HMS Daring taking on Bangers and Birds

HMS Daring, the Royal Navy's newest and most powerful warship, made her first visit to Marchwood military port in Southampton this week for ammunition handling and loading trials. The Type 45 destroyer arrived at the port, known as the Sea Mounting Centre, for a 24-hour visit as part of ongoing trials designed to test all parts of the ship's capabilities before she is formally accepted into the Royal Navy fleet - and able to be deployed anywhere in the world - early next year. HMS Daring's Commanding Officer, Captain Paddy McAlpine, said: "The visit to Marchwood is an important part of the ship's trials programme and we will be working hard to make sure we come through it successfully." HMS Daring - the first of the Royal Navy's six Type 45 destroyers - was built and launched in Glasgow and made her first entry into her home port of Portsmouth Naval Base in January. The second, Dauntless, is undergoing sea trials and will arrive at Portsmouth Naval Base for the first time early next year. The main weapon of the Type 45 is the sophisticated and lethal Principal Anti-Air Missile System, comprising a multi-function radar (MFR), automatic command and control system, and surface-to-air missiles operating in conjunction with long-range and early warning radar. The MFR can detect all types of targets out to a distance of 400km and is capable of tracking hundreds of targets simultaneously. Her long-range radar provides a 3D search capability and can track up to 1,000 targets. The Type 45 also has a comprehensive suite of other weapons and equipment, including a 4.5-inch (114mm) main gun for shore bombardment, and is equipped with a surface ship torpedo defence system, protecting it against the most advanced torpedoes. Daring's on-board power plant can supply enough electricity to light a town of 80,000 people, and she is fitted with enough electrical cable to circle the M25 motorway three times.

Missing Royal Navy Life?

1. Build a shelf in the top of your wardrobe, fit a thin mattress and sleep on top of it.

2. Remove the wardrobe door and replace it with a curtain that is too small.

3. Wash your socks and underpants in the bathroom sink every night, then hang them on the water pipes to dry.

4. Four hours after you have gone to bed, instruct your wife to whip open the curtain, shine a torch in your face and say, "Sorry mate, wrong pit!"

5. When you have a shower, remember to turn the water off when you soap.

6. Every time there is a thunderstorm, sit in a wobbly rocking-chair and rock as hard as you can until you are violently sick.

7. Put diesel oil into a humidifier and set it on high to achieve that wonderful Ship Aroma.

8. Don't watch TV except for a movie at 2030. For added realism, have the family vote for which movie to have and then select a different one.

9. Leave a lawnmower running in the house to re-create correct noise levels.

10.Have the postman or paperboy give you a haircut fortnightly.

11.Once a week, blow compressed air up your chimney, ensuring that the soot is carried over to your neighbour's home. When he comes to complain, laugh in his face and say "That's life in a blue suit mate"

12.Buy a rubbish compactor, but only use it once a week, storing all of your rubbish in the shower cubicle.

13.Wake up at midnight each night and make a sandwich out of anything you can find.

14.Have a fridge in your home specifically for beer. put a lock on it and give the key to the local policeman.

15.Keep spare keys for above and empty it every lunchtime.

16.Devise your family menu a week in advance without looking in the fridge or freezer.

17.Once a month, take apart every household appliance then re-assemble them.

18.Use four spoonfuls of coffee per cup and wait 3 hours before drinking it.

19.Invite 40 people you don't like, to stay in your house for a couple of months.

20.Install a small fluorescent strip light under your coffee table then lie underneath it to read a book.

21.Raise the thresholds and lower the top sills of all the doors in the house, so you will either bang your head or skin your shins every time you pass through them.

22.When baking a cake, prop one side of the cake tin against the side of the oven and when it has cooled, spread icing thickly on lower side to even it out.

23.Every so often throw one of the dogs into the bath and scream "Man overboard!" Sling in a sponge with a flag on it, then run into the kitchen and sweep all the pots and pans onto the floor and yell at your wife for not securing for sea.

24.Get your wife and kids to clean their rooms every evening and at 1900 wander around the house with the local policeman.

25.Name your favourite shoes "Steaming Bats" then get the kids to hide them around the house.

26.Lie on your bed, or sofa and fart for absolutely no reason.

27.Insist on going to the local post office for your mail and get them to phone you when it is ready for collection.

28.On Saturday morning walk around the house, whistling loudly and insist that everyone you pass stands to attention.

29.Paint the outside of your house battleship grey and put the number on the wall in big black letters.

30.Put windows and a bloody big wheel in your loft.

31.Every Thursday at 0500 in the morning, run around the house yelling "Hands to Action Stations!"

32. When the family demands more food, yell back at them "WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FOR 39p PER DAY, PER MAN"!