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Re: HMS Beauly Firth

Posted by: Ian M BARRETT ()

Date: March 02, 2008 04:42AM

Hi
I am just tracking my father's H.P.Barrett's history in the RN. (27yrs)
As a boy of 8,Dad took me on board Beauly Firth I think that we got the ship's cutter to pick us up at the Dockyard where we had come from Edinburgh. The ship was anchored in the Forth, offshore Rosyth.
I remember the orders "Engine testing - No passage Port side"
The reason was that you would get blown off! There were two Test Bays athwartships, one for in-line-, and the other for radial-engines. I was in the control room for the test and allowed to operate the throttle when I remember seeing the tacho for the engine coming up to 2400rpm at which point the test engineer said "This is when things start to happen! you know- bits fly off" It scared the daylights out of me and I went to see other parts of ship!
There was a superb workshop of which my Father was in charge. It had the most modern US machine tools and an ultrasonic crack detector - the first I ever saw. A Big Stores of course. I can't remember much mor except that it was dusk when we were taken ashore on an RAF Airsea rescue launch and I was allowed to take the wheel! Great fun!! I remember that we went under the Forth Bridge, (possibly unnecessarily twice) and I had come over it in the morning by train from Haymarket. We came ashore at S Queensferry and got the SMT bus back to the bottom of Corstorphine hill and walked homeover the hill - about 25mins.
I never saw the sister ship that repaired the fuselage etc.
I am dashing this off as I saw the article but will revert if anything else comes along. I am trying to remember the ship I visited in Newcastle during a dry docking refit and wa sallowed to wind up the Variac to start up the new Radr set That is another story.
Sadly today's kids never have the chance to get to see these things and the Health and Safety people would have fit at what I had to learn to avoid as Dad told me to behave and be careful and meet him at his cabin for lunch !!!
What stories we have to tell! Cheers
Ian Barrett tel UK (44) or (0)-208 642 8077.

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Subject	Written By	Posted
HMS Moray Firth	Chris Earle	04/28/2005 12:42AM
Re: HMS Moray Firth	David H	04/28/2005 07:47AM
Re: HMS Moray Firth	Dave Weaver	04/29/2005 11:20PM
Re: HMS Moray Firth	Chris Earle	09/25/2007 11:43PM
Re: HMS Moray Firth	John E	02/17/2008 11:37AM
Re: HMS Moray Firth	John E	02/17/2008 11:39AM
Re: HMS Moray Firth	Malcolm Robins	12/02/2007 05:10PM
Re: HMS Moray Firth	John S	01/15/2008 12:59PM
Re: HMS Moray Firth	John S	01/15/2008 03:03PM
Re: HMS Moray Firth	John E	02/18/2008 11:37AM
Re: HMS Moray Firth	Malcolm Robins	02/19/2008 08:31PM
Re: HMS Beauly Firth	Ian M BARRETT	03/02/2008 04:42AM
Re: HMS Beauly Firth	Alison Sabin	09/27/2011 11:48AM
Re: HMS Beauly Firth	anthonys	11/14/2012 12:43PM
Re: HMS Beauly Firth	ian barrett	03/03/2014 01:31AM
Re: HMS Beauly Firth	Andrew Craske	09/10/2014 07:20PM
Re: HMS Beauly Firth	barry luetchford	11/10/2017 03:06PM

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Ian M BARRETT Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi
> I am just tracking my father's H.P.Barrett's
> history in the RN. (27yrs)
> As a boy of 8,Dad took me on board Beauly Firth I
> think that we got the ship's cutter to pick us up
> at the Dockyard where we had come from Edinburgh.
> The ship was anchored in the Forth, offshore
> Rosyth.
> I remember the orders "Engine testing - No passage
> Port side"
> The reason was that you would get blown off! There
> were two Test Bays athwartships, one for in-line-,
> and the other for radial-engines. I was in the
> control room for the test and allowed to operate
> the throttle when I remember seeing the tacho for
> the engine coming up to 2400rpm at which point the
> test engineer said "This is when things start to
> happen! you know- bits fly off" It scared the
> daylights out of me and I went to see other parts
> of ship!
> There was a superb workshop of which my Father was
> in charge. It had the most modern US machine tools
> and an ultrasonic crack detector - the first I
> ever saw. A Big Stores of course. I can't remember
> much mor except that it was dusk when we were
> taken ashore on an RAF Airsea rescue launch and I
> was allowed to take the wheel! Great fun!! I
> remember that we went under the Forth Bridge,
> (possibly unnecessarily twice) and I had come over
> it in the morning by train from Haymarket. We came
> ashore at S Queensferry and got the SMT bus back
> to the bottom of Corstorphine hill and walked
> homeover the hill - about 25mins.
> I never saw the sister ship that repaired the
> fuselage etc.
> I am dashing this off as I saw the article but
> will revert if anything else comes along. I am
> trying to remember the ship I visited in Newcastle
> during a dry docking refit and wa sallowed to wind
> up the Variac to start up the new Radr set That is
> another story.
> Sadly today's kids never have the chance to get to
> see these things and the Health and Safety people
> would have fit at what I had to learn to avoid as
> Dad told me to behave and be careful and meet him
> at his cabin for lunch !!!
> What stories we have to tell! Cheers
> Ian Barrett  tel UK (44) or (0)-208 642 8077.