HILLSTATION 1

Mujahideen weapons training

2011-03-22T17:14:00.000-07:00

Mujahideen weapons training: the arms profession is a dangerous profession! I kid thee not!

"Spassiba!"

2011-03-22T16:42:00.000-07:00

Russian word "Spassiba!" in English is "Thank you!", in French "S...pas si bas !" is translated more or less as "Hey, not so low!"

UK defence capability is seriously in trouble

2011-03-06T18:25:00.000-08:00

Will the UK be able to even defend its borders when it comes to the crunch? Troop size being cut down to a staggering number, defence equipment are equally being cut down to size as well, defence procurements shelved...

What UK Defence Secretary Liam Fox predicted in July last year is now becoming true

From The Daily Telegraph:. UK MoD to downsize armed forces -- 11,000 troops (the size of the entire UK contingent in Afganhistan) to be sacked within months

British Army today: 100,290 Tomorrow? 95,290 -- Royal Navy today: 35,650 Tomorrow? 32,350 Royal Air Force today 39,750 Tomorrow? 37,050

There is every chance the UK navy might not be able to deploy in case of full-scale conflict between the two Koreas

One solution? France and UK joining nuclear submarine forces is the right way to go

Cross posted from Hillblogger3

Best wishes for the New Year!

2011-01-03T18:09:00.000-08:00

Photo by Hillstation1

Tank Crossing in the snow

2010-12-15T16:04:00.000-08:00

Pics of Tank Crossing int the Salisbury Plain Military Lands, England early December 2010... The UK was experiencing its first taste of winter, snow, fog, etc., but it didn't stop us driving from the Capital of Europe to Somerset where the weather was unbelievably spring-like!

Crossposted from hillblogger3
Photos by Hillstation1

SI VIS PACEM PARA BELLUM -- USS GEORGE WASHINGTON OFF KOREA PENINSULA COAST

2010-11-26T03:26:00.000-08:00

America deploys USS GEORGE WASHINGTON! Today, no better dogma illustrates America's determination to maintain peace in the Korea Peninsula region...

Photo (above) credit: MaritimeQuest.Com

Photos by hillblogger3

Naval mercenaries

2010-09-27T17:46:00.000-07:00

An international private navy (naval mercenaries by another name)? What next? An international private army? And before you know it, there will be regional wars pitting private armed forces...

A Somali, part armed militia, part pirate, carries his high-caliber weapon on a beach in the central Somali town of Hobyo GETTY

From The Independent: Insurance firms plan private navy to take on Somali pirates

Patrol boats crewed by armed guards to protect valuable ships in Gulf of Aden

Insurers have drawn up plans for the world’s first private navy to try to turn the tide against Somali pirates who continue to plague the global shipping industry by hijacking vessels for ransoms of more than £100m a year, The Independent has learnt.

The new navy, which has the agreement in principle of several shipping groups and is being considered by the British Government, is the latest attempt to counter the increasingly sophisticated and aggressive piracy gangs who operate up to 1,200 miles from their bases in the Horn of Africa and are about to launch a new wave of seaborne attacks following the monsoon season.
A multi-national naval force, including an EU fleet currently commanded by a British officer, has dramatically reduced the number of assaults in the Gulf of Aden in recent months. But seizures continue with 16 ships and 354 sailors currently being held hostage. The Independent has seen Nato documents which show both ransom payments and the period that pirates are holding vessels have doubled in the last 12 months to an average $4m and 117 days respectively.

In response, a leading London insurer is pushing ahead with radical proposals to create a private fleet of about 20 patrol boats crewed by armed guards to bolster the international military presence off the Somali coast. They would act as escorts and fast-response vessels for shipping passing through the Suez Canal and the Indian Ocean.
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT), which insures 14 per cent of the world’s commercial shipping fleet, said the unprecedented “private navy” would work under the direct control of the military with clear rules of engagement valid under international law. Early discussions have also been held with the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Transport and the Foreign Office.
The revelation comes as a coalition of shipping organisations and seafarers’ unions today call for governments to dedicate greater resources towards tackling piracy off Somalia.
Sean Woollerson, a senior partner with JLT, told The Independent: “We are looking at setting up a private navy to escort vessels through the danger zones. We would have armed personnel with fast boats escorting ships and make it very clear to any Somali vessels in the vicinity that they are entering a protected area.
“At the moment there is a disconnect between the private security sector and the international naval force. We think we can help remedy that and place this force under the control of the multi-national force. We look after about 5,000 ships and have had 10 vessels taken in total, including a seizure where one crew member was shot and killed. Piracy is a serious problem, these are criminals basically extorting funds, so why not do something more proactive?”
The force, which would have set-up costs of around £10m, would be funded by insurers and shipping companies in return for a reduction on the anti-piracy insurance premiums, which average around £50,000 per voyage and can reach £300,000 for a super-tanker. The maritime insurance industry, much of it based in London, has borne the brunt of the financial cost of the piracy problem, paying out $300m (£191m) in ransoms and associated costs in the last two years alone.

More here.

France and UK joining nuclear submarine forces is the right way to go

2010-03-19T07:05:00.000-07:00

France offers to join forces with UK's nuclear submarine fleet (The Guardian)
Officials from both countries have discussed how a deterrence-sharing scheme might work but Britain has so far opposed the idea on the grounds that such pooling of sovereignty would be politically unacceptable.

In a speech this morning in London, Gordon Brown said he had agreed to further nuclear co-operation with France last week after talks with Nicolas Sarkozy. The prime minister did not comment explicitly about submarines, saying only that the UK and France would both retain "our independent nuclear deterrent".

