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Fire onboard HMS PUMA, mid-sixties.

Does anyone have any reports, eye witness accounts etc. of a fire onboard PUMA that put her out of commission for a few months in the mid sixties? I believe it started in a boiler room.

Ta.
I served on Puma 1964-1966 I was one of the chippies. The fire started I think about June 1964 whilst in refit in the forward engine room burning out the forward switchboard. The refit was put back 3 months. Workup started in January 1965 instead of October 1964 we then picked up the Jaguar`s home leg of her general commision which was an exhausting round Britain recruiting drive, I think 34 ports in 6 months and then South Atlantic in Jan 1966 for 12 months a great and interesting commision.
 
I served in Puma in the early 70's.
I left the ship rather abruptly. It wasn't them it was me. I did a runner from her in 1974 and went foreign by myself.
They didn't seen to want to take the ship where I required them too. That's a bad thing about pusser never does what you want.
I did not set the ship on-fire before I left though as I am a good hand even if my shit stinks.
 
I served on Puma between '59 and '62 and remember the fire well, it was started by EM who will remain nameless, in the machinery conversion compartment, outside the electrical workshop over the stabilisers, just off the coast of Africa, fire brought under control, deck glowing red, if I remember right, they flew two Scotland yard detectives in to investigate, who identified the nameless EM, who was court martialled in Simons town and discharged, the last I heard he was driving buses in Glasgow...….. hopes this helps......
 
Can't have started in a boiler room - she was diesel.

There was a series of fires, mostly minor, onboard in 1971, which turned out to be the work of an arsonist, a young seaman. Started with silly little fires in gash bins, then the notice board, then got more seriious when he set fire to the tiller flat, and worst, the jungle mess, during the night after a good run ashore, when we were all sleeping very heavily. Mess filled very quickly with thick black smoke from uniforms and plastic suit bags - lucky no-one was badly hurt. But I don't remember it putting us out of action for any length of time.

I was in the Jungle mess 71 when this moron started (see avatar PUMA 71) - didn't want to go back up North to Fishery protection - little shit was lucky the SIB (was that what they were called then) got to him before we did - the worst one he started was in the locker holding all our raincoats etc right next to the hatch out - that was a squeeky bum moment (I was a 17 yo SA 2nd class)
 
I served on Puma between '59 and '62 and remember the fire well, it was started by EM who will remain nameless, in the machinery conversion compartment, outside the electrical workshop over the stabilisers, just off the coast of Africa, fire brought under control, deck glowing red, if I remember right, they flew two Scotland yard detectives in to investigate, who identified the nameless EM, who was court martialled in Simons town and discharged, the last I heard he was driving buses in Glasgow...….. hopes this helps......
if @Shakey is still around his post was from 2006
 
Hi all, thank you for your comments. The reason for my question many moons ago was my dad served in Puma as a killick stoker, he was on the draft that did the volcano in Tristan da cunha.

He received some minor burns fighting the fire, ended up in sick bay for a period.

He was awarded a hms puma statue on a wooden plinth.

Never knew it was arson though! Who the f%+¿ sets fire to their own ship!
 
Hi all, thank you for your comments. The reason for my question many moons ago was my dad served in Puma as a killick stoker, he was on the draft that did the volcano in Tristan da cunha.

He received some minor burns fighting the fire, ended up in sick bay for a period.

He was awarded a hms puma statue on a wooden plinth.

Never knew it was arson though! Who the f%+¿ sets fire to their own ship!
Someone did that to the Bulwark just before I joined it, caused mega amount of damage to one of the diesels. It was a disgruntled stoker who didn't want to go to sea due to domestic issues.
 
Let's all hope & pray that the shithouses that deliberately started those fires had very short and very unsuccessful lives, consisting mainly of suffering & pain. Maliciously endangering the lives of over 200 shipmates is just about as low as it goes......

About the Puma itself, my mate was drafted to her just before she paid-off into reserve at Chatham in 1973, and was kept on as ships company (Chatham RSU), living in Pembroke barracks for a year. To this day he says that it was the best draft he ever had......even though they never left the wall!!:)
 
Let's all hope & pray that the shithouses that deliberately started those fires had very short and very unsuccessful lives, consisting mainly of suffering & pain. Maliciously endangering the lives of over 200 shipmates is just about as low as it goes......

