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Eagle-eyed Bangor crew help save US Navy more than $1M
28 June 2017
The hi-tech of HMS Bangor and the eagle eyes of her sonar operators have helped save the US Navy more than $1m.
The team on the Bahrain-based minehunter first found, then recovered a large sonar lost during the latest Anglo-French-US exercise in the Gulf, Artemis Trident.
Although the chief aim of the workout was to keep sea lanes open and locate dummy mines dumped on the ocean floor, the Brits were asked to assist the US Navy when one of its sonar buoys towed by a gigantic MH-53 Sea Dragon helicopter became detached and disappeared.
The sonar suite on Bangor can, in theory, pick up objects as small as coke cans on the seabed - depending on the trained eye of the operator.
A US dive team joined Bangor with their Seabotix underwater robot and used it to attach a line to the sonar so it could be recovered
"We used our powerful sonar and many years of experience to locate the missing sonar on the seabed," said AB(MW) Nathan Taylor.
"A US dive team joined Bangor with their Seabotix underwater robot and used it to attach a line to the sonar so it could be recovered.
In doing so they saved their government $1.2m (£942,000) and made Bangor's Commanding Officer a very happy man.
"The find marks a highlight in our deployment to the region and one to remember," said Lieutenant Commander Charlie Luxford.
"This was an exciting job for the lads. Their experience and professionalism really shone through on the day, I'm very proud of how well they got the job done."