HMS Astute Escapex 2012

 more photos Available here

CPO Ian (Curly) Callow

Escapees

Lt Cdr Tregunna	Lt Ziolo	Coxn Hiles	Po Ross
CPO Callow	CPO Bean	CPO Douglas	PO Yarnold
CPO Whittaker	CPO Charlesworth	CPO Stevenson

Support staff

WO Harvey	CPO Spanner	LET Coombes
POMA Organ	LMA Mason	LMA Petter
WO Duncan

On a cold winter morning in Loch goil the staff of the Submarine Escape Training Tank situated in Gosport prepare to conducted a Hooded ascent from HMS Astute. The date was the 14th December 2012 and the crew of HMS Astute dived to a predetermined depth (27.9 metres). HMS Astute has a reliable and effective escape system fitted onboard. Astute is fitted with a two man escape tower (Logistic Escape Tower) aft and an FET (Forard Escape Tower) forard. SETT staff and members of the crew from HMS Vigilant successfully escaped from an LET in 2003, nobody had ever escaped from an FET and the purpose of these trials were to prove the escape system onboard HMS Astute.

Equipment

The SEIE (Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment).

The process

Each escapee will zip down their hood fully, climb into the tower and the lower lid will be shut by the support team within the submarine. When the escapee is ready he will plug his suit into the air supply, this air will provide a continuos supply of air to breath and also provide the buoyancy within the suit that will enable the escapee to reach the surface safely. The escapee must remain plugged into the air supply whilst the tower is flooded and continue to equalise his ears with the increasing pressure rise. When the pressure within the tower is equal with the external sea pressure the upper lid will open and the escapee will start his ascent to the surface. During the ascent the escapee will continue to breath normally all the way to the surface.

Runs conducted during the trial

12 straight runs
A single person will enter the tower, all valve movements will be controlled by the crew from within the submarine.

4 last man out
A single person will enter the tower, all valve movements will be controlled by the escapee from within the tower.

Water Temperature 11°C @ 30 metres / 4°C @ Surface Air Temperature 3°C / Wind chill factor -8°C

Thanks For the Amazing Photos Submarine Escape

We Will Always Remember Them

When Britain seeks to carve it's name on History's Bloodstained Roll,
It can point in pride to it's Submarines, "Dear God", you took your toll.
It was said they were damned un-English, a weapon to be abhorred
...

But in a world where you fight for your freedom that's a view you just cannot afford.
So in trying to balance life's budget, when we sit down and add up the cost,
High up on the list is the price we paid, eighty two boats that we lost.

The first on the roll was the Oxley then Seahorse, Undine and Starfish
Thistle, Tarpon and Sterlet, then Unity and Seal was God's wish.
One after the other went Odin, then Grampus, Orpheus and Shark
The Salmon, the Phoenix and then came the Thames, no wonder the future looked dark.
The Narwhal, the Oswald and Spearfish and little H49 too
The Rainbow, Triad and Swordfish, our country was paying it's due.
Regulus, Triton, Snapper and Usk, Undaunted, Umpire as well
Union, Cachalot, P33, all sailing their own road to hell.

We lost P32 and the Tetrarch, the Perseus and the P31,
The Triumph, the Tempest and P38, and sadly the list just goes on.
There was P39 and P36, Pandora and Upholder too.
Urge, Olympus and P514, Thorn and Talisman, long overdue.
Unique, Unbeaten and Utmost, then the turn of P222.
Traveller, P48 and P311, Lord is this what you want us to do?
Then came Vandal, Tigris, Thunderbolt, and Turbulent, Regent as well.
With P615, Splendid, Sahib, all bowing to fate's awful knell.

The Untamed, the Parthian and Saracen, the X Crafts 9, 8 and 5
Followed by 6, then 7, then 10. Yes Lord they'd done their last dive.
Usurper, the Trooper, the next was Simoom, X22 also was lost.
And the ex-German Graph then made her last dive, we earned freedom at terrible cost.
Stonehenge, Syrtis and Sickle, please God just how many more?
The Strategem went to her resting place, on that far distant, hostile shore.

