Iain Ballantyne

That's the latest draft of my forthcoming novel for @chiselbury done. One more to come as I do final technical & historical detail checks, refine a few bits here & there. Some clues on elements in the narrative in this pic. There's quite a bit of spirits imbibing in it 😄

The international community would like to invite Thailand and Cambodia to just chill out a bit. We do not have enough bandwidth for yet another war. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

According to previously unseen highly SECRET files release today (22 Jul), in 1989, the UK Government began planning in the utmost secrecy for the mass evacuation of millions of people from Hong Kong ahead of handover to China. This was called 'The Armageddon Scenario'

The best National Archive release of the day- the 'Happy Birthday' message from Vladimir Putin to Tony Blair on his 48th birthday! Having Putin wish you "good health" does sounds ominous!

🇷🇺#Russian #Navy In the city of Severodvinsk, the President Putin took part in a ceremony for raising the naval ensign on Knyaz Pozharsky nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine.

In the news this week - mine warfare vessel Stirling Castle transferred from Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) to Royal Navy (RN). A significant change that will happen soon: Stirling Castle will be repainted warship grey, tho' the poss of 'dazzle' has been mooted by @HMS_Str_Castle

The Russians are pressing on with a potent mix of advanced SSKs & nuclear boats, which, so @WarshipsIFR suggests, the UK must do & with alacrity. China also operates SSKs & SSNs plus SSBNs. From our current edition (a 4-page piece) - worth a read 👇 @LukePollard @JohnHealey_MP

In today’s Russian papers: a new nuclear submarine, “car manufacturing down 30%...car market in one of its worst crises”, plus a warning that “political rehabilitation” of dictator Joseph Stalin leads to “rehabilitation of Stalin’s methods and practices.” #ReadingRussia

It's difficult to see this post, even though we knew it was coming. I've sailed in many of the #KingstonClass ships, but HMCS Yellowknife has a special place in my heart. They have all served Canada and Canadians incredibly well. It will not be easy to see them leave the harbour.

"...and to make sure the journalists have an authentic experience during this trip, we've set up their berthing over here" 　　hump day vibes 😐

No Royal Navy SSNs at sea, let alone one protecting deployed carrier HMS Prince of Wales. My @TheSun story with Alex West: thesun.co.uk/news/35985716/…

This handkerchief belonged to a #WWII stoker named J. Lewis MacDonald. He was on MV. Kinross when it was sunk by U-203 on June 24, 1941.  Luckily, all the sailors survived the sinking and were rescued by HMCS ORILLIA. They all signed this handkerchief to remember their rescue.

#OTD in 1968, carrier suitability trials for the F-111B were conducted aboard USS Coral Sea. The plane was a variant of the Air Force's F-111 Aardvark. It had been considered to fill Navy's need for a new carrier-based interceptor but was deemed too heavy. The F-14 got the job.

There will be a report and pics on/from Talisman Sabre, including the UKCSG's activities in the next edition of Warships IFR magazine (Sept ed, out 15.8.25) warshipsifr.com/subscriptions/

Gangway screens, ceremonial lifebuoy covers - starting to feel like home. But what a lot of work left to do!

UK Carrier Strike Group flagship HMS Prince of Wales @HMSPWLS has sailed into Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia - the first visit by a @RoyalNavy aircraft carrier to Australia since HMS Illustrious in 1997. The UKCSG has been taking part in Exercise Talisman Sabre #UKCSG25

#HMCSVilledeQuébec has completed the live-fire and forward rearmament of Block II Harpoon Missiles while participating in #ExTALISMANSABRE in the port of Darwin, Australia. The rearmament was a joint effort between Canada 🇨🇦 and 🇦🇺 Australia. #OpHORIZON

You are right, SSKs are part of the answer, but not as a replacement, but rather in a return to a mixed force as recommended by @MtarfaL in an excellent 4-page feature in the new @WarshipsIFR mag. Here's its first page plus cover so you can ID the edition. Well worth a read IMHO.

In the 1920s-30s, MI5’s female agents outwitted communist and fascist spies threatening Britain. From foiling Moscow’s plots to infiltrating Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists, their daring coups rewrote intelligence history: (🧵)

Introduction to 3 Commando Brigade’s Burma Campaign, 1945 Royal Marines History 1/25 The Burma Campaign of 1944–1945 was a critical Allied effort to reclaim Southeast Asia from Japanese control. At its core was 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines, a unit becoming renowned for its…

This is something to watch. If the MV-22B Osprey becomes an effective ASW platform, it could open up a lot of ASW possibilities for countries with V/STOL carriers, like the UK, Italy, and Japan. If successful, the Osprey would be more effective than helicopters in this role.