Britain and France each maintain "continuous at-sea deterrence", which involves running at least one nuclear-armed submarine submerged and undetected at any given time. It is a hugely expensive undertaking, and its usefulness in a post-cold war world has long been questioned by disarmament campaigners. To read more, here

Firstly, it is becoming more and more apparent that we need cooperation to be able to afford defence capabilities. Weapon systems are becoming more and more expensive and the nuclear deterrent is a good example. One can see the time when these systems will be unaffordable for countries with a population of only 60 million or 70 million. It will be the China, USA-sized countries that will have the wealth to own these systems. For the UK and France it will become cooperate and coordinate or lose the capability.

Secondly, the UK currently has a choice of two realistic partners. France is the European nation that has a similar vision to their role in the world and the need for a global defence reach. Other European countries essentially consider defence as a home defence problem – even Germany falls into this category. The USA could be the other partner of choice, but has different priorities and needs, especially the need to manage the Pacific front; although this might sound a naval problem it is actually more concerned with China, Japan and Korea and is essentially a land issue. For me the only sensible choice is France where the UK could be seen as equal partners – with the USA for a partner, the UK would clearly be at a secondary level.

The potential to combine programmes with France is enormous: The deterrent, Naval air assets (including the carrier), Minewarfare (we share the Channel), Surveillance (radar and optronic industries are already deeply interwoven), C2 (Command and Control (already interoperable through NATO). Perhaps the biggest blocks are the next generation aircraft: JSF versus Rafale and I wonder why the UK wants to spend so much on an aircraft for which there is no actual threat.

Our reliance on the USA is also well based due to shared intelligence assets – both ground based listening and space based surveillance. In fact, this is a real weakness for the UK as we have no assets of our own and rely 100% on the USA (and I wonder whether Tony Blair might have made a different decision over Iraq if he had had his own intelligence sources).

As another aside it is notable that Germany had to rely on the USA for intelligence in the Balkan conflict of the 1990s and immediately launched their own space based intelligence programme – SAR LUPE.

The debate is well underway and here I have mentioned only a few of points – there are many more. Interestingly, France has realised this problem for some time. The UK is still trying to come to terms with the idea. A couple of years ago France requested the UK to participate; today they are rather more intransigent as they see that the UK will have to cooperate or lose capability. Frankly the UK is in danger of missing the boat.

France and UK joining nuclear submarine forces is the right way to go.

Revisiting my Alma Mater: Brittania Royal Naval College

2010-03-11T08:04:00.000-08:00

Re-visiting Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, England during a college reunion...

Pictures by Hilstation 1

A better picture of the College here.

US Navy to allow women sailors to serve on subs

2010-02-24T02:13:00.000-08:00

Seems US submarines will be in for a great overhaul, particulary on the privy front. Women sailors are expected to join sub crews as early as next year.

From The Navy Times

MCSN Joshua Martin / Navy Female Naval Academy and NROTC midshipmen have spent time aboard submarines, getting a taste of undersea life. Women commissioned after graduation in 2010 could be among the first assigned to subs.

Pentagon announces end of ban on women on subs
By Philip Ewing - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Feb 23, 2010 19:14:07 EST

The Pentagon on Monday notified Congress that women will be able to join submarine crews within 30 legislative working days, making good on the wishes of top Navy commanders announced last fall.
As required by law, Defense Secretary Robert Gates sent a letter to legislative leaders announcing the Navy’s plan to lift its ban on female submariners, giving the House and Senate time to absorb the decision and, if members want, to take action. Congress can pass a law forbidding integration, requiring the Navy to wait or perform a study. If it does nothing, as expected, the ban will expire around the end of April.
Technically, the Defense Department needs to give Congress time to absorb the policy change before it can spend money to accommodate women, Gates wrote, according to a copy of his letter obtained by Navy Times.
“The Department of the Navy recently concluded a further review of this matter and has determined it is ready to implement policy changes to support a phased approach to the assignment of women to submarines. No funds to reconfigure submarines to accommodate female crew members will be expended until the Department of the Navy provides its plan to the Department of Defense and Congress. The Department of the Navy stands ready to present the phased approach plan to Congress.”
1st women
According to the Navy’s initial plans last year, the first women on submarines will likely be nuclear-qualified supply and surface lieutenants already in the fleet, who will join the crews of Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines by late 2011.

Related news: • Female sailors could join sub crews by 2011
Source link: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/02/navy_women_subs_022310w/

Reminds me of the time [1996] when a friend of mine who was flag officer in command of a navy in the Far East had the task of modernising the country's navy that included deploying women sailors to serve and fight alongside their male colleagues. Until then, women working in the navy held staff position on land but the nation's laws called for reorganising and modernising the navy by including women sailors onboard, i.e., to do naval combat duties.

Well, he didn't quite like the idea of refurbishing his ships to include women WCs (that was his initial reaction.) But the law compelled him to do something. He simplified the re-organising by setting up an all-female ship crew, under a female officer but limited them to working under support and logistics command.

When I asked him, why so? Why not allow women to serve on ship alongside their male colleagues. Either that or let the all-female ship fight alongside the all-male ships? He sheepishly said, "They want to deploy? Well, I'm deploying them. They have their ship now, they should be happy!" Actually, he told me later on that that he wanted to limit the risk of promiscuity. His ships after all weren't aircraft carriers.

I wasn't actually gobsmacked. My friend was one of those old school navy men who was educated in the US navy when navy men deployed to fight and women remained behind on dry land. But in the end it worked. well Twelve years on, and still doing support and logistics tasks, the all female crew ship has consistently boasted of possessing great navy work record and often better than their all-male counterpart doing the same job.

