A filthy night tonight, with a southeasterly wind already gusting to force 6 and far worse to come in the early hours of tomorrow morning - not much fun for the men working on the Bontrup. Perhaps their Lordships at the Admiralty have despatched this sub, which went down the Sound just before 1900hrs, to provide a quick solution. It was impressive watching it power its way through the oncoming seas.
Tuesday 6 July 2010
Submarine in the Sound
A filthy night tonight, with a southeasterly wind already gusting to force 6 and far worse to come in the early hours of tomorrow morning - not much fun for the men working on the Bontrup. Perhaps their Lordships at the Admiralty have despatched this sub, which went down the Sound just before 1900hrs, to provide a quick solution. It was impressive watching it power its way through the oncoming seas.
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OMG, a rare sighting indeed. I think this is Her Majesty's Sumbarine Astute, a hunter/killer sub commissioned from Barrow shipyard and to be joined by Artful and Ambush in due course. She has a more sloped fin at the rear compared to the other "boats" in the fleet of the Swiftsure and Trafalgar class. Astute carries Glasgow designed periscopes which are the next generation in that they have IR and colour cameras routing pictures to TV screens rather than the normal twin handled viewing box so the Control Room, much loved by Hollywood for the "up periscope" scene, doesn't have to be under the fin and can be tucked away in a quieter part of the boat. She carries Spearfish torpedoes and TLAM missiles (Tomahawk) which have 1000 miles range. They are always accompanying our aircraft carriers and normally shadow the "bombers", the Vanguard class subs which carry the nuclear deterrent. Chris G
ReplyDeleteVery many thanks for the technical background you give to this site, Chris - much appreciated - please keep it coming. If you ever want to do a post, you know where to find me - or use kilchoandiary@btinternet.com
ReplyDeleteAnd it's always good to hear of something made in the UK which is 'next generation'.
Many thanks also to Pat MacPhail for spotting the submarine and letting me know.