And so near the end of the Roll Out, our White Ensign proud but Half Mast
Right up to the end our Submarines paid, for Porpoise was the last.
Each year we gather at Blockhouse and ask that their Memories be Blessed
For we stand proud and tall as "Old Comrades", with our Dolphins pinned on our chest.
So we who survived now pray to our God, "Let our boys grow up to be men.
If we paid the price unflinchingly, Dear Lord don't ask them to pay it again."

by Chief Petty Officer Coxswain George Luck DSM

George Luck was a member of the Merseyside Submariners Association and served in boats from 1941 to 1947 being on the "Rorqual", "P217", "P339". "Taurus" and "Affray". He died in May 2007 at 85 years of age.

Also worth remembering that this was the WWII Roll Call. 167 boats were lost all together in 2 wars. The Germans lost more than we did. A very dodgy trade we are in guys.

........................................................................

Chief Stoker's Log

 

Commander Dai Evans RIP

Commander Dai Evans

”What I’m looking for in a potential commanding officer is somebody with professional competence and professional honesty. What I’m also looking for is someone who has the ability to motivate 70 men. You can be very good, as an individual, at moving a submarine from A to B, you can handle it dived quite competently, but unless you can actually take 70 men with you and have them work for you, and have them enjoy it, then you really don’t have the qualities that are necessary to command.”

The XO Confirmed the date and time for Dai's funeral service. There is no plan to hold a remembrance service.

The Funeral Service for Commander DLP (Dai) Evans will take place on 28 December at 1330 at St John the Baptist (CofE) Church, Church Road, Ashley, Market Drayton, TF9 4LQ. Refreshments will be available afterwards at the Peel Arms, also on Church Road, Ashley.
 

Submariners’ Prayer

O Father hear our prayer to Thee From your humble servants beneath the sea: In the depths of ocean oft we stray, So far from night, so far from day; We would ask your guiding light to glow To make our journey safe below. Please oft times grant us patient mind, Then ‘ere the darkness, won’t us blind. We seek thy protection from the deep And grant us peace whene’er we sleep. Of our homes and loved ones far away We ask you care for them each day, Until we surface once again, to drink the air and feel the rain. We ask your guiding hand to show A safe progression, sure and slow. Dear Lord please hear our prayer to Thee From your humble servants beneath the sea. Amen

 

 

 

  

 

 

Defence Discount Service

 

 

The Defence Discount Service is open to members of the Armed Forces community including: Serving and Reserve personnel, Armed Forces veterans, spouses/partners of Service personnel and bereaved spouses/partners. It is also open to MoD civil servants, members of the cadet forces and NATO personnel serving in UK-based posts.

 

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Submariners Remembrance Service

National Submarine War Memorial, Victoria Embankment London

This is an annual event. Usually the service is held on Victoria Embankment at the National Submarine War Memorial. This year due to bad weather, the service was held aboard HMS President. The weather had improved sufficiently by the end of the service for the wreath laying to be well attended at the memorial itself. The service was led by The Reverend Steven Brookes, The Rector of Liverpool, Chaplain to the Submariners Association. Music for the service was performed by The Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines. Attendance included Rear Admiral Ian Corder. The service was packed - unfortunately not everyone could get into the hall, nor even onto HMS President. Wreaths were laid by many, including Mrs Molyneux who said, "It was an honour to be there and to have been asked to lay the wreath on behalf of the Submariner Widows .... A very emotional day filled with tears, laughter and immense pride in the Service". Another, laid on behalf of The Submariners Lounge on Facebook. Those in attendance were not only Submariners, there were representatives, serving and retired, from the RAF, Royal Navy and Army. Photographs taken by Matthew Smith.
 

Click on Link to see all the Photos >>   Parade Album 

 

The Submariners Lounge Wreath

Was laid by Brad

@

THE SUBMARINERS PARADE SERVICE

On November 4th 2012

On Behalf of The Submariners Lounge I Thank You all For The Photos

Regards Griff

"Pride Runs Deep"

 

 

 

 

 

HMS/M Vigilant

Defence Secretary announces further £350m for Successor submarines

An Equipment and Logistics news article

29 Oct 12

The Defence Secretary has today announced an additional £350m worth of funding for the next stage of design work for Successor, the future generation of UK nuclear-armed submarines.

 

HMS Vigilant fires an unarmed Trident II ballistic missile, during a test launch in the Atlantic Ocean last week

[Picture: Lockheed Martin]

 

The investment will sustain 1,200 UK jobs and makes clear the Government's firm commitment to maintaining continuous at sea deterrence for future decades. The funding follows the initial £350m of design work announced earlier this year.This announcement comes as Philip Hammond visited the home of the UK's nuclear deterrent at Faslane on the Clyde and follows the successful firing of an unarmed Trident ballistic missile by HMS Vigilant during a test launch in the Atlantic Ocean last week.

