Warship (1973 TV series)

Warship
Company type	Television series
Industry	Television drama
Founded	1973
Defunct	1977
Headquarters	United Kingdom
Products	Television drama series

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Warship (1973 TV series), available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 11 August 2025

Warship is a British drama television series produced by the BBC, which aired from 1973 until 1977. The show, set in the present day of its broadcast period, portrayed life aboard the fictional Royal Navy frigate HMS Hero. Across four seasons, a total of 45 episodes were created.

The series was translated and broadcast in Dutch under the title Alle hens aan dek (meaning All hands on deck) in the Netherlands. Outside of the UK, it also attracted audiences in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.

Plot

The episodes realistically illustrated daily life within the Royal Navy and Royal Marines during the 1970s. While the narrative mainly centered on the Captain and senior officers, it also depicted experiences of enlisted personnel. Storylines covered Cold War tensions, smuggling operations, evacuations from troubled regions, and explored the balance between crew members' professional duties and personal relationships.

Cast

The personnel aboard HMS Hero evolved throughout the series, with only officers Kiley and Wakelin appearing consistently. Key roles typically included the captain, first lieutenant, along with the Master-at-Arms or Leading Regulator—often called the "Sheriff"—who commanded the ship's combat team.

Captains

Donald Burton portrayed Commander Mark Nialls (series 1–2)
Bryan Marshall took on the role of Commander Alan Douglas Glenn (series 3)
Derek Godfrey appeared as Captain Edward Kelvin Holt (series 4)

First Lieutenants

David Savile played Lieutenant Commander Derek "Porky" Beaumont ("Number One") (series 1–3)
Robert Morris acted as Lieutenant Commander James Napier ("Number One") (series 4)

Additional officers

John Lee as Lieutenant Commander Bill Kiley, responsible for weapons and electrical systems ("WEO")
Graeme Eton as Lieutenant Montgomery Charles "Monty" Wakelin, supply officer
Norman Eshley as Lieutenant Bob Last, navigation officer ("Pilot") (series 1–2)
Andrew Burt as Lieutenant Paul Peek, navigation officer ("Pilot") (series 3–4)
Christopher Coll as Lieutenant Peter Boswall, flight commander ("Flight") (series 1)
James Leith as Lieutenant Roy Tagg, flight commander ("Flight") (series 3)
Richard Warwick portrayed Lieutenant Parry (series 1)
Rex Robinson as Lieutenant Commander Jack Junnion, engineer officer ("Chief" or "CME") (series 1), noted for wearing a submarine officer’s badge on formal dress

Ratings

Don Henderson featured as Master-at-Arms Frank Heron (series 1–3), an experienced sailor completing his final service aboard Hero
Frank Jarvis appeared as Master-at-Arms Harry Burnett (series 3–4)
James Cosmo played Leading Regulator Pat Fuller ("Sheriff")
Nigel Humphreys portrayed Leading Seaman Anderson
Steve Gardner acted as Able Seaman Billy Grogan
Colin Rix took on the role of Leading Medical Assistant Milner

Recurring characters

Donald Hewlett as Rear Admiral Mulliner/Staunton
Peter Cellier as Captain Reginald St Vincent Calder, Squadron Commander
Marian Diamond portrayed Sue Herrick, Glenn’s girlfriend (series 3)
Prunella Ransome featured as Zoe Carter, Holt’s girlfriend (series 4)

Co-operation between the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy

This series was produced through close partnership with the Royal Navy and the BBC, resulting in a level of documentary-style realism that was rare for television dramas of the 1970s. Seven different vessels portrayed HMS Hero, all repainted to display the pennant number F42, which belonged to , the principal ship utilized during filming. Additional ships involved included , , , , , and . The designation HMS Hero was chosen due to its mythological association with Leander and had never been assigned to any Leander-class frigate before.

In 1976, the Australian frigate , a , represented Hero in sequences shot in Hong Kong and Singapore. This Australian involvement later inspired the ABC television series Patrol Boat.

Crew members aboard these ships were issued Hero cap tallies, while the vessels themselves bore HMS Hero insignia such as badges, nameplates, and lifebuoys. Their Fleet Air Arm Westland Wasp helicopters from 829 Naval Air Squadron were also repainted with HMS Hero markings and carried the nickname "The Fighting Forty-Two." Noteworthy Wasps included serial numbers XT419, XV625, and XV626; notably, XV625 is preserved at . The use of identical pennant numbers and insignia occasionally led to confusion among Soviet intelligence vessels.

