I was on the Gurkha F122, three rammings from the Thor/Odin . Our Captain Tanzy Lee ordered the loading of live mortars! Serious shit! A/B Dick Barton Special agent for the use of!…..

Leander class / van speijk class

I renember this cinflict as a child veing reported on in the news daily. I was puzzled by the term "gunboat. It seems that it looks like coastal patrol vessel rather the formidably armed RN ships.

I served on HMS Apollo during those days and we were part of this action

I went from Cardiff to Liverpool on the Niad when I was a 12 yo sea cadet. I loved every minute of it

Did my stint of fishery protection on HMS Whitby F36 October 1970, it was a bit rough at times.

I was on the Andromeda!

Glad to see justice prevailed in the end , and British withdrew . It's Icelandic waters .

The crew of those 8 boats have my deepest respect. They were fighting for their country's survival. Almost 90% of their export industry was at risk. Any country would fight to the death for such a cause. Gross overfishing in their own and international waters, and lack of governance of the British fishing fleet was the cause the British fishermen had to fish around Iceland. They had already ruined other fishing grounds, and was going to ruin this one as well. That's why the Icelanders fought so hard. I read the comments from the crew members of British navy ships, and feel sick by the casual and nonchalant attitude towards this. Even calling it fun. They had no business being there. This cause is the single biggest reason Iceland and Norway is not a member of the EU. To protect their own fishing rights.

Happy days! I remember them well. I was a CPO artificer on Bacchante, one of the few ships undamaged in the conflict, but we had some very close run ins, especially with the converted trawler Baldur. Baldur was much more heavily built than the other gunboats with acutely angled port and stbd quarters, which she would attempt to swing in to the side of the thin skinned frigates. I was ship's photographer, and spent most of the daylight hours on the upper deck (January and February in Arctic waters - long johns, trousers and over trousers) I have photos of how close Baldur's stern was at times - about 2 feet away. I also have, as far as I know, the only photo of Scylla colliding with Odinn, about a quarter mile off our stbd beam. This was Scylla going alongside and ahead of Odinn, then turning to port, pushing Odinn around. At the moment of collision there was a loud cheer from the Scylla's crew, and black smoke from Scylla as she either went astern or suddenly stopped engines. Very exciting to watch! For a couple of weeks we had the BBC Tonight team on board, presenter David Lomax. Although they were wardroom vitalled, they soon migrated to the after CPO's mess to drink, hang out, and swing the lantern. They had some interesting stories to tell, and encouraged us to make up a song on the cod war based on a naval ditty. My input to the song was "There is a moral to this story, it is plain to sea - all politicians should be sent to sea." It was broadcast whilst we were still at sea, the day Lord George Brown resigned from the Labour Party. ("I didn't leave Labour - Labour left me") There is a video of this around somewhere, and it gives the British side, not the Icelandic side like this one. (NB, for the first 3 days at sea, we never saw them, they were all seasick) dit: I should add - the few winter months spent in Arctic waters during the 3rd cod war gave me a HUGE respect for deep sea fishermen! Bitter cold, tossed around in heavy seas in ships a fraction of the size of a Leander, a week to get on station and a week back. I don't complain about the price of fish now (yes I do know that much of it is farmed these days)

I sailed on St Gerontius from Hull during the Cod war. I joined the Royal Navy in May 76.

🔥

Was there on Apollo had our bows smashed in by beldore

What a stupid and unnecessary conflict that was.

Served on HMS Falmouth in the Cod War my first ship as a 16 year old seaman great ship

This is just pure stupidity hazarding your own vessel and crew as well as another ship and crew is just sorry

I was ter when Loydsman broad sided Thor

Guardrails down on starboard side of Andromeda's flight deck but not port?

I saw all this happening as a 14yo and thought thats the job for me and joind the Royal Navy as a 16yo - Sadly it was all over by then but I stayed around for another 24 years just incase ;-)

We should be doing the same to the french & spanish

I was on board H.M,S. Troubridge doing a stint in Iceland when we had to steam at speed to the Faroes when a Danish frigate opened fire on a Scottish trawler hitting the radar shack and bows no one was injured . If you Google it the incident should come up

Was chief cates on first commission 1963-65 Leander,very happy ships company!

First encounter with the Thor was in February 1959

I saw F40 somewhere in there I Was Outside Machinery Supervisor in 1965/66 when she was built for the Dockyard / R.N.

HMS Jaguar was involved in that lot, railway sleepers fixed to bow and stern to reduce collision damage.

I served on HMS Sirius during one of the 'Cod Wars'. I remember the cold and the boredom. Iceland played the NATO card and we had to back off.

England is land thief like they stole northern Ireland from Irish people, and massacre those whom protest in 1916.

Leander was just a junk as many Frigates from UK. Speed but horrible to be on board in BAD weather, and Icy conditions in North Atlantic!

Leander had 25 tons of concrete in her bows for this work

How cool is that

Awesome... we used to have Leanders with our RNZN... one of them is now a diving wreck not far from me... Thanks frim NZ👍🇳🇿

just teasing. nothing more could have occurred between NATO allies. c’mon, all u sailors from that era, should have fought „wars” on other waters, and over something more significant than your fav breakfast treat

Must have been great fun !

When your so british your willing to drive a peacefull and defenceless fishing nation to the third world for some fish and chips

Those beautiful Leanders look so purposeful

Leanders were awesome ships. I was on Andromeda when this footage was taken, on the upper deck lol. What you cannot see is that even though it was bloody freezing outside below minus 30 at times we were all very suntanned as we had gone up there from being out the Med all the summer!! Great times. Way more fun than Uni would have been.

They should of just sunk the Icelandic ships.

Served on HMS Achilles but not in the Cod war...i was on HMS Eskimo for that ,Christmas 1975 we were all geared up and ready to go to the North sea when we got our orders changed and instead of freezing our arses off they sent us to Bermuda+Belize ...10 months in some very sunny places :)

Might is right.

I was the doc onboard at that time.

Wow the bbc are proper stooping low on this one .

If to starboard red appears it is your duty to keep clear.overtaking vessels must keep clear of the other vessel...simples😋😋😋😋

if on your stbd side appear it is your duty to keep clear damage on stbd Iceland at fault but I admire them for stance

Pity the Icelanders were'nt in charge of UK fishing waters, maybe we'd still be allowed to catch our own stocks rather than meekly handing them over to the French and Spanish.

I can see my dad 😁

Rule of the road. If on your stbd side appear it is your duty to keep clear. UK should have used the 4.5s that would have finished it

The Icelandic heroes will never be forgotten. It took balls to defend your sea when you have the might of the royal navy attacking you. Viđ erum til taks forever!

I served on HMS Leander during the Cod war in 1976 a bit hyped up I think none of us thought It was anything other than going up North to get cold

I love these Goliath vs David scenarios, in this case British imperialist bullies vs timid Icelandic civilians. Trouble was, they weren't, ie. timid. I remember following this avidly all the way down here in NZ, because our government at the time was having its own battles with foreign trawlers fishing illegally off the coast.

Late '79, I rode the Achilles for 3 days transiting the Red Sea. She was beautiful and the crew was amazing. I was almost sorry that I had to go back to my own USN frigate at the end of the exercise.