Royal Navy: "Impressive" HMS Dauntless follows HMS Prince of Wales from Portsmouth to the Indo-Pacific

Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless sailed past The Round Tower in Old Portsmouth this afternoon (April 22) bound for the Indo-Pacific. She followed the Royal Navy flagship, HMS Prince of Wales, out of the city and will join her as part of the UK Carrier Strike Group (UKCSG).

It has been described as the biggest deployment this century in terms of military capability. Crowds lined up along the Hot Walls to see the destroyer, with families and loved ones waving goodbye to their relatives and friends on board.

Elly Kale, of Chichester, was waiting to see her daughter AB2 Chloe Fenton, 26, alongside her family. She said it would be extremely emotional to watch Chloe steer the ship past her. “We know that our daughter Chloe will be steering and she will be going away for such a long time,” she told The News. “It's heart-breaking for the families.”

“But I’m sure all of the families here today are extremely proud of their loved ones on board. It’s difficult for every family, but the Royal Navy has a very good charity team you can talk to about anything and everything. It’s fantastic they have that and it’s well-appreciated. This is Chloe’s second tour, and I believe the career has made her. She’s come out of her shell and knows who she is and what she wants out of life. She’s created such a huge family within the Navy. There are emotional ups and downs, but she talks to us and we’re incredibly proud of her.”

People travelled to Portsmouth from across the country to see their loved ones sail away. Sally Dixon travelled from Burton-on-Trent for her son, AB1 Jack Harland, 21. Before seeing the destroyer, she said: “I’ll be sobbing my heart out, I always am. It’s a very emotional moment. The deployment will be a challenge for him, but also exciting and a lot of fun. They’re due back the day after my birthday, so that’ll be the best birthday present ever.”

Being part of the UKCSG means HMS Dauntless will join other Royal Navy ships, be equipped with various RAF aircraft, and work alongside the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and naval forces from Norway, Spain and Canada. Various military drills and port visits will take place in Japan, Australia and elsewhere. On the way, they will have to traverse the Red Sea, where Houthi rebels have targeted British ships in the past.

Tim Forer, a former Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander who served in the force for 17 years, was on The Round Tower to see his son, Lieutenant Commander Jonathon Forer, 32. The Southsea resident said: “t’ll be busy, especially going through the Red Sea. It’s a really important deployment. The world is not in a good place. Sending the Navy out is a signal and hopefully people take notice of it.

“It’s phenomenal how a carrier strike group operates. There’s only two countries that can do that properly, us and the Americans. We’re very good at it. You can’t isolate the Indo-Pacific from the rest of the world. We’re all interlinked, and 95 per cent of our trade comes by sea. Chin is a threat, and we’ve got to stand up to them.”

Jonathon, who is married to Team GB sailing gold medallist Eilidh McIntyre, will hold a senior role aboard the destroyer. Tim hopes the crew will return to Portsmouth for Christmas, similar to how he did aboard HMS Cardiff in 1994. He believes the deployment is a significant and necessary one.

“We all know what’s been happening in the Red Sea,” he added. “It's going to be interesting, but they are particularly well trained and this ship is well worked up. They’ll rise to the occasion. I was on board the ship yesterday and it’s an impressive ship’s company.”