at twice the speed of sound from over 20 miles away and launch two missiles to destroy it. The MOD signed the contract for the refit in September with Babcock and the work will be carried out at their Devonport facility. The work is expected to last until next spring, with the ship due to return to the Fleet in the summer following sea trials. In addition to routine maintenance work, the refit contract includes a number of upgrades to better equip the vessel for her worldwide roles. These include installation of a new £800K command system that will be more cost effective to maintain and is compatible with other new ships entering service.
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Gunnery firing from HMS Richmond
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Malaysian Mig 29s over HMS Richmond
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ADEX and PHOTEX HMS Richmond took part in Exercise Bersama Shield 2011, with naval ships from other nations, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore as part of the Five Powers Defence Association. HMS Richmond was CTG for a variety of exercises, including Air Defence and Anti- Submarine. The exercise takes place to build strong international relationship between the nations. This year will mark the 40th anniversary of the FPDA.
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HMS Richmond
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ADEX and PHOTEX HMS Richmond took part in Exercise Bersama Shield 2011, with naval ships from other nations, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore as part of the Five Powers Defence Association. HMS Richmond was CTG for a variety of exercises, including Air Defence and Anti- Submarine. The exercise takes place to build strong international relationship between the nations. This year will mark the 40th anniversary of the FPDA.
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HMS Richmond
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ADEX and PHOTEX HMS Richmond took part in Exercise Bersama Shield 2011, with naval ships from other nations, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore as part of the Five Powers Defence Association. HMS Richmond was CTG for a variety of exercises, including Air Defence and Anti- Submarine. The exercise takes place to build strong international relationship between the nations. This year will mark the 40th anniversary of the FPDA.
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Helo landing on HMS Richmond
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ADEX and PHOTEX
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HMS Richmond
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ADEX and PHOTEX HMS Richmond took part in Exercise Bersama Shield 2011, with naval ships from other nations, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore as part of the Five Powers Defence Association. HMS Richmond was CTG for a variety of exercises, including Air Defence and Anti- Submarine. The exercise takes place to build strong international relationship between the nations. This year will mark the 40th anniversary of the FPDA.
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HMS Richmond
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HMS Richmond
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HMS Richmond
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HMS Richmond
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HMS Richmond
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HMS Richmond
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UNITS IN TIME
HMS Richmond HISTORY
TRACK THE HISTORY OF SHIPS NAMED HMS Richmond
LATEST NEWS
TOP STORIES
HMS Richmond celebrates 20th anniversary
18 June 2013Portsmouth based Type 23 Frigate HMS Richmond is celebrating the...
HMS Richmond trains for success at Fost
22 May 2013HMS Richmond, currently undertaking high intensity training at Flag Officer...
Successful conclusion for multinational exercise
26 April 2013A giant exercise off the coast of Scotland which involved...
Royal Navy To Test Task Force On Huge Nato Exercise
15 April 2013The largest ever NATO exercise to take place off the...