Subs are quite a different "kettle of fish." Inevitably, to limit potential "promiscuity" problems, eg., "hot bunking," bathrooms, etc., female and male quarters need to be built. The US Navy has a lot of money and can do required refurbishments on subs to accomodate women sailors. Except that subs are much constrained by space -- does that mean that US Navy will now design new subs to suit this new requirement?

From hereon, be prepared to hear the following order: ALL MANICURED HANDS MAN YOUR BATTLE STATIONS!

Crossposted in hillblogger3.

Northrop Grumman delivers New Mexico

2010-02-20T16:23:00.000-08:00

Came across this submarine news which I'm cross-posting from an unusual source: ALGERIE DEFENSE

Northrop Grumman Delivers New Mexico Submarine Ahead of Schedule in Record Time

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., Dec. 29, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) delivered the sixth submarine of the Virginia class, New Mexico (SSN 779), to the U.S. Navy today, four months ahead of schedule. New Mexico’s 70-month construction period represents the shortest overall construction time of any Virginia-class submarine.
« New Mexico’s delivery is a reflection of the commitment, dedication and hard work of the shipbuilders at Newport News, our Electric Boat partners and the Navy, » said Becky Stewart, vice president for Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding’s submarine program. « We delivered her in record time, using one million fewer man-hours than her predecessor USS North Carolina (SSN 777). Our shipbuilders are focused on meeting safety, quality, cost and schedule commitments. The progress we’ve made in the Virginia-class submarine program demonstrates their personal ownership in building the finest submarines in the world. »
The keel for New Mexico was authenticated April 12, 2008, and the ship was christened on Dec. 13, 2008. New Mexico, named for « The Land of Enchantment, » is the most modern and sophisticated attack submarine in the world, providing undersea supremacy well into the 21st century.
Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding is teamed with General Dynamics Electric Boat to build the first 18 ships of the Virginia class. Current plans call for 30 Virginia-class submarines in the fleet. Using millions of parts from over 4,000 suppliers in 47 states and the District of Columbia, Virginia-class submarines incorporate dozens of new technologies and innovations and are the first major combatants designed with the post-Cold War security environment in mind.
For more information about the New Mexico, please visit http://www.sb.northropgrumman.com/vcs/.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide.

CONTACT: Jennifer Dellapenta
Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding
(757) 380-3558
Jennifer.Dellapenta@ngc.com

A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://media.globenewswire.com/noc/mediagallery.html?pkgid=6948

To view video of commissioning of USS NEW MEXICO, click here.

May Day! May Day! What are you zinking...?

2010-02-13T05:11:00.000-08:00

Leonardo Da Vinci, William Bourne and Cornelius Van Drebbel

2010-02-11T17:56:00.000-08:00

Some good read...

A very European venture: Invention of the submarine

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) made sketches of a submarine and William Bourne, a British mathematician, drew plans for a submarine in 1578. But it was only in 1620 that Cornelius van Drebbel, a Dutch inventor, managed to build a submarine. He wrapped a wooden rowboat tightly in waterproofed leather and had air tubes with floats to the surface to provide oxygen. Of course, there were no engines yet, so the oars went through the hull at leather gaskets. He took the first trip with 12 oarsmen in the Thames River – staying submerged for 3 hours.

About Leonardo da Vinci:

Hydraulics

da Vinci's extensive work in the study of hydraulics was focused on the canals of the Arno and Lombardy regions. It is suggested that he probably invented the hydrometer, a device widely used to measure the gravity or density of a liquid.

How New Jersey Saved Civilization: the first modern submarine

By Vicki Hyman/The Star-Ledger

February 08, 2010, 12:48AM
The long journey in the development of the submarine, from Leonardo da Vinci’s 16th-century sketches to the first modern vessel commissioned by the U.S. Navy 300 years later, is checkered with international intrigue, spectacular failures and mishaps that would be laughable had they not on occasion been fatal.

The first rudimentary submarine — a wooden rowboat wrapped in waterproof leather with air tubes leading to the surface — managed to stay submerged in the River Thames for three hours in 1620.

During the Revolutionary War, an American built a one-man model called the Turtle, which was to attach charges of gunpowder to the hulls of British ships. On its maiden voyage, it was towed out to sea, but the tide swept it past the warship.

History of the British Nuclear Arsenal

2010-01-04T17:35:00.000-08:00

Britain's Nuclear Weapons

History of the British Nuclear Arsenal

[...]
Polaris Warhead

There is some confusion about whether there were really two Polaris warheads (that is, "physics packages") or only one. The initial deployment of the three warhead A3T Polaris SLBM was accompanied by the production and deployment of a British-produced warhead, apparently a version of the American W-58 200 kt warhead deployed on the U.S. Polaris A3. Later an update of the Polaris missile force, known as the Chevaline program, was carried out with the modified missiles being re-designated the A3TK. This update included a new bus (upper stage), new RVs, and a sophisticated penetration aid (decoy) package. It is not completely clear whether the existing Polaris warheads were simply repackaged, or whether a completely new model was introduced. Due to Britain's limited weapons development and production capacity it seems likely that the warheads used to equip Chevaline, were based on the preexisting Polaris warheads.

Immediately after the 10 June 1963 decision by the British Admiralty to acquire the next-generation A3T Polaris SLBM (in preference to the A2 version then deployed by the U.S., Aldermaston began full-scale developmental work on the Polaris warhead. The design is said to be completed in the spring of 1966, with production beginning in 1966 or 1967. The "developmental" and "design" work associated with this warhead presumably involved adapting the already proof-tested American W-58 warhead to manufacture in a British plant. The warheads were deployed in Mk-2 RVs purchased from the U.S.