HMS Vigilant is one of four Vanguard Class submarines which maintain the UK's nuclear deterrent and this firing, the first in three years, confirms the credibility of the deterrent.
The Vanguard submarines will be replaced from 2028 by the Successor which is currently being designed by British companies. As a result of today's announcement, BAE Systems will proceed with an additional £315m worth of work, with a further £38m at Babcock.

 

A Royal Navy officer checks the target range from HMS Vigilant's deck
[Picture: Petty Officer Airman (Photographer) Simmo Simpson, Crown Copyright/MOD 2012]

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said:

"Our continuous submarine-based nuclear deterrent is the ultimate safeguard of our national security and the Government is committed to maintaining it, both now and in the future. The test firing and further investment in replacing the deterrent demonstrates that commitment. This latest expenditure for the next generation of nuclear-armed submarines is an investment in UK security and the British economy, sustaining high-quality jobs and vital skills."

Commenting on the ongoing debate over Scottish independence, Mr Hammond said:

"We are confident that the Scottish people will choose to remain part of the United Kingdom. The Faslane complex is the largest employment site in Scotland with over 6,500 jobs underpinning the local economy. We have no plans to move the nuclear deterrent from the Clyde. On the contrary, we intend to move the Astute and Trafalgar Class attack submarines to Faslane, creating a further 1,500 jobs. The Scottish Government needs to explain how their policy would benefit Scotland's economy and safeguard Scottish jobs."

 

HMS Vigilant preparing to fire an unarmed Trident II ballistic missile, during a test launch in the Atlantic Ocean last week

[Picture: Petty Officer Airman (Photographer) Gaz Armes, Crown Copyright/MOD 2012]

 

The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, said:

"The Royal Navy has for over 43 years continuously operated the UK's nuclear deterrent to stringent safety standards and HMS Vigilant's latest test firing before she returns to the patrol cycle reflects that successful deterrence is based upon strong determination.
"One of the core roles of the Royal Navy, the Continuous At Sea Deterrent remains an enduring strategic capability, underpinning our nation's commitment to the preservation of peace in our uncertain world."

All Royal Navy submarines will be based at Faslane by 2017, including the Astute and Trafalgar class attack submarines, which - along with the Sandown Class mine countermeasure vessels - will increase the workforce at the site to over 8,000 by 2022.

 

Secrets Of The Conqueror

The submarine that sank the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano during the Falklands war was involved in a much more daring and dangerous Cold War operation only weeks later

It was dark, in the early hours, and the sea was freezing as Her Majesty’s Submarine Conqueror came to periscope depth. Her captain, Christopher Wreford-Brown, had been stalking his target methodically, a hunter in pursuit of wary prey. There she was, 1,000 yards ahead, slow-moving, seemingly unaware of the submarine coming up on her tail. Gathered around Commander Wreford-Brown in the darkened operations room, officers and men waited in silence, inner tension masked by outward calm. It was 1982 and this was the real thing.

HMS Conqueror is famous, some would say notorious, for sinking the Argentinian cruiser General Belgrano. The nuclear-powered attack submarine, a type also known menacingly as a hunter-killer, that year became the first of her kind to fire in anger. The Belgrano was sent to bottom in short order, her ancient hull rent by two torpedoes: 323 men, many of them young conscripts, died. The Falklands war began in earnest that day, May 2 1982.

But the ship now in the crosswires was not the Belgrano. This was August, almost two months after the liberation of the Falklands, and on the other side of the world, in the Barents Sea, backyard of the mighty Soviet Northern Fleet. Conqueror was sailing as close to Russian territorial waters as was legally allowed – or maybe closer. Submariners, a tight-knit community, politely disdainful of their surface counterparts, joke that there are two types of naval vessel: submarines and targets. Wreford-Brown’s target was a spy trawler – an AGI in Nato parlance, meaning Auxiliary General Intelligence. Crammed with interception and detection equipment, they were a ubiquitous presence during the Cold War, shadowing Nato exercises or loitering off naval bases.