About the Puma itself, my mate was drafted to her just before she paid-off into reserve at Chatham in 1973, and was kept on as ships company (Chatham RSU), living in Pembroke barracks for a year. To this day he says that it was the best draft he ever had......even though they never left the wall!!:)
I was Chatham RSU 2 June 80 - 30 Oct 80 (just double checked my records). This was while I was awaiting to join my first ship 'Plymouth' who was due out of her Chatham refit & yes RSU was a great number. However, I was unfortunate enough to spend 2 x weeks at sea on the Lynx. The 3 ringer Submarine skipper bumped her 'bow on' into the jetty at Portland. I was the baby RO on the Jack and the focsle crew were shouting at me to run back from the pointy end as they could sense what was about to happen!! Fortunately no injuries or major damage.

We then moved off of the Lynx and onto the Zulu although like Mackan says we were billeted in Pembroke. I remember quite a few Tribal class were in reserve there at the time as well as Triumph, both Cruisers Tiger & Blake and plenty more whose names escape me, in fact more in reserve than are currently in commission now!!

Incidentally, the Pembroke Bop used to be a hoot. I seem to remember being able to purchase quite a number of pints of scrumpy, plus several Rum & Blacks plus 20 x Embassy No.1 for under a Fiver & of course the fags were not duty free as we were not classed as sea time. Happy Days
 
Like many other matelots from London, my heart sank when I heard that Chatham NB was to be closed in the early 80s. It took me just over an hour to get home if I got the fast train on a Friday afternoon! I was lucky enough to have 2 Chatham ships, and can honestly say that (for me) Pompey & Guzz couldn't hold a candle to a night out in Chatham/Gillingham. And you're right about the Pembroke bop.....great days.
 
Extract from the Link....

Atlantic 05/26/67: The Royal Navy nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS Warspitesuffers a
water leak in one compartment while undergoing routine maintenance in Faslane, Scotland.
The U.K. Ministry of Defense says the 'defect is not connected in any waywith her nuclear
plant. Her damage is slight and there are no casualties. The leakage of water was brought
quickly under control by Warspite herself.' A tight report of the event!

Re:...suffers a water leak in one compartment...

'twas the year before I joined Warspite - From what I recall from those MEAs who were on the job the secondary propulsion motor ("eggbeater") had developed a fault; the onboard documentation was not as detailed as it should have been so the black-gang attempting repairs used their initiative.

As they were carefully taking it to bits - WHOOPS! as it dropped out of the bottom of the boat causing a fountain of water and not a few WTF moments...

Adjacent WT Bulkhead was quickly isolated and a salvage blow applied to hold off the ingress, NTD Divers appeared in no time & blanked off the external hole, recovered the motor from the murky depths shortly afterwards and it (or another item) was refitted and installed safely in slow time.

I think it had all happened over a weekend and/or leave period when everything was shut down with few folk around and those involved even earned a cautious BZ for their prompt reactions.
 
Like many other matelots from London, my heart sank when I heard that Chatham NB was to be closed in the early 80s. It took me just over an hour to get home if I got the fast train on a Friday afternoon! I was lucky enough to have 2 Chatham ships, and can honestly say that (for me) Pompey & Guzz couldn't hold a candle to a night out in Chatham/Gillingham. And you're right about the Pembroke bop.....great days.
Was trying to remember a little boozer that my Sea Daddy used to take me to in Gillingham, I thought it was called 'Black Daff's' but I'm given to believe it was actually called 'The Monarch', ever visit that one Mackan?
 
Was trying to remember a little boozer that my Sea Daddy used to take me to in Gillingham, I thought it was called 'Black Daff's' but I'm given to believe it was actually called 'The Monarch', ever visit that one Mackan?

I have a couple of months ago - it is still there but empty - rough scrumpy for a few pence on a non pay week

My memory had it down the main drag but it is actually on the end of a row of terraced houses - they must have been chuffed !!

 

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