The Royal Navy ship HMS Monmouth and USS San Jacinto (CG 56) recently worked together in port at Naval Station Norfolk to help the Royal Navy frigate be able to take on fuel get back out to sea.

 “The Monmouth was trying to refuel via truck,” said Lt. Brandon Clark, San Jacinto operations officer. “It had a three-inch fitting with fine threading, and the fuel truck had a one and a half-inch fitting with coarse threading. The part we needed was a converter between the two sizes.”

Clark said the fuel company was working on a solution that would involve using a collection of parts to eventually convert the two fittings to work together.  This process would potentially increase the chances of fuel leaks.

The answer came when San Jacinto put one of their newest additions to the crew on the task. Machinery Repairman 1st Class Thomas Rhodes had only been on the ship for a week when his chain of command searched him out.

“It took a while for them to find me, because I work all over the ship,” said Rhodes. “When they did, they told me that we were going to make this part for the British ship and asked if we had the materials to do so. I said yes.”

Rhodes, who never really enjoyed math throughout school, now says that he enjoys using it to solve problems. He says that for him, creating special pieces is more akin to making functional art.

“I enjoy the challenge of creating something from nothing and having it be functional,” said Rhodes. “There isn’t really a set path to all conclusions. There are often many ways to reach the same goal.”

It took him a few hours to design and craft the part. With the part in place, Monmouth were able to fuel up and get on its way without any further interruptions.

“It is very rewarding to help fellow navies out,” said Clark. “The difference in how they do things and how American ships run makes these interactions interesting.  Rhodes’ piece was able to reduce the amount of parts needed to refuel the ship. If that process wasn’t simplified completely, the British ships could have had a much harder time returning to their mission.”

Royal Navy Cmdr. Will King, the commanding officer of HMS Monmouth, also known as “The Black Duke”, said his crew were overwhelmed by the hospitality and support from the San Jacinto Sailors.

“HMS Monmouth was incredibly fortunate to be hosted by the USS San Jacinto during our port visit to Norfolk,” said King. “The strength in our partnership with the US can be seen in the unwavering support that we received at such short notice, and we are indebted to them for their help in ensuring that HMS Monmouth was fully fueled prior to returning to sea.”

Deployed as part of WESTLANT18, and supporting HMS Queen Elizabeth in delivering First of Class Fixed Wing Flying Trials for F35B-II Lightning, HMS Monmouth is a Duke-class Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy.

USS San Jacinto is a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser attached to Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 10, also known as the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group.

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