This one was special: Polish-flagged, she was pulling a device long coveted by the British and Americans, a two-mile string of hydrophones known as a towed-array sonar. It was the latest thing in Soviet submarine-detection technology and Conqueror’s job was to steal it. To do so, the bow was equipped with electronically controlled pincers, provided by the Americans, to gnaw through the three-inch-thick steel cable connecting it to the trawler. The name of this audacious exercise in piracy? Operation Barmaid.

Thirty years on, and the story of this mission, classified Top Secret to this day, is being told. It may be that the Russian government is learning for the first time the fate of what was one of its most closely guarded devices.

“This was a quite remarkable feat, a daring exploit that carried with it immense risk,” says the documentary maker Stuart Prebble, whose new book, Secrets of the Conqueror, discloses the existence of Barmaid. “When we think of the Cold War we think of Cuba and Berlin and missiles and tanks, but it was at sea, and under the sea in particular, where the East-West struggle was often at its most dangerous.

“I have known about Barmaid for nearly 30 years and two years ago I approached the Ministry of Defence and asked that its details be released under the 30-year rule. They spent eight months thinking about it and eventually came back and said no. Their final position was that, although they wouldn’t help, they wouldn’t try to stop me writing about it.”

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s the Anglo-Americans rested on their laurels, confident of their superiority in naval technology over the fledgling Soviet fleet. But as the 1970s wore on that confidence was eroded. Soviet submarines were not just becoming quieter and faster, they were able to turn the tables on their supposedly more advanced Western opponents. Submariners call it “bouncing”, the practice of creeping up on a hostile submarine before switching on active, wave-emitting sonar. The deafening ping in the earphones of the target crew tells them: “I’m here. If this was a war, you’d be dead.”

Towed-array sonar is different. It is passive and does not emit a signal. It floats at a prescribed depth, trailing behind a ship or submarine, simply listening for enemy submarines. Because the hydrophones are spaced out, they can achieve a multi-dimensional fix on a target, and are less vulnerable to noise from the host vessel. The American and British navies imagined themselves to be far ahead in this technology and were disturbed to discover that the Russians were matching them.

Had they caught up through ingenuity, or by spying?

The issue was sensitive for the British, who had been plagued by spy scandals in the post-war period. The “Portland Spy Ring” had betrayed naval secrets, as had the Admiralty clerk John Vassall. The Americans took the lead, conceiving a project to capture a towed array and discover its origins. General Dynamics, supplier of kit to the CIA, built the pincer equipment, which was installed in British submarines. But why not use the bigger US Navy?

“There are two schools of thought about that,” says Prebble, a former editor of World in Action. “The British believed they were selected because they had more skilled submariners, and exercises do seem to bear this out. British submariners tend not to play by the book to the extent that the Americans do.

“The more cynical view has it that if a British sub was caught the diplomatic fall-out would be less severe than if an American one was involved. No one wanted to provoke a superpower confrontation.”

Cutting a towed-array cable and making it look like an accidental loss was no easy task. Before Conqueror was fitted with the television-guided pincers, her sister ship HMS Churchill had tried to steam through an array to sever it from the towing ship. She was damaged and depth-charged for her pains. Conqueror made two attempts to use the pincers, in the Barents Sea and the Mediterranean, before her final attempt in August.

“When crews heard about these pincers, everybody thought it was absolutely crazy,” says Prebble. “Their use demanded the most brilliant seamanship, coming up from below into the array’s blind spot and edging towards the cutting point only a few yards from the tow ship. The pincers were designed to gnaw rather than slice cleanly to give the impression that the array had snagged on an underwater obstacle and been torn off.”

There, then, was Wreford-Brown, staring though his periscope that August night. The TV cameras were useless until a few inches from the target, so black was the Arctic water. Wreford-Brown and his officers had to fall back on mental arithmetic to calculate their distance from the target.

“That was the genius of the exercise,” says Prebble. “There is a way of approaching the blind spot that involves going deep and then coming up at an angle, literally below the vessel.”

The trawler’s propeller was feet away from Conqueror’s hull. A momentary miscalculation and a collision was inevitable. But nerves held and a connection was made. The pincer blades gnawed, and in seconds that seemed like hours the array was freed. Clamps held on to the cable as Conqueror dropped away to a safe depth, trailing the array by her side.

“Everyone in the control room was tense,” says one of those present. “We were expecting at any time that we would be discovered and were ready to run, if necessary.”

