Loud bangs have been heard across a UK city after a Royal Navy Type 23 frigate opened fire.
HMS Somerset was spotted gliding into Plymouth Sound at around 10.50am this morning after departing Hamburg on April 7. Many people across Plymouth reported hearing loud ‘bangs’ as the ship fired into the air, while smoke was seen billowing across the water. The Mirror has contacted the Ministry of Defence for comment. HMS Somerset has recently been tracking two Russian ships in the Mediterranean, and has been activated to monitor Russian convoys returning from the region three times in the past month alone. It also visited Aberdeen to refuel for the latest mission.
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It is understood the HMS Somerset had been conducting a gun salute this morning after her three-month deployment to the High North, a region which includes the Arctic.
Recalling the noise from the guns being fired, one local resident told PlymouthLive: “It was very loud. It properly startled me. We heard these loud bangs and then saw smoke coming from the ship, and honestly thought it had caught fire or something before realising it was probably just a salute or something like that.”
Last month, HMS Somerset and tanker RFA Tidesurge were deployed to escort Russian landing ship RFN Alexander Otrakovsky and merchant vessel MV Ascalon through the Channel and North Sea as the pair sailed towards the Baltic.
The two Russian ships had recently departed the Mediterranean, and were closely monitored by HMS Somerset and a Merlin helicopter.
Speaking at the time, Commanding Officer, Commander Joel Roberts, said: “Somerset has been frequently activated to conduct this type of operation given the tempo of Russian activity around the United Kingdom’s territorial and sensitive waters.
“In maintaining units at very high readiness to respond, the Royal Navy offers presence, deterrence, persistence, flexibility and can deliver or facilitate a range of military and diplomatic options to support our national objectives.
“The team in Somerset remains focused, continues to integrate widely with our NATO allies, and are using a range of strategically located UK-based services and infrastructure to sustain the ship on operations.”
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