Making a splash: A British female officer inspects a radar screen on a minehunter ship in Kuwait. Soon Women could be serving deep beneath the waves
Female friendly: The Royal Navy looks set to allow women sailors to serve aboard its submarines for the first time
By Daily Mail Reporter
Women could soon be allowed to serve on Royal Navy submarines for the first time.
The Navy has deployed women on surface ships for over 20 years, but they remain banned from submarines for health reasons.
However a leaked memo reveals that military bosses have dismissed these concerns and may be about to lift the ban.
According to a report in the Sunday Mirror, the letter came from the office of the Fleet’s deputy chief of staff, and said: ‘The Navy Board is wholeheartedly committed to the principle of giving women the same opportunity as men.
‘The Royal Navy must be able to draw on the widest pool of talent available if it is to maintain its competitive operational advantage.’
Of the 36,000 personnel in the navy, 3,400 are women, but have remained banned from submarines because of the dangers posed by fumes inside the vessels to a foetus if a woman is pregnant.
The Navy has argued in the past that they could be pregnant when they go to sea, putting them and their unborn child in grave danger in case of complications such as an ectopic pregnancy, or forcing a commander to return home and abandon a secret mission.
The Vanguard-class submarines which carry the UK's Trident nuclear missiles typically put to sea on patrols lasting four months or more without surfacing, while 'hunter-killer' submarines also remain submerged for months at a time on secret missions, gathering intelligence or shadowing suspect ships.
The Royal Navy says there are also fears that chemicals in the air on board a submarine could be dangerous to a growing foetus and that the nuclear reactors could affect a woman’s body adversely.
These risks have, however, been downplayed by a study conducted by the Institute of Naval Medicine and a Navy source told the Sunday Mirror that the ban may be lifted as early as next year.
If the Royal Navy allows the move, only mine-clearance diving units and the Royal Marines would be closed to women in the Armed Forces.
The U.S, Australian, Canadian, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian navies already allow women to serve on their submarines.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2013097/Royal-Navy-waves-goodbye-men-rule-submarines.html#ixzz1RipCEkWi
obvious reason, re males females together in a very close enviroment. But besides the , there is the clash of personallity situation, in a male only it can be sorted but the F/M situation it cant . As an ex skimmer prior to F on surface ships it was bad enough working with them ashore, in a teaching enviroment.
Just wait for the complensation claims for birth defects to children of women submariners. The scripts too easy to read. I hope the MOD are saving up now. After the surrender without resistance of a navy patrol boat to the Iranians a couple of years ago the feminisation of the service was there for all to see. The submrine service may as well follow this route.
What a load of rot, the feminist sisters who squat behind desks and do nothing but march and protest demand equality. These horrible wimmin would be happy for female troops to come home in body bags as proof of equality. Well I'm old fashioned and what they would call a chauvinistic pig but I'm against this only because unless they are not interested in men they will be interested in men and the men will have the close confines to get to know them better. It's bad enough at the moment when those on top, of the waves still manage to get pregnant, so much for proof equality and professionalism is always trumped by good old human behaviour. I believe that a woman can do anything a man can do but it doesn't mean that I want them to. May I suggest a compromise, set up all female crews that compete on the ocean wave and prove that the women are more than capable. Can we also conscript any of those evil PC Rights parasites and send them to the front line as they insist others have to.
Surely the problems of women on submarines far out-weighs any possible operational advantages. Female problems alone should keep them out of an enclosed environment of upto six months without daylight or fresh air, but PC rules - just wait for the compensation claims to roll in.
why cause problems where none exist. any idiot can see this will cause strife. in a time of so much available cannon fodder 9due to politicians) why change.
Shades of the film "Down Periscope" come to mind. That came out years ago.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2013097/Royal-Navy-waves-goodbye-men-rule-submarines.html#ixzz1Ris5inLr