None of the crewmen who spoke to Prebble was prepared to confirm Conqueror’s position but the suspicion is that the operation took place inside Soviet territorial waters, just three miles from the coast. If discovered, the sub would have faced attack from Russian air and naval units. Once Conqueror reached a safe distance, divers were sent out to secure the array. The submarine later surfaced so that they could swim out again to haul the device aboard and bundle it in the hull.

Did the crew of the AGI know what had happened? Even if they suspected foul play it would not have been in their interests to admit it to their superiors. A sojourn in the gulag might have followed.

Immediately after Conqueror reached her base on the Clyde, the array was put on to an aircraft and sent for analysis in the United States. It is said that the name Conqueror was whispered with a certain reverence in the Pentagon for some time afterwards.

Following the sinking of the Belgrano, much speculation surrounded the disappearance of the Conqueror’s logs. The assumption in some quarters was that they had been destroyed to conceal embarrassing details about the submarine’s movements before and after the attack on the cruiser. Prebble thinks otherwise. “I believe the logs were shredded or incinerated to hide the Barents Sea operation,” he says. “This was a top-secret mission.”

The submarine arm is known as the Silent Service, partly because of its stealthy approach to warfare but also because of the secrecy attending its activities. Rarely does it receive public praise. Now, at least, we know of Operation Barmaid. The Conqueror’s crew had to celebrate their triumph in secret. Let’s hope they enjoyed a pint or two.

 

Kindle Link >> Secrets Of The Conqueror

 

...................................................

 

Having read the book i am Glad i refrained from Commenting on Here about it until i did, This is a Journey that as serving Submariners a lot of us have been a Part of at some time in our Careers Its all about taking part in the "Cold War" ... Sneaky Boats are what they were called and still are.

I will add at this Point Polaris Submarines were also Sneakies During this time.

In 1982 I was Serving on HMS/M Swiftsure which was In Refit at the Start of the Conflict it had been in refit for 5 Years due to Industrial Action at The Royal Devonport Dockyard .. We all Watched this unfold and All of us volunteered to Double crew with the Boats Heading out to the Conflict Area ....Permission Denied all we could do was watch like everyone else Here in the UK and across the world Report on what was Happening in the South Atlantic on Television and In the Newspapers .

I Digressed i know so back to the book ... It is an Insight Into what really happened out there and The Repercussions for the Crew of the Conqueror (Conx) and their Family and Friends when it was over and they Arrived back in The UK ... Some will say we have Heard it all Before! I Disagree NO you have not Keep an open Mind if and when you Read the book Its a Look inside The "Silent Service" and what it really is like to be Part of a Unique Service Called The Submarine Service here in the UK and Worldwide (The Russians had a job to do as well as us) ... I am Privelaged to have Served With some Amazing people and i Thank Stuart Prebble for researching it Thoroughly ... A must read from me BZ Stuart A well Written Book.

Postnote we also had Deisel Submarines out in the South Atlantic at the time of the War (Conflict) DBF Guys

The Jolly Roger

HMS Triumph

 

The Jolly Roger and the Submarine Service

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Arthur Wilson VC, the Controller of the Royal Navy, summed up the opinion of many in the Admiralty at the time when he said in 1901 "[Submarines are] underhand, unfair, and damned un-English. ... treat all submarines as pirates in wartime ... and hang all crews." In response, Lieutenant Commander (later Admiral Sir) Max Horton first flew the Jolly Roger on return to port after sinking the German cruiser SMS Hela and the destroyer SMS S-116 in 1914 while in command of the E class submarine HMS E9

In World War II it became common practice for the submarines of the Royal Navy to fly the Jolly Roger on completion of a successful combat mission where some action had taken place, but as an indicator of bravado and stealth rather than of lawlessness. For example in 1982 returning from the Falklands conflict HMS Conqueror flew the Jolly Roger depicting one dagger for the SBS deployment to South Georgia and one torpedo for her sinking of the Argentinian Cruiser Belgrano. The Jolly Roger is now the emblem of the Royal Navy Submarine Service

HMS Splendid

 

HMS Sealion

 HMS Turbulent 1941

 

 HMS Conqueror flew this after sinking the Belgrano

 

 

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Lt Cdr Ian Molyneux GM

 

 

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Gillian Molyneux  received the George Medal awarded to her late husband, Lt Cdr Ian Molyneux RN today, in recognition of his services during an attack on HMS Astute on 8th April 2011.