352x261, 20 K

HMS Resolution

The Polaris A3 was the first multiple warhead missile, equipped with three MRVs (multiple re-entry vehicles). The MRVs were dispersed around a central aiming point, they were not independently targeted. Four Polaris subs of the Resolution class were deployed, each with 16 missiles. It is believed that only 144 warheads (plus possibly some spares) were manufactured, enough to equip three subs at a time. The fourth boat was in port for maintenance and refitting at any given time.

Two mid-life update programs were instituted for the Polaris missile.

[...]

More here:

SEA YOUR HISTORY

Polaris firing

Resolution was also the first British submarine to fire a Polaris missile. This took place during a trial off Cape Kennedy in Florida on 15th February 1968. Chief Executive Hugh Mackenzie noted when the Polaris project launched that the first missile from a British submarine would fire at 11.15 Eastern Standard Time on 15th February 1968. Resolution was indeed ready by that date to fire the missile at the US Air Force Eastern Test Range. She only failed to meet the designated firing time by 15 milliseconds.

Missile compartment onboard HMS Resolution (RNSM)

Polaris patrol

The submarine's first Polaris patrol commenced in June 1968.

On going out on a patrol, a hunter/killer submarine or helicopter initially escorted the submarine in case she was being trailed by Soviet submarines. Once Resolution reached the open sea, she dived and headed for a secret patrol location known only by a handful of senior officers and the Prime Minister. The submarine could receive signals broadcast from its base in ultra low frequency waves using an aerial towed behind the boat.

Control room of HMS Resolution, 1976 (RNSM)

Resolution was fitted with a PWR1 nuclear reactor, which enabled the submarine to achieve a speed of 25 knots while submerged. However, since stealth was Resolution's prime consideration whilst on patrol, she was more likely to travel quietly at just a few knots as this created less disturbance below the waves.

Sources:

History of the British Nuclear Arsenal

Britain's Nuclear Weapons

Old picture records HMS Resolution

2010-01-04T17:14:00.000-08:00

U.K. RESOLUTION Class Submarine - Polaris - The British Strategic Systems Programs

POLARIS

United States (U.S.) assistance and support to the United Kingdom’s (U.K.) strategic systems programs are covered by the POLARIS Sales Agreement, which was a direct result of the now-historic meeting at Nassau in December 1962 between President Kennedy and Prime Minister MacMillan. SSP has additional responsibilities related to the British Strategic Systems Programs.

Under the terms of the Sales Agreement, the U.S. sold POLARIS missiles (less warheads) to the U.K. In addition to the missiles, the subsystems that make up the weapon system were also sold. The British built their own nuclearpowered submarines to house the weapon system and provided their own warheads.

HMS RESOLUTION (Pingbosun: Nuclear Submarisnes of Today)

22nd May 1970: Crewmen at the controls of the HMS Resolution, a British nuclear submarine. (Photo by Wood/Express/Getty Images)

22nd May 1970: Members of the crew on the nuclear submarine HMS Resolution, looking at pictures of nude women whilst relaxing on their bunkbeds. (Photo by Express/Express/Getty Images)

23rd May 1970: Six Sea Cadets stand atop the Polaris submarine HMS Resolution while it docks in Portsmouth harbour. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

http://www.shima.demon.co.uk/rboat.htm

Malaysia Royal Navy gets delivery Scorpene class sub

2009-10-23T16:24:00.000-07:00

Submarines purchased through direct negotiations to protect defence system

Husna Yusup and Meena L Ramadas

Malaysia began negotiating for the acquisition of 2 submarines from Armaris of France and Navantia of Spain in 1998 and signed the 1.084 billion euro deal in June 2002. The deal provoked controversy when people who were involved in the deal filed a lawsuit against a friend of PM Najib Tun Razak, who was defence chief at the time had been designated as the main negotiating agent for the deal. The purchase was made without going through a tender.

The first submarine KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, a Scorpène class, docked at Port Klang on Sept 3 2009. The Malaysian Royal Navy announced that it may acquire more submarines in the future.

Nuclear submarine collission: Vanguard and Le Triomphant

2009-10-05T17:30:00.000-07:00

(Collision between a French submarine and a British submarine)

"They drive on the left side even down here?!"

Britain and France say two of their nuclear-armed submarines, HMS Vanguard (first photo) and Le Triomphant (second photo), collided while submerged in the Atlantic earlier this month. BBC News examines how and why this happened, the BBC reported.

What happened?
The head of the UK's Royal Navy, Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, said HMS Vanguard and the French submarine, Le Triomphant, collided at slow speed while on separate routine patrols in the Atlantic Ocean.
Both submarines were badly damaged and had to return to port for repairs: HMS Vanguard (first photo) with what are described as visible dents and scrapes, Le Triomphant (second photo) with a damaged sonar dome.
[..] Factfile: How submarines use sonar [...]
A blog post on the collission here.

First SSBN HMS Resolution 1967

2009-10-05T17:25:00.000-07:00

First SSBN HMS Resolution arrives in Faslane 1967
Sourced from Royal Navy - MoD.UK

Polaris fired from HMS Revenge

2009-10-05T17:22:00.000-07:00

A UGM-27 Polaris submarine-launched ballistic missile is launched from the British submarine HMS R evenge (S27).

The British Strategic Systems Programs here

Sourced from US Navy website

Nuclear submarines

2009-10-05T16:56:00.000-07:00

Vanguard
From The Times:

Faslane on the Clyde is to become the dedicated home for the UK's entire nuclear-powered submarine fleet in a shake-up of Royal Navy resources that will also bring the next generation of frigates to Portsmouth instead of Devonport.

