Iran seizes 15 British Marines

[Biker]

I find it strange that the Brits were running around in inflatable rafts without a support ship nearby. Much about this story just doesn't sound right.

Biker

 

[BigRed]

BIKER:

Im all with you on that.

Sounds iffy.... Even for the Brits.

 

[agricola]

I find it strange that the Brits were running around in inflatable rafts without a support ship nearby. Much about this story just doesn't sound right.

Given some of the things that leak out about UK operations over the past twenty years, I would not be at all surprised if they were just running around in inflatable rafts without a support ship nearby - look at the murders of the six totally unsupported (if not forgotten about in the midst of a larger disturbance) RMPs at Majar-al-Kabir, for instance.

 

[Fosbery]

It's standard procedure. They were operating from HMS Cornwall, a type 22 frigate which was nearby. The frigate anchors in the waterway and boats use it as a mother ship, going out and searching all of the ships that come in to the waterway for contraband. They then return to refuel etc. It would be far too slow to have the frigate go along side each and every ship you want to search, and it would make the frigate vulnerable to ship-board bombs.

 

[Biker]

I see. In that case, why was the Cornwall unable to rescue the inflatables? How is it armed?

Biker

 

[Fosbery]

It has a 4.5 inch cannon, a pair of 20mm cannons, two quadruple Harpoon (anti-ship missile) launchers, two torpedo tubes, a Goalkeeper anti-air/missile system and a two Seawolf anti-missile systems. There will also be numerous small arms on deck - usually 7.62mm GPMGs, Browning .50s and miniguns.

Although I don't know the exact details of this incident, it seems likely that the boat was some distance away from the frigate, and certainly out of sight. Assuming the marines managed to use their radios before being picked up, the frigate would have taken a looong time to weigh anchor and get the ship moving. Helicopters were dispatched and they spotted the marines being escorted towards Iran, but even assuming the helicopters had appropriate armaments, they couldn't start shooting at vessels with British servicemen on board. Also, there were six Iranian ships. Again, I don't know what type of ships these were but I know they have some decent stuff from the UK and USA, so if I was the captain and I got a call saying 6 ships had just stolen a bunch of marines and headed off into Iranian waters, I wouldn't want to go chasing them down with my one solitary ship. Better to wait for Them to turn up and bust them out, or leave it to the diplomats.

 

[Biker]

Thanks for the info, Fosbery.

Biker

 

[armoredman]

I apologize - when I was in the Gulf, and we destroyed three quarters of the Iranian navy in Operation Preying Mantis in 1988, we must have not done the job well enough for them to remember. If we have destroyed most of thier harbor facilities as well, maybe they might have remembered the last time they "played" with the big boys, and lost completely. IIRC, we lost one helicopter, due to pilot error.
I am willing to bet those were Boghammer "assault boats" which I have seen personally, close up - junkers. Single 20mm Oerlekion cannon mounted forward, usually too rusty to fire.

 

[Frog48]

Time for the Brits to send in the SAS.

 

[Art Eatman]

OT. No RKBA.