Lieutenant Commander Ian Molyneux, 36 died in the shooting as the vessel was docked during an official visit to Southampton.

His citation read: "Lieutenant Commander Molyneux, with complete disregard for his own safety, had made an effort to tackle the gunman, knowingly put himself into extreme danger in order to safeguard others from personal injury."

Able Seaman Ryan Donovan later pleaded guilty to shooting him dead while on sentry duty after opening fire in the submarine's control room and was jailed for at least 25 years in September.

He also attempted to murder Lieutenant Commander Christopher Hodge, Petty Officer Christopher Brown, and Chief Petty Officer David McCoy.
Other honours will see Major Justin Stenhouse of 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards receive the Distinguished Service Order for single-handedly taking on Taliban insurgents to save the men under his command.

The officer, from Hartfield in Sussex, was serving with an elite reconnaissance unit when he and his men found themselves pinned down in an attack as they attempted to recover weapons being used against them.

The DSO is the second-highest military honour for active service.
And Major General Timothy Evans will be given his CBE for services in Afghanistan.

Bethie has asked if I can let everybody know that she raised £245 for Children in Need from donations given after reading out the poem she wrote for her Daddy, to help other children x She has asked me to share her poem with you all ....

Our Daddy!

Daddy's come in different shapes and sizes, but our daddy is one of a kind,
...

Our daddy is handsome and tall, with big brown eyes,
He is clever and funny and always smiles.
He gives the best hugs - especially to us!
He likes to play sports, to cook yummy food and to have a brew - Daddy always had the kettle on!
But our daddy didn't just belong to us ... He had another family that he loved too ... His Submarine Family!

Our daddy always looks after us and keeps us safe.
Our daddy died looking after his submarine family and keeping them safe!
It makes us feel sad and lonely inside. We will miss our Daddy forever - we never got to say goodbye ....

 

'Goodbye Daddy!' But he is a Hero - he is OUR Hero!
He loves us all and always makes the right decision ... He made the right decision that day .... He gave up his life to save others, so that more people didn't die.
Our Daddy is the bravest daddy in the world and we will always love him wherever we go ...
I wish that when my brothers and I grow up, we are just like OUR DADDY Xxxx

By Bethie Molyneux Age 7 x

What it's like to live on nuclear submarine HMS Victorious

What it's like to live on nuclear submarine HMS Victorious

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news

As Royal Navy subs prepare to let women join crew, our reporter takes her maiden voyage

Up periscope: Our Allison tries out a nuclear submarine

The sailor stands in front of me... looking his new shipmate up and down.

Then, pointing at my handbag, he says: “Ma’am, I’m afraid I need you to give me your perfume please. And your deodorant. And your mobile phone. Thank you.”

Bag emptied, he glances at my shoulder-length locks and adds: “And your hair really needs to be tied back.”

It sounds like a robbery at sea. In fact I’ve just ­become the first ­woman to receive orders aboard a ­nuclear ­submarine.

Three months ago Defence Secretary Philip Hammond ­announced the lifting of the ban on females serving on subs.

And the first woman captain will take ­command of a Royal Navy frigate in just eight weeks.

The Sunday Mirror was given exclusive access to a submarine to see what lies in store for the new wave of ­female recruits.

I join the 160-strong male crew on HMS Victorious, one of four Royal Navy subs that carry Britain’s nuclear deterrent, Trident ballistic missiles.

She spends three months at a time sneaking around the ocean at walking pace, her exact position known to only a ­handful of ­people. If another ­vessel comes near, she is undetectable and slinks off into the abyss.

Within minutes of boarding, I am left in no doubt of the life-or-death nature of the crew’s job.

After being led to the control room, senior members of the sub’s crew point me towards a safe.

Inside it is another safe. And ­inside that it is a handwritten letter from David Cameron to the boat’s captain, Commander John Livesey.

It can only be opened if the PM dies in a nuclear attack and contains his orders for what to do next. No one knows what they are...

Hardly surprising, then, that safety is an obsession. And I soon learn why I was “stripped” of all my girlie ­essentials.

Sailors cannot use aerosols ­because they release chemicals that cannot be removed by its air-­conditioning unit. Lashings of perfume and aerosol deodorants would contaminate the atmosphere, which is constantly monitored.

My phone is locked away because if there was a gas leak, a spark from a mobile could light it.

