Three plucky Brits in tiny boat faced off against Vladimir Putin’s giant warships in Channel
THREE Brits have described the moment they were on a terrifying collision course with Vladimir Putin's nuclear warships.
Nigel Scutt, 49, was part of a brave crew that set off in a tiny motorboat to take on the Russians in the English Channel.
Nigel Scutt, 49, was part of a brave crew that set off in a tiny motorboat to take on the Russians in the English Channel
The maritime researcher joined pals Chris Webb and Thomas Packman on the daring mission off the south coast of the UK.
He watched in awe as the huge ship - surrounded by seven other boats - sailed past them.
Chris, of Dover, Kent, told the : "We'd been trying to track the flotilla since it left at the weekend but it's been quite difficult.
"They go 'dark' as we call it, which basically means we have no idea where they are.
"Using the intel online we were able to get a vague idea but we were worried it may have passed in the night.
"But I said to the guys they're not going to do that and I put my money on them passing at 10am.
"It got to after that time and I was snapping and snarling because I thought we'd missed them.
"Then at about 10.20am they started coming over the horizon - and I definitely lost my bet.
"It was absolutely awe-inspiring.
"You could see the smoke from about 40 miles away.
"We were on a 28ft motorboat and I turned and looked at Chris at one point and thought he's really going for it.
"We went right up between these huge warships, it really was unique.
"When you look up and see the planes on the deck you start to think to yourself 'maybe we are a bit too close'.
"I've done this for a long time but that had to be the biggest, in terms of power, flotilla that I've ever seen.
"From the Russians it was a real show of strength - they've done that for a very clear reason."
The Russian fleet of warships was pictured entering the English Channel on Thursday morning - just miles from the port of Dover.
The giant eight-ship convoy was pictured steaming through the 21 mile-wide neck of the Channel as RAF Hercules reconnaissance planes flew overhead.
Machine gun-toting marines could be seen guarding the flight deck to deter anyone approaching the ship.
But Russian media mocked Britain’s reaction to the “willy waving” show of naval strength.
State channel TV Zvezda, smirked: “NATO got scared by Russian ships moving towards Syria.”
And Russian journalist Vladimir Mukhin, yesterday wrote: “Admiral Kuznetsov scared the English.”
Two hi-tech Royal Navy vessels are “man-marking” Vladimir Putin’s flotilla as it passes through the Dover Straits 211 years since Britain’s greatest sea battle – the Battle of Trafalgar.
It is 211 years since the Admiral Horatio Nelson defeated Napoleon’s navy.
The giant eight-ship convoy was pictured steaming through the 21 mile-wide neck of the Channel as RAF Hercules reconnaissance planes flew overhead.
Machine gun-toting marines could be seen guarding the flight deck to deter anyone approaching the ship.
But Russian media mocked Britain's reaction to the "willy waving" show of naval strength.
State channel TV Zvezda, smirked: "NATO got scared by Russian ships moving towards Syria."
And Russian journalist Vladimir Mukhin, yesterday wrote: "Admiral Kuznetsov scared the English."
Two hi-tech Royal Navy vessels are "man-marking" Vladimir Putin's flotilla as it passes through the Dover Straits 211 years since Britain's greatest sea battle - the Battle of Trafalgar.
It is 211 years since the Admiral Horatio Nelson defeated Napoleon's navy.
The Admiral Kuznetsov - a 50-jet Cold War aircraft carrier - is the squadron's flagship alongside nuclear battleship Peter the Great.
The giant carrier could be seen with the naked eye from Dover's seaport.
And the iconic White Cliffs of Dover were clearly visible in the background of snaps taken by a private ship cruising alongside the convoy.
Dozens of Brits flocked to the Kent coastline to catch a glimpse of the fleet through their binoculars.
Posting a picture of the ship from Kent's shoreline on Twitter, one wrote: "Boom! I can see Russia's aircraft carrier through my binoculars right now #AdmiralKuznetsov".
Another Instagram user posted: "It's not everyday you see a Russian aircraft carrier go past your office."
Ministry of Defence chiefs have pledged to keep the flotilla well within their sights, with HMS Duncan - one of the world's most sophisticated battleships - leading the chase.
A spokesman said: "When these ships are near our waters we will man-mark them every step of the way.
"We will be watching as part of our steadfast commitment to keep Britain safe."
They added: "It is pretty unambiguous that they have set a course to pass through the Dover Strait."
Former head of the Royal Navy Admiral Lord West dismissed it as "just a bit of willy waving".
The naval hero told The Sun: "It's Putin doing a bit of a willy waving in a sense, saying this is what I can do.
"He's just showing that Russia is there on the world stage."
They said: "They’re in the North Sea and they’re not going to turn west now – they are going to go through the Channel.
"It’s hard to say when."
Dramatic images released yesterday showed our boys monitoring Vladimir Putin's fleet off the Orkney Islands as they practised bombing sorties.
Russian media has referred to the manoeuvres as Operation Sea Fist - just a day after mocking the 'tiny' British fleet.
The giant Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier was operating its Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jets near the Orkney Islands as it prepares to steam down the English Channel.
The 300 metre-long Kuznetsov billows smoke in the background as a Brit sailor observes from HMS Richmond just a few hundred metres away.
Putin's navy is understood to have carried out the drills to prepare their pilots for combat missions in Syria.
The eight hi-tech ships will sail to the war-torn nation's Mediterranean coast, with the fleet passing through the North Sea and English Channel in the coming days.
On Wednesday, Russian broadcasters brazenly predicted iron man Putin is ready to ";seize control" of the Mediterranean Sea.
A top Moscow military expert then mocked the 'tiny' Royal Navy, which has been tasked with tracking the threat.
Britain has been without an aircraft carrier since HMS Illustrious was scrapped in 2014 but will be commissioning the £3.1bn HMS Queen Elizabeth in May 2017.
The hi-tech carrier is 280m long and weighs over 70,000 tonnes, eclipsing the 43,000 tonne Kuznetsov.
The sabre-rattling move is Putin's latest show of strength as he continues to prop up Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad against American wishes.
And insiders in Moscow's military circles say it marks a first step towards Russia asserting its dominance in the Mediterranean.
Defence expert for Russian news agency RIA, Alexander Khrolenko, said: "While the North Atlantic bloc is stalling in the sands of the Middle East, the Russian Navy seizes control over the Atlantic, not to mention the Mediterranean and Black Seas."
"The pilots need to be certified for carrier take-offs and landings at day and night before it takes up station in the Mediterranean.
"They are free to do this in international waters, but once they are in the English Channel, the aircraft will be grounded."
Images emerged yesterday of the ships sailing past the Norwegian city of Trondheim towards the North Sea, where they are expected to pick up an escort from the Royal Navy.
The frigate HMS Richmond and destroyer HMS Duncan will likely shadow the Russian fleet to the Straits of Gibraltar.
"The most likely thing is that they will go through the North Sea, down the Dover Strait and through the Channel.
“They might even stop off the North East coast to fly for a bit.”
The show of strength is the latest act of defiance from Moscow in the face of Western pressure over its bombing campaign in Syria.
Earlier this month Russia bombers went on a run around Western Europe, forcing the air forces of four Nato members to scramble their fighter jets.
President Vladimir Putin has been supporting embattled Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad with air strikes.
The bombing of an aid convoy last month saw a fragile ceasefire disintegrate and put even greater strain on relations between the US and Moscow.
Neighbour Turkey warned on Monday that Syria could become a proxy war for the two superpowers as they pile weapons and advisers into the Middle East.
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