All of Britain's nuclear-powered submarine force will relocate to the base north of Glasgow over the next few years in a move that guarantees the future of the 6,000-strong workforce at Faslane. It is hoped it will also mean jobs for hundreds more maintenance and support staff. Faslane already plays host to four Vanguard-class Trident nuclear-armed submarines.

Astute
From The Daily Telegraph:

"The Astute class submarines are the next-generation nuclear fleet submarines of the Royal Navy. When completed, the boats will set a new standard for the Royal Navy in terms of weapons load, improved communications facilities, stealth and comfort for the crew."

Trident

According to MoD:

The white paper said that designing and building four new submarines would cost between £11bn and £14bn. This is set against the estimated £70bn or more defence officials say the proposed replacement of the existing Trident system, including new missiles and warheads, would cost over its 30-year lifetime.

Astute design is similiar to the Trafalgar Batch 1 (HMS Triumph) shown. (From Naval Technology)

HMS RESOLUTION

2009-06-17T18:18:00.000-07:00

NOTE: I found the following material from MHSm RESOLUTION Association website and well remember many of the pictures appearing in the publicity material we used to hold onboard HMS RESOLUTION.

About HMS Resolution
HMS Resolution (S22) was the first of the Royal Navy's Resolution-class ballistic missile submarines. Ordered in May 1963, she was built by Vickers Armstrong at a cost of £40.2m. To read more, click here.

FACTS and FIGURES
Displacement: surfaced 7,500 tons; submerged 8,400 tons. Length:425 ft (130 m) Beam:33 ft (10 m) Draught:30 ft 1 in (9.2 m) Propulsion:1 × Vickers/Rolls-Royce PWR.1 pressurised-water nuclear reactor, 27,500 shp (20,500 kW); Propeller. Speed:surface - 20 kn (37 km/h); submerged - 25 kn (46 km/h) Range:Unlimited except by food supplies Complement:143 (two crews)
Polaris Submarines
The mid 1950s development of the submarine launched Polaris ballistic missile by Lockheed and the US Navy led, eventually, to the signing of the Polaris Sales Agreement between Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and President John F Kennedy.

Resolution
It was decided that the United Kingdom would have four Polaris submarines to carry the latest A-3 missiles; that the submarines would be British designed and built; that the whole weapon systems and equipment, except warheads, would be purchased from the United States; and that the warheads would be British. The Government directive was explicit; the four SSBNs (Ship Submersible Ballistic Nuclear) were to be deployed at the earliest possible date and the programme executed within the allotted budget. 'A challenge had been issued and a challenge was going to be met'. To read more click here.
Barrow's second Polaris Sub - Repulse
The planning and design effort which went into the Polaris submarine programme was colossal 500 000 man-hours of planning, preparation of more than 10 000 carefully detailed drawings all to be translated into the physical business of construction. To read more, click here.
A Resolution unit under construction in the Assembly Shed

Resolution launch

The autumn of 1967 was an important one in the history of Vickers. Resolution, having successfully completed her Contractors' Sea Trials, was accepted into the Fleet on 2nd October.
To provide an operational submarine of completely new design, with a complete weapon system from the United States and with adequate support facilities, within 4½ years of ordering the vessel, was a truly remarkable performance. 'Vickers' workforce had met their challenge!' To read more, click here.

The firing of HMS Resolution's second Polaris A-3 on April 3rd 1968

VIGILANCE MAINTAINED
Being the United Kingdom's contribution to NATOs strategic nuclear deterrent, at least one Polaris submarine was constantly on patrol, sailing submerged 'one knows not where', but always carrying her deadly 'cargo' of two-stage ballistic missiles. To read more, click here.

To read complete article, click on link http://www.hmsresolution.org.uk/about/about.htm

To read about Barrow-in-Furness Submarine Association, click here.

ROYAL NAVY SUBMARINES

2009-06-16T17:39:00.000-07:00

The Royal Navy's submarine force can strike against ships and submarines as well as providing support for land operations. Unseen and unheard submarines can pinpoint targets up to 1,000 miles away. They are the UK's strategic nuclear deterrent.

	1901	Holland one, the Royal Navy’s first submarine, fitted with a single torpedo tube, was born at Vickers, Sons & Maxim Ltd. (now BAE Systems Marine, Barrow) amidst great controversy in an era when the submarine was regarded as the weapon of the weaker power. ‘Submarining was no occupation for a gentleman’.
	1902-08	Submarines quickly became established in the fleet but were still regarded with some disdain despite the fact that they had sounded the death-knell for the mighty DREADNOUGHTS. Even so they still remained relatively primitive craft with three white mice warning of dangerous petrol exhaust gases.
	1908-14	Diesel engines made them safer and longer ranged. Boats became bigger and more powerfully armed. Although viewed primarily as defensive platforms, forward thinkers such as Lord Fisher pushed for the ‘overseas’ and ‘fleet escort’ submarine
	1914-18	The Royal Navy entered WWI with 100 submarines. Many famous exploits completed (five Victoria Crosses won) and a number of future admirals made their mark (eg Max Horton). Losses (54 boats) were relatively severe
	1918	A time of experimentation which saw submarines being driven at high speed by steam propulsion; one being fitted with a 12 inch gun; and another carried its own aircraft. Many of these submarines were lost in peacetime accidents. Thus the first stab at the ‘fleet escort’ missed its mark
	1918-39	A period of consolidation. Overseas squadrons were established which maintained British presence around the globe. A significant number of new classes of submarine were built to fulfil the task.
	1939-45	The Royal Navy entered W.W.II with 100 submarines. Many campaigns fought and won but at tremendous cost and sacrifice. Chances of not returning from patrol during 1943/44 were 65%. Nine Victoria Crosses were won. Once again many post war admirals emerged from the ranks of the survivors
	1945-58	Start of the Cold War. Ageing submarines held the line, but it was recognised, not least by Earl Mountbatten, that nuclear power held the key to counter the growing, eventually huge, Soviet submarine threat.
	1958	HMS DREADNOUGHT was built in Barrow by Vickers. She established a line of outstanding SSNs (nuclear powered fleet submarines) which were to play a pivotal role during the cold war. Their contribution, in partnership with their USN colleagues, was to confront the potential enemy wherever he went.
	1968	HMS RESOLUTION conducted the first of 229 unbroken Polaris deterrent patrols. This was a brilliant achievement and vital to the national interest at a time of great global uncertainty.
	1982	RN submarines, most notably HMS CONQUEROR, played a vital part during the Falklands conflict. The Commander in Chief was Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fieldhouse (the most senior submariner in history), and the task group was commanded by another submariner, Admiral Sir Sandy Woodward
	1991	The cold war, fought to a great degree beneath the waves, was won.
	1995	Strategic nuclear deterrent patrols continue with the first Vanguard Class patrols, equipped with ‘Trident’ ballistic missiles.
	2001+	2001 marked the laying down of Astute - the first of a new generation of attack submarines that will never require refuelling at any time throughout their 25 year service history. The proud and powerful descendants of the tiny Holland One, equipped with ‘Trident’ ballistic missiles, Tomahawk land attack missiles, Sub-Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and GEC-Marconi Spearfish torpedoes maintain the vigil for peace............

