Talk:HMS Puma

Personal account
Added on 29 April 2012 by User:Der fisherman. Some of the details would be interesting to include if reliable sources: The Captain of HMS Puma was automatically a Sheriff of Monterrey County, California, USA. He had his own Sheriff’s hat and a 45 revolver, held on board. Also in the ship’s upper superstructure, near the library were several glass cases containing 3 stuffed Pumas or mountain lions, also presented by Monterrey County to the ship.

At a Zoo in the UK were a complete family (living!) of Puma’s also donated by Monterrey County to the ship. On the 1968 round the world trip made by the Puma, the intention was to visit the well known author Mr John Steinbeck while in Monterrey, but unfortunately the author died suddenly just before the visit was made. Mr Steinbeck had previously visited the ship on an earlier trip and was still closely linked.

The captains of HMS Puma were invariably Fleet Air Arm Commanders, for the 1968 commission it was Commander John de Winton, a much loved very fair Captain, who drove his ship as though it was an aircraft with much verve and power. He was one of the very first Buccaneer Pilots of the fleet Air Arm.

The Commander, who took over from John de Winton, was one of the first RN Phantom pilots. When arriving back at Devonport, late in 1968 after a trip around the world calling at many small islands in the pacific, San Francisco, Monterrey and Manzanillo Mexico, with the families waiting on the dockside, Captain John de Winton drove the ship at the jetty with his usual verve, but the microphone switch jammed and the command to go slow astern, which would have brought us gently alongside was not received by the quartermaster. A belated "Full astern" was made on the other microphone, but we still hit the jetty rather hard, buckling the plating badly and narrowing even further the width of the ME's mess deck!

Luckily our seamen were working well and despite the "Bang", managed to get all ropes passed and bound us safely back to the UK's "Terra Firma". This was really good as both hydraulic pumps for the steering had been lost due to cable damage from the dented hull plates. Therefore we were not in a position to manoeuvre anymore until repairs could be made. Benea (talk) 14:24, 29 April 2012 (UTC)