My hairstyle comes under ­scrutiny when I learn how to put on a huge rubber oxygen mask and plug it into the sub’s ­emergency air supply.

The sailors were concerned the hair might slow down putting on a mask in an emergency, so I must tie it back.

There’s no make-up or nail varnish either. You’re there to fight for your country, not fiddle with eyeliner.

HMS Victorious is a ­claustrophobic warren of corridors, messes and cabins, with steep ladders ­linking the decks. It’s a war machine, not a cruise liner, so nothing is signposted.

Messes are far too small for ­everyone to sit down at the same time, so sailors grab their meals then move on. It’s no surprise not everyone on board knows each other.

“You see someone towards the end of a patrol and think, ‘who on Earth are you?’” says Able Seaman John “Neep” Edward, 33.

“You can start a ­conversation with a friend at the ­beginning of a patrol, not see them for five or six weeks, then pick it up again where you left off.”

The only ­contact the crew have with  the ­outside world is in the form of two 60-word “family gram” ­messages a week from home. They cannot reply as a transmission could reveal the sub’s position.

“You have to treat a family gram like a postcard. It’s more to help morale. It’s to know life’s still going on,” says Petty ­Officer Michael “Knocka” White, 41.

No one is told if a loved one dies until HMS Victorious returns to port. She ­cannot surface to let them leave for fear of being detected. “It’s a 24/7 commitment,” says Lieutenant David Boulton, 28. “You just have to get on with it.”

In the sleeping messes, dozens of bunks are stacked three high, with an aisle just wide enough to walk down. Drawing the narrow bed’s curtain is the only privacy the junior ranks get.

A 15-bed ­female mess with two toilets and a shower will be built in HMS ­Victorious by 2015, when ­women will make up about 10 per cent of the crew.

As the only woman on board I get a spare ­officer’s ­cabin with two bunks, a sink and a desk the size of a ­laptop.

The ­conditions are so cramped I have to do a three-point turn to get from the sink to the ­doorway.

During my three days on board with no sunlight I soon slip into this top- secret world. There is no TV and both alcohol and cigar­ettes are banned, as is ­touching a member of the opposite sex.

Lying in my bunk at night I ­constantly hear people quietly ­moving and working around me.

There is the distant laughter of the night watch, early morning ­intercom broadcasts as the boat surfaces and a clatter from the ­galley as chefs bake the day’s bread.

To keep up with demand for clean uniforms, two washing machines churn non-stop, getting through 160kg of Navy-issue washing ­powder per patrol.

Crew often pack their own floral conditioning tabs “to make ­everything smell a bit ­sweeter” – a bit optimistic given the vessel’s stench of machinery.

To purify sea water for drinking it is heated into steam by the ­nuclear reactor which powers the sub, then cooled, with the salt ­removed.

A submarine the size of HMS Victorious can make up to 10,000 gallons of water a day. Dirty water is stored in bilge tanks which are regularly emptied.

But on one of my days on board, the water purifying process has to be halted. All I get to sort out my armpits is a small basin of water... a shame given that my smellies are still under lock and key.

But in the end it isn’t missing home comforts that gets to me. It’s all those steps. To reach the hatches to get outside you have to climb ­terrifying-looking cold metal ladders.

And using them requires the use of shoulder and leg muscles no exercise class has ever reached.

Luckily I’d been warned to bring big sturdy boots with rubber soles.

They come in handy to meet the men with one of the most important jobs on the submarine... the watch keepers, who stand on the bridge when the submarine is on the surface.

To reach them I climb a long slog of three ladders. My ­reward at the top is an icy blast of wind and a 360-degree view of the sea with white-topped waves and small ­Scottish islands in the distance.

“If it’s really bad and waves are crashing over the top of the conning tower, we have to be harnessed in or we could be swept away,” says watch navigator Lieutenant ­Anthony “Ginge” ­Drummond, 28.

Nearly everyone works defence watches of six hours on, six hours off, seven days a week without breaks.

Sitting with the crew, I ­immediately feel part of the team. Before ­boarding I’d read comments suggesting ­women might not be ­welcome.

“Hope they don’t ask them to reverse   a ­sub,” said one blogger.

“Not sure how they will   cope ­without a Tesco at the ­bottom of sea,”   ­another wrote.

But the men on HMS Victorious are all relaxed about the arrival of women.

