HMS Scimitar

Military experience

Tom Knott was educated at The Westwood High School, Staffordshire before joining the Royal Navy in 2004 as a Naval College Entrant at BRNC Dartmouth.

Having conducted Specialist Fleet Time on board HMS Quorn, Lieutenant Knott was awarded the Beaufort Wharton Memorial Award 2006 for PNO course and thereafter joined HMS Walney as Navigating Officer.

HMS Walney deployed to the Mediterranean and conducted several NATO MCM Exercises as part of Operation Orion 07. Lieutenant Knott gained further NATO Task Group experience as Force Navigator when Walney was activated to perform the role of Flagship to SNMCMG1. His final 5 months as a Preliminary Navigator involved crew rotation to HMS Blyth as part of the Aintree MCM Force and subsequently leading HM Ship’s Blyth and Atherstone alongside Umm Qasr, Iraq, the first Royal Navy units to do so for 6 years.

Proceeding from his first job direct to FNO course he won the Hugh Cheetham-Hill prize for highest overall marks 2009 and was appointed to HMS Daring. As Navigating Officer he gained positive recognition at first of class BOST before conducting Daring’s first deployment to operate with the USS Enterprise Carrier Task Group culminating in a high profile visit to New York.

Lt Knott assumed Command of HMS Scimitar on the 1 Jun 2011.