A TRIBUTE TO THE PAST

The Royal Navy Submarine Museum looks after the heritage of a remarkable service whose reluctant conception and fragile birth into the Royal Navy in 1901 established the fighting service that today operates the most powerful ships in the Fleet and maintains the strategic and sub-strategic National Deterrent.

How we are regarded:

"The crews of all submarines captured should be treated as pirates and hanged".

The words of Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson VC, the Controller of the Navy, reveal why the Jolly Roger is the emblem of the Royal Navy Submarine Service. The Museum celebrates those pioneers who daily risked their lives to prove the submarine a viable and successful craft. By the end of World War 1 the submarine had truly come of age. Five of the Service’s fourteen Victoria Crosses had been won, the first by Lieutenant Norman Holbrook, Commanding Officer of HMS B11.

Rudyard Kipling recognised the extraordinary social change that the submarine had brought about in the Royal Navy when he wrote ....the submarine has created its own type of officer and man - with language and tradition apart from the rest of the Service, and yet at heart unchangingly of the Service.

By the end of World War Two the Submarine Service had added a further nine Victoria Crosses and numerous battle honours to an ever growing list. Winston Churchill recognised the courage and sacrifice of the men of the Submarine Service when he said Great deeds are done in the air and on the land, nevertheless there is no part to be compared to your exploits.

Since the end of the Second World War the Royal Navy Submarine Service has assumed the role of Peacekeeper. Its Attack and Deterrent submarines played a vital role during the Cold War and the contribution these vessels have made were to be summed up by the Daily Telegraph in 1967 HMS Resolution, in making the first dive of her patrol into the waters of a troubled world, will be taking out on behalf of the nation the best insurance policy it has ever had.

Sourced from http://www.solarnavigator.net/royal_navy_submarines.htm

Welcome to Hillstation 1

2008-07-07T08:34:00.000-07:00

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HMAS Apocalypse: Deep in the Atlantic, a submarine waits on alert with nuclear missiles that would end the world...

From The Daily Mail

In chilling and compelling detail, Peter Hennessy and Richard Knight reveal for the first time the nation's last line of defence

Last updated at 8:51 AM on 30th November 2008

Deep beneath the surface of the Atlantic, HMS Vanguard — one of four identical Royal Navy submarines carrying Trident nuclear missiles — is on patrol.
Moving at a fast-walking pace, she is out there right now; undetectable, untouchable and armed with more explosive power than was unleashed by all sides in the duration of World War II.
On board the Vanguard there is a safe attached to the floor of the control room. Inside that, there is an inner safe. And inside that sits a letter. It is addressed to the submarine commander and it is from the Prime Minister.
In that letter, Gordon Brown conveys the most awesome decision of his political career. He made it alone, in the first days of his premiership, and none of us is ever likely to know what he decided.

HMS Vanguard, pictured sailing from HMNB Clyde, holds missiles that could end the world

It is the Prime Minister’s answer to a grim but essential question: in the event of a nuclear attack in which Britain is largely destroyed and he is killed before he has time to react, should Britain fire back?
The moment they discover true power
Writing that letter is a profound experience for any prime minister. It is, perhaps, the moment they discover what power really means. Lord Guthrie, former Chief of the Defence Staff, recalls briefing the newly-elected Tony Blair on Britain’s nuclear capability when he first entered Downing Street in 1997.
‘I think quite honestly, like most prime ministers, he hadn’t given a huge amount of thought to what this really meant. And it is actually an awesome responsibility. It really comes home to you that he could, if the circumstances demanded it, create devastation on a huge scale.’
How did Blair react? ‘Well,’ says Guthrie, ‘he went quite quiet.’
Guthrie’s comments were recorded as part of a forthcoming BBC Radio 4 documentary, The Human Button, for which we spent a month researching Britain’s
nuclear chain of command in unprecedented detail.
We talked to the men (so far, they have always been men) who operate the system. And we were given greater access to Britain’s nuclear weapons infrastructure than ever before.
We did not set out to debate the pros and cons of a nuclear capability. Our questions were more basic. How does the system actually work? Is it fail-safe? And how does it feel to be a part of the ‘human button’ — a flesh and blood component in a well-drilled machine which, if deployed, would bring about the end of the world?

