RN Concept Designs: HMY(R), Replacement Royal Yacht

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Hood said:
One of the proposals has broken cover.
www.linkedin.com

Houlder and partners developed strong bid for National Flagship Project before it went on hold

While it has been announced by the UK government that the National Flagship project will not be going ahead, we are proud of the work we did in leading Team Signal, comprising Houlder, Bannenberg & Rowell and Frazer-Nash Consultancy, through the design competition. Being selected as one of the final
www.linkedin.com www.linkedin.com
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Have any specifications for this (and other) designs for the “National Flagship” been released?
 
I know this is a bit of thread necromancy, but stumbled across an old illustration of what Britannia was supposed be like as a Hospital ship…
Image is from Warships of the British & Commonwealth Navies, 1st Edition, 1966. The later editions of the publication also had the same schematic. The book also has illustrations of the County Class destroyer and Tribal Class frigate engine layouts.
 

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Pirate Pete said:
I know this is a bit of thread necromancy, but stumbled across an old illustration of what Britannia was supposed be like as a Hospital ship…
Image is from Warships of the British & Commonwealth Navies, 1st Edition, 1966. The later editions of the publication also had the same schematic. The book also has illustrations of the County Class destroyer and Tribal Class frigate engine layouts.
Click to expand...
The plans for conversion of BRITANNIA to a hospital ship were drawn up in reasonable detail in parallel with the design as a Royal Yacht, so that alterations to structure and equipment - particularly the bathrooms and sanitary facilities - could be minimised. The idea that it was purely a wheeze to get the idea past the Treasury isn't based in any kind of fact.

Capacity was to be 200 patients, with a Royal Navy medical crew of 8 medical and dental officers, 5 nursing sisters, and 47 male ratings; ship's crew was to be Merchant Navy.
 
The UK does have a real requirement for a hospital/casualty receiving ship to replace Argus as well as the "national refuge" capacity for the monarch and Home Secretary once offered by Britannia and Engadine.
 
uk 75 said:
The UK does have a real requirement for a hospital/casualty receiving ship to replace Argus as well as the "national refuge" capacity for the monarch and Home Secretary once offered by Britannia and Engadine.
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Hospital ship, sure. Maybe with a role for disaster assistance or logistics.

National refuge? I don't see it. Far better to fly whatever leadership you need to safeguard somewhere secure.
 
As I understand it from Peter Hennessy "The Secret State" the UK does indeed disperse its leadership to various safe places in a crisis.
Rather like Engadine/Britannia an Argus replacement would just give them another relocation option.
 
RLBH said:
Pirate Pete said:
I know this is a bit of thread necromancy, but stumbled across an old illustration of what Britannia was supposed be like as a Hospital ship…
Image is from Warships of the British & Commonwealth Navies, 1st Edition, 1966. The later editions of the publication also had the same schematic. The book also has illustrations of the County Class destroyer and Tribal Class frigate engine layouts.
Click to expand...
The plans for conversion of BRITANNIA to a hospital ship were drawn up in reasonable detail in parallel with the design as a Royal Yacht, so that alterations to structure and equipment - particularly the bathrooms and sanitary facilities - could be minimised. The idea that it was purely a wheeze to get the idea past the Treasury isn't based in any kind of fact.

Capacity was to be 200 patients, with a Royal Navy medical crew of 8 medical and dental officers, 5 nursing sisters, and 47 male ratings; ship's crew was to be Merchant Navy.
Click to expand...
Trawling though vast quantities of information I have accumulated over the years, I stumbled across this paper from a Royal Institution of Naval Architects paper regarding the design of HMY Britannia and her inter-convertibility.
 

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And....
Now I appreciate that this was discussed elsewhere on the Site - and that discussion became somewhat 'contentious' - I thought I would upload a pdf created from a page on the RFA Nostalgia site...
Link to page....

When a Royal Yacht trumped a new RFA

Bringing the History and Honour of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service to a wider audience, recording the deeds of the Service and the people who have served in it.
historicalrfa.org historicalrfa.org
 

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The Royal Yacht made a lot of sense at a time when air travel was not particularly safe or comfortable.
Britannia came to be associated with HM Queen Elizabeth II and her extensive visits around the world. However, once the Queen ceased to travel so widely and so often the era of Britannia passed with her.
In the Internet age the Monarchy needs to be closer to the lives of the people it represents. HM The King and the Queen Consort seem to grasp this and are doing their best.
A replacement for the versatile HMS Argus in her various roles seems to me much more keeping with the times than a Boris Boat.
 
An article on all four proposals. Quite a few pictures not seen before to my knowledge. Text is a bit cringy, but what does one expect from a publication largely dedicated to super/mega yachts?

www.boatinternational.com

Inside the designs of the UK's ill-fated national flagship

Meet the finalists of the ill-fated national flagship design competition, which was shelved last autumn due to government cuts.
www.boatinternational.com www.boatinternational.com
 
Blue one looked nice. Still a faff, though.
 
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