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ABET
Steve Whiteley working on a++ Mk32 surface vessel torpedo
tube mounting at the FIMA workshop.
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ABET
Tiltman in the weapons workshop at HMAS Stirling.
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Photos:
ABPH Kade Rogers
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By
ABPH Kade Rogers
If
our western-based warships are the sharp edge of the fleet, then
this workshop headed by CPOET Trevor Lovelock and POET Sam Potts
is the stone that keeps the blade keen.
Providing vital support for ships of every class, the sailors
working from HMAS Stirling’s Weapons Workshop in building 75 are
part of the FIMA organisation under LCDR Greg Laxton.
They are regularly tasked to perform essential maintenance ranging
from the manufacture and testing of hydraulic components in their
fully equipped hydraulics test bed, to the full ship to shore
removal and overhaul of complex and deadly weapons systems.
These include surface vessel launched torpedo tubes and chaff
launchers. Maintaining such systems cannot be undertaken by just
anyone however.
It takes a sharp mind with the capacity to think laterally to
solve the many dilemmas that can arise when working on a machine
that is so precisely engineered as a weapon system.
The Gunbusters who serve here are in possession of superior knowledge
about electronic and hydraulic systems.
There is no room for error and no time for compromise when working
here, and only the best results are good enough.