Gordon Brown has written a 'last resort' letter containing instructions in the event of nuclear attack

Our journey took us to highly secret — and at times, startlingly bleak — corners of the British state. Ultimately, it took us to the weapon itself: HMS Vanguard.
Vanguard was the first of Britain’s four nuclear-armed submarines to slide silently into
the Faslane naval base on the east coast of Scotland when the Trident programme came into commission 14 years ago.
We can’t say where she is right now, because we don’t know. Even the Navy does not know precisely. Nor do most of her 160 or so crew.
Once the boat has left base, it is up to the captain alone to decide where to patrol within the vast sector of the ocean to which he has been assigned.
But before Vanguard sailed on her present patrol, we went aboard her. Nothing prepares you for your first encounter with a ballistic submarine. It’s not so much her size — though she’s big, 150metres long — which takes your breath away. It’s the overwhelming menace which drips from her glistening grey casement.
Violent, yet beautiful
She is the most violent thing man has ever created. Yet she’s beautiful, too; a piece of perfect engineering.
Vanguard is not quite what you expect inside, either. The labyrinth of corridors, walkways, steps and hatches are reminiscent of the old diesel boats.
But though she’s brutally functional, she manages somehow to maintain a surprising air of Royal Navy elegance. The wardroom, which serves as the officers’ mess, is all wood-panelling and fine china. The men are polite, welcoming and quietly proud of their boat.
Commander Richard Lindsey, HMS Vanguard’s captain, is proud of his men, too. This is his first patrol as captain and his enthusiasm for the task, after 20 years in the submarine service, is clearly infectious. He strides about the boat nodding and smiling at his ship’s company.
But don’t let his easy-going demeanour fool you. Commander Lindsey means business. He knows what his job is: to be Britain’s very last line of defence. And he has no doubt what he would do if he had to go into those safes to retrieve the Prime Minister’s letter.
‘In those circumstances we just go straight into our standard training profile: we will have had access through the outer safe, and I would then go into the inner safe open the letter and carry out those instruction as per that letter.’ Without question? ‘Without question.’

Captain of Polaris submarine HMS Resolution, Commander Paul Branscombe, showing a periscope to then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher

Possibly the last act of the British state
Lindsey allowed us to witness and record every part of a firing exercise. It was, to him and his men, a routine process: they practise firing missiles so often the entire operation becomes almost second nature. But to us it was a gripping spectacle: a mix of technical formality and dark suspense. This would be, were it to happen for real, possibly the last act of the British state.
It begins in the wireless room with the urgent clatter of a printer: it is the order to fire coming in from a bunker at Northwood, deep under the Chilterns, from where the Prime Minister’s instruction would be communicated to the submarine on patrol — presuming, in this instance, that the PM was still alive to issue his command directly.
The wireless operator rips the print-out from the machine and together with his crew-mate (two men are needed to authenticate the process at every stage from the PM onwards) he passes the coded message to the executive officer (XO). He hurries through the narrow corridors, holding the message up high where it can be seen by another officer whose duty it is to follow him all the way to the control room to make sure he has no opportunity to swap the printout for another he might have manufactured himself.
In the control room the executive officer and captain open the safes together. They each have a part of the combination. We were not permitted to see inside the safes.
There, joined by the weapons engineering officer (or ‘WEO’), they decode the message using cryptographic codes that are stored alongside the Prime Minister’s Last Resort Letter.
The point where doubts may creep in
This is the first point in the process, one imagines, when — were it for real — doubts might begin to creep into the corners of the minds of the men involved. The most senior officers are alone. It falls to them, and only to them, to move to the next step.
Very few men in the history of the world have held such responsibility. Richard Lindsey, however, does not believe he or his men would be there if they weren’t prepared to go through with it.
‘I’m sure that if somebody was onboard who did not want to be here they would have followed a process of leaving the submarine service or finding something else to do in the Navy,’ he says. Any doubts about the patrol, he explains, are more likely to focus on being away from home for three months at a time, unable to communicate with anyone outside the submarine.
‘Out of the entire Armed Forces, there are only ever approximately 160 people who are allowed no communication at all with their families,’ explains Commander Lindsey.
They are the men on board whichever submarine is currently at sea. For the duration of its long patrol, HMS Vanguard will transmit no communication of any kind. To do so would be to give away its position.
In the control room the firing process is gathering momentum. Each of the three senior officer concurs that the message they have received from Northwood matches precisely the codes kept in their safes.
‘XO’, barks the executive officer, ‘my half authenticates, sir.’ ‘WEO’, shouts the weapons engineering officer, ‘my half authenticates, sir.’
Commander Lindsey looks from one to the other. ‘The message authenticates correctly. XO, bring the submarine to action stations.’
The executive officer stands behind one of his men and says, quietly: ‘Ship control. Pipe the submarine to action stations.’ The crewman triggers a loud klaxon.
‘Action stations!’ he shouts into the microphone, broadcasting the command to the entire ship’s company. ‘Missile for strategic launch!’
‘Very good,’ the executive officer nods, ‘full rise on the fore-planes, two up, stop engine.’

