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A few pics from over the years...


Me looking rather young on my first ever trip at sea in 2004:


Another shot from my first time away:


Fast forward to 2007, my first time at sea as a qualified marine engineer officer in charge of the watch (Falklands and South Atlantic):


Then on to something a little more modern in 2008, this was in the Persian Gulf on the Orion 08 deployment, the first time a Wave Class had deployed east of Suez:


Then back to an old museum piece again. In the last ten years I've sailed on three ships of this class. This particular one I've spent 14 months of my life on. They're best described as "character building":


This last one is from 2010. This pic was taken the morning we arrived back in the UK after the Auriga '10 deployment to the US. These were the engineer officers who took Largs Bay on her last deployment flying British colours before she was sold to the Royal Australian Navy (the guy on the left is in his civvies because he's just about to walk down the gangway and go home on leave, lucky bugger!):

Excellent pics Pielstick. Thanks for sharing!

Yup,excellent stuff Pielstick

Great pics Pielstick.


Wheels

Cheers guys, here's a few more from the vaults:

Some more messing about on Orangeleaf in 2008:

This is my reaction when I find somebody has taken all the 24mm combination spanners and not put them back in the right place when they've finished:


"My" engines - a couple of Crossley Pielstick PC2 engines. These are only 7,500HP each, not the biggest. My last ship I was looking after a 23,500HP engine about the size of a large house. That was some pretty big stuff, impressive climbing around inside it.


Down in between the engines. Not a place you want to take your ear defenders off. It's pretty noisy.


Pretty self explanatory. Only 3,300 wigglies. Back in 2010 I got to see water cooling out of a 6,600V propulsion converter cabinet. A �300m ship and they used cheap plastic fittings for the water cooling on the propulsion converters.


This pic was taken as we arrived in Norfolk Naval Base - I thought it might be cool to get me in a pic with USS George H.W. Bush and USS Enterprise, one carrier just starting out its career and the other just ending it. I think the LHD on the far left is USS Kearsarge.


And finally back to Orangeleaf for the 2012 refit..... This was in the Cammel Laird shipyard in Birkenhead. Apparently this drydock is haunted because it was cut out of the graveyard of the old Birkenhead Priory, lots of disturbed medieval graves and all that jazz:

Love the pic with the carriers! I'm afraid my only experience with ships are of the "cruise" variety.

The faces in those photos are hilarious.!

Is it just me or does Pielstick look a bit like Chief Tyrol from BSG?

Never watched BSG... A couple of years ago after I shaved my head somebody pointed out "Hahaha Nick you look like...."




At which point I said that may be true, but they should remember one of my jobs is the weapons maintenance officer and as such I have the keys to the lockers where we store 2 miniguns, 6 machine guns, 12 rifles and 12 handguns... and all the necessary bits to get the 20mm cannons operational

Some of me with some jets

How'd you manage to get a Navy plane on an Air Force Base?

He could tell you but then he'd have to kill you.

It's easy really... smuggle a little bit in every day and build it!

Anyway, is it not technically a marine plane?

Marines are part of the Navy....not that any of them will admit it.

The Navy gives the Marines a ride whenever they have to go off to fight.

Awesome engine room pics Pielstik.

It takes a rare bird to do what he does and do it well. Most important dept on ANY vessel, anybody who says different doesn't have a clue.

When I was in the US Army I got stuck working in PLL (Parts and stuff) to try and help them out.

Bottom line. After about a month there I figured out they still had EVERY part for M-14A1's available for order.

I passed....rumor control says many other's didn't.

I drove this this glorious M577. It was in a Fire Direction Center for the Army's first M109A6 'Paladin' Self Propelled Howitzer unit. Precisely zero glamor factor, but any military service has some interesting elements. Cameras were not really allowed for those bits in my case since the equipment we had was new at the time, and digital was a dream of sci-fi. This camera came for free with a carton of Winstons and took the only pictures I have from that time. 1993.




Here's one from a couple weeks ago.

An that is me... while working...

Cheers mate. It certainly does take a "special" kind of person to work in an engine room

And yup, we most definitely are the most important department on every ship, it's just nobody else realises it... until the lights go out