What matters to people like Chief Petty Officer Robert “Rab” Burns, 46, is that the job gets done... safely. “I don’t have a problem with women starting, they’re entitled to do the job,” he says. “They’ll be just as good – and just as bad – as us.”

Commander Livesey, 40, points out that women already serve in US, Norwegian, Danish and ­Spanish boats: “I think it will only be an issue if we make it one.”

Any concerns that these guys might not quite be telling the truth is dispelled as I leave the boat.

As I scramble up the ladder my leg gets caught and I fall flat on my face at the feet of the commander.

But my Bridget Jones moment isn’t met with laughs or mickey-taking. Instead he simply puts his head to one side, smiles politely and ­salutes me on my way...

“Safe onward journey, Ali.”

6 comments

HMS Splendid (1999)

uss virginia

Virginia was delivered to the Navy on 12 October 2004, the 104th anniversary of the commissioning of Holland, the Navy's second submarine. She was commissioned on 23 October 2004 under the command of David J. Kern. This class of submarine is unique in that it features a Photonics Mast Program (PMP) that freed ship designers to place the boats's control room in a lower, less geometrically-constrained space than would be required by a standard, optical tube periscope. It is additionally unique in the U.S. Navy for featuring all-digital ship and ballast control systems that are manned by relatively senior watchstanders and a pressure chamber to deploy SEAL divers while being submerged.

Partnership pays off for submarine upgrades

HMS Trenchant (stock image)

[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 1993]

Two of the Royal Navy's Trafalgar Class submarines are reaping the benefits of major upgrades to their combat systems following their latest maintenance periods.

HMS Trenchant undergoing maintenance at Devonport Naval Base

[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2011]

The Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) Submarine Combat Systems Group have joined contractors Babcock in successfully delivering major packages of work during the Revalidation and Assisted Maintenance Periods (RAMPs) for HMS Trenchant and HMS Talent, the last of which completed last month. The result is a significant uplift in the operational capabilities of both submarines.

The size of the combat system work packages for each RAMP was a step up from those undertaken previously which meant that the Combat Systems Group, Babcock and the Project Contract Manager Team at Devonport needed to work even more closely together and carefully review all processes to get the job done in time.

The nature and complexity of the system upgrades meant that some new equipment was immature when accepted into the package, while still having to achieve the qualifications required to be fitted on a submarine. Guidance information needed to be fully developed, and contractual and financial elements finalised.

Interdependencies between each of the individual upgrades meant all the individual parts of the work had to be delivered for the whole to be achieved.

HMS Talent re-emerges after maintenance by Babcock at Devonport Naval Base

[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2011]

Failure by an individual project to deliver was not an option. To delay the upgrades until the next appropriate fit opportunity would deny the Royal Navy's fleet a capability advantage.

This approach was met with scepticism by some who did not fully understand how quickly combat system equipment has to evolve to stay current in the face of new technology and obsolescence. The front line demands the very latest capability it can get.

Along with the normal maintenance and defect rectification that takes place during a RAMP, 14 interdependent combat system alterations and additions were completed on Trenchant, and 14 on Talent, together with a sizeable package of work on legacy combat system equipment.

The volume of work required a large number of independent project teams at Abbey Wood to deliver their element of the project on time.

Sound co-ordination and proficient programme management by the Submarine Combat Systems Group was vital in ensuring they delivered on their promises and therefore built on the confidence and rapport that developed as the projects evolved.

Project staff admitted that things did not always run smoothly. But thanks to the pragmatic and flexible approach of Babcock and the project managers, and with a high level of trust being built between them, problems were overcome.

The expertise and unique capability of Babcock in delivering submarine support and offering solutions to emergent problems without doubt ensured that success was achieved in partnership with the DE&S Submarine Combat Systems Group.Submarine Combat Systems Group team leader, Captain Pat O'Neill, said:

"While I was always confident in the delivery of these extensive work packages, others were less certain of the outcome. I am therefore very pleased that through excellent teamworking and professionalism the MOD and industry team has succeeded.

"It is vitally important that with fewer submarines than we once had, but with many operational commitments still to be met, we are able to deliver combat system updates at any scale within the normal maintenance cycles, and we have demonstrated this on these platforms.

"They now sail with systems that deliver the latest capability requirements and at the same time embody new technology which will dramatically decrease future support costs and enhance system reliability."

This article is taken from the January 2012 edition of desider - the magazine for Defence Equipment and Support.