Other Royal Navy ships featured in the series included the aircraft carrier , helicopter cruiser , commando carrier , and submarine . The production also incorporated Royal Marine Commandos, Fleet Air Arm units, Royal Naval Reserve minesweeper , Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels such as and RFA Grey Rover, alongside Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service craft.

Fleet Air Arm squadrons filmed aboard HMS Ark Royal comprised Blackburn Buccaneer S2s from 809 Naval Air Squadron and Phantom FG1s from 892 Naval Air Squadron. Westland Wessex HU5 helicopters operated by 845 Naval Air Squadron aboard HMS Bulwark were also shown.

Filming locations extended beyond shipboard scenes to include Gibraltar, Malta, Hong Kong, Singapore, Norway (specifically Loppa and Larvik), Haslar Admiralty Experiment Works, RNAS Predannack, Portland Harbour, Plymouth Dockyard, Portsmouth Dockyard, and South Uist.

Theme music

The opening and closing themes of the series featured the march titled Warship, composed by Anthony Isaac and performed by the Band of the Royal Marines, Deal, under the baton of Lieutenant Colonel Paul Neville, MVO, FRAM, RM. This march remains a staple within the repertoires of both Royal Marine bands and the Royal Australian Navy Band. It also served as an inspiration for the 2010 composition Scrap Iron Flotilla, created by Leading Seaman Martyn Hancock of the Royal Australian Navy Band.

Warship was prominently performed during celebrations marking the 75th and 100th anniversaries of the Royal Australian Navy Band. In 2013, Lieutenant Commander Paul Cottier, then serving as Director of Music for the Royal Australian Navy, remarked that Warship exemplified how television and cinema have influenced military band repertoires by incorporating more contemporary popular music.

Series creators

The concept for the series originated from serving Royal Navy officer Ian Mackintosh, who took on primary scripting duties. After approaching the BBC in May 1971, he collaborated with producer Anthony Coburn, who sought to craft a naval drama with an impact comparable to that of Z-Cars within police drama. Other contributors included writer Michael J. Bird and director Michael E. Briant, among others. Mackintosh was seconded to work with the BBC during production and was honored with an MBE in 1976 for his contributions to Warship.

Warship and Blue Peter

In 1975, the BBC children's show Blue Peter featured footage from Warship filmed at Plymouth Dockyard aboard HMS Danae, with presenter Lesley Judd hosting. The following year, Peter Duncan, who would later become a Blue Peter presenter, appeared in the episode titled "All of One Company". During this timeframe, six episodes were shot on board HMS Danae.

Retrospective evaluation of Warship

Historian Professor S.P. MacKenzie reflected in 2006 that:

"The success of Warship contrasted with the failure of Making Waves due to its creators—particularly Ian Mackintosh—developing diverse and captivating characters and storylines, using Royal Navy frigates as dynamic settings rather than just backgrounds. The series effectively promoted the Royal Navy through compelling writing, strong performances, and skilled direction. Mackintosh and his team managed to engage audiences with relevant and intriguing narratives."

The 2004 ITV series Making Waves, which sought to replicate Warship, was less well-received, with only half of its six episodes broadcast.

In 2022, the British Forces Broadcasting Service remarked that Warship remains "highly popular ... and is still warmly remembered."

Books

Ian Mackintosh wrote three novels connected to the television series, which were published simultaneously in both hardback and paperback editions:

Warship (1973)
HMS Hero (1976)
Holt RN (1977), adapted from episode 4.01 "Wind Song"

Board game

Leveraging his naval background, Ian Mackintosh designed a board game based on Warship, inspired by Battleships. This game was produced by Merit Toys in 1976 in collaboration with the BBC.

Scale model kit

Airfix released a 1/600 scale plastic model of , advertised as "Featured as HMS Hero in the BBC TV series Warship."

Theme music single

In 1973, Columbia Records issued a 7-inch single featuring the theme music performed by the Band of the Royal Marines, Deal, conducted by Lieutenant Colonel Paul Neville MVO FRAM RM.

DVD releases

Simply Media made Series 1 of Warship available on DVD on 15 September 2014, followed by Series 2 on 9 November 2015.

Although Series 3 and 4 were slated for release in 2016, these plans were abandoned due to "unforeseen clearance issues," leaving these seasons unavailable on DVD.

External links