[OCB]

I know we are little airplane folks on here, but some have connections with submarines (some more than others, obviously)

I used to enjoy watching them come & go when I lived in Greenock, & thankfully never ran into any whilst scuba diving in the lochs a bit further north!

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c938gwvxg2no

Can’t believe they’re retired already…

[eltonioni]

They were ruddy good, so good they could get where water can't.

It was the last remaining of seven Trafalgar Class attack submarines deployed in operations around the world including Australia, Afghanistan and Libya.

(Nice article, it does make us think what we have to be grateful for)

[chevvron]

Sshh don't tell the PM; he'll want to know how much money he can get for it.

[T6Harvard]

Whenever I see photos of submariners atop their vessel I wonder for their safety, half expecting a sudden dive

[Loco parentis]

I know we are little airplane folks on here, but some have connections with submarines (some more than others, obviously)

I used to enjoy watching them come & go when I lived in Greenock, & thankfully never ran into any whilst scuba diving in the lochs a bit further north!

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c938gwvxg2no

Can’t believe they’re retired already…

Combining both naval and aviation elements, "Spitfire" by author Jonathan Glancey, tells of the wartime shipment by Germany to Japan of a disassembled Me109 for examination by Nip engineers. The piece doesn't relate the nature of the desired outcome.

[Loco parentis]

Forgot to mention that the aircraft was packed in a U-boat.

[Mike Tango]

The Submarine Museum in Gosport is always worth a visit. A tour through HMS Alliance readily affirming for me that I could never have been a submariner. Respect!

[Bill McCarthy]

They’ve squeezed almost another 20 years out of her and double the life of her predecessors.
The Astute class are in the mire - too complex, unreliable, and nobody wants to serve in them anymore. Trafalgar was “store robbed” of materiel for the last of the “S” class, Splendid, - my last boat. She was constantly at sea doing dark ops and was laid up years ago. But for me, there was only one boat - HMS Dreadnought - hell, we went all over the world in her.
Foreign visits are a thing of the past.

[OCB]

This just popped up on my social media feed, the next Dreadnought reached a milestone.

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/update- ... ubmarines/

Comments in social media are that they’re a waste of money & useless in the modern threat environment. I don’t know enough about submarines tbh, but right now I’m glad us Brits & the French have abilities that we never fully “outsourced” to the Yanks (without getting political)

[Bill McCarthy]

Submariners are a very superstitious lot - it is very bad joss to name a boat whilst the previous one exists !
There is an American contingent standing by SSBN builds - I think the missile tubes and launch system are from the US. Test firings are conducted in the US.
Yes they are horrendously expensive to run and maintain - but,it’s the last line of defense we have.
The real problem is getting the crews to man them - sod going to sea for 6 months without a bit of daylight - it’s just too much.
Nevertheless, I hope I live long enough to witness the launch and commissioning !!

[OCB]

Bill,

The superstition thingymybob, that only counts if they’re both afloat (or whatever tf “not afloat” is for a sub), no?

Next gen dreadnought sub is due to be commissioned in early 2030s, so whazza problem?

I’m feeling utterly vindicated in my “Cold War
ATC brat” conviction that the UK was right not to give up its strategic nuclear fu ku
In a world of Churchills, there’s always gonna be a Trump….

[Bill McCarthy]

I’m on borrowed time and would be delighted if I could make the launch. Time will tell.
Old Dreadnought is still berthed alongside in Rosyth Dockyard.
There will not be a traditional launch - she will be taken out of the build shed, on rails, and lowered into the water on a synchrolift platform - the new one, that is.

[OCB]

@Bill McCarthy - even if you aren’t there, i will happily turn up & look at bagpipes via a very strong set of binoculars in your name.

You still need to write that book

[OCB]

This popped up on Twitter, Silver Jubilee