A Polaris missile breaks through the surface of the water from HMS Resolution, in a test fire

Though the men we met were, beyond doubt, committed to the principle of nuclear deterrence and prepared, if called upon, to deploy their 16 Trident missiles (each one of which can carry multiple warheads), there have been officers in the Royal Navy who doubted their own resolve.
Toby Elliott commanded the Polaris submarine HMS Resolution during the Cold War. In the refined setting of the Army & Navy Club on London’s Pall Mall he later told us about those who had dared to express their concerns.
‘I knew several of my colleagues who went through the commanding officers’ course and who were then selected to command Polaris submarines who said they couldn’t do it,’ Elliott explains.
‘They were very brave to do so. In [some] cases they lost their sea-going appointment and effectively ended their Naval careers.’
Was that because there weren’t other boats for them to command? ‘No,’ says Elliott, ‘it was because they turned down the opportunity, or the invitation, to command a Polaris submarine because they had doubts about their ability to carry out the ultimate act.’
There can be no weak link
We should not be surprised to hear that dissent from the doctrine of nuclear deterrence is punished. To function, the system demands that there can be no weak link. Britain’s potential enemies must know that we could and would retaliate. It is a grand game of chicken in which our players cannot concede, ever, that they might blink first.
Whether Britain really would retaliate is impossible to know. The decision is, in the end, made by one person: the Prime Minister. Or, if he is dead, his personally appointed alternate decision-taker (usually someone high up in the Cabinet). If he or she is also dead, it falls to the submarine commander to follow the orders of the Last Resort Letter — which might, in fact, ask him to use his own judgment.
So at what stage does the submarine commander decide it is time to open that letter? How on earth does he know if the PM has been killed and the normal chain of command obliterated? For obvious reasons, no one we spoke to would elaborate on the precise protocols. Suffice it to say that there is a complicated series of checks that the submarine commander must perform to establish the true situation — one of which, curiously, is to determine whether Radio 4 is still broadcasting.
For some, that ultimate responsibility is a terrible burden. Lord Healey, Defence Secretary in the Sixties, was Harold Wilson’s alternate decision-taker. His World War III task would have been to stand beside the head of RAF Bomber Command in a bunker at High Wycombe which served as Britain’s nuclear command centre in the days when the weapons were carried by RAF bombers.
If Wilson and Downing Street had been destroyed by a bolt-from-the-blue, Healey would have had to take the retaliation decision.
What would he have done?

Lord Healey: 'I would not have retaliated'

Sitting in his sun-filled conservatory, overlooking the South Downs, he was clear: he would not have retaliated. ‘I would have said that there is no reason for doing something like that. Because most of the people you kill would be innocent civilians.’
It as an extraordinary admission, not least because in those days, of course, the threat of all-out nuclear war felt far more real.
Today, it is a more remote possibility. But it is still a possibility. Two years ago, Tony Blair took the decision to press ahead with a replacement programme for Trident, at a cost of between £15billion and £20billion, when the current submarines go out of commission in 2024. Which means that for the foreseeable future, someone, one day, might yet have to make that ultimate decision to retaliate.
Were the order to fire to be given from a still-functioning government, it would come to CTF 345, a bunker known as ‘The Hole’ at the Northwood facility in Middlesex. There, inside a perimeter of intense security, a small group of Naval officers sit waiting for that unlikely communication. We went to CTF 345, the first journalists ever to visit, to meet those men. They are, like their colleagues in Vanguard, quietly efficient, businesslike and matter-of-fact.
They explained that the heavily encrypted message arrives on a computer from wherever the Prime Minister had issued it — which would most probably be the Government Emergency Room in a bunker deep beneath the MoD in Whitehall. The officers then collect codes from two safes attached to the far wall of the ops room. Those safes are monitored constantly, via CCTV, by Royal Marines.
If anyone approaches them who is not properly authorised to do so, the Marines will storm the room with weapons ready.
The officers of CTF 345 showed us how they would, in pairs, authenticate the message and, finally, put it on to the transmission system for communication to the submarine on patrol, together with the encrypted coordinates of the designated target.
Three minutes to fire
The whole process takes minutes. In other words, in less time than it will take for you to read this article, the ultimate weapon of war — wherever it is — can be brought to action stations and authorised to fire.
In HMS Vanguard the exercise is reaching its climax. The executive officer brings the submarine to its ‘hover’ position, closer to the surface but still submerged, which is the position for launch. The captain takes his place in the control room and the weapons engineering officer goes to the missile centre.
‘WEO in the missile control centre, clocks!’ he shouts.
‘Check.’
‘Stand by RT.’
‘Check.’
‘Target package has been shifted, we’re on the active target package, gained access to the safes, missiles spinning up.’
‘Roger,’ says the WEO, ‘I have the system.’
The weapons engineering officer then takes the trigger that will fire the missiles from a small safe above his console. It’s the handle of a Colt 45 pistol (the Trident system is an American design) with a wire running from its butt. His men are studying screens and complex controls. The mood is one of intense concentration.
‘Command WEO weapons system in Condition One SQ for strategic launch.’
The captain’s voice comes over the loudspeaker. ‘The WEO has my permission to fire.’
‘Supervisor WEO, initiate fire one.’
And then the weapons engineering officer squeezes the trigger to the most devastating weapon ever devised. It clicks softly.
‘One away,’ he says — and with that the missile would be gone. It cannot be destroyed inflight. It will travel too far, too fast for there to be any hope of interception. Once you hear that click, as one senior submariner told us, ‘you’re no more than 30 minutes from the end of the world’.
■ The Human Button will be broadcast on Tuesday at 8pm on BBC Radio 4, and repeated on Sunday, December 7 at 5pm.

Sourced from The Daily Mail

More on SSN Astute Class Attack Submarine, United Kingdom

Nuclear power for the Astute will be provided by the Rolls-Royce PWR 2 pressurised water reactor.

The Astute Class submarines will be based at Faslane in Scotland.

BAE Systems is building three Astute Class nuclear-powered attack submarines for the UK Royal Navy.

"It is planned that the three submarines will enter service in 2009, 2010 and 2011."

Sourced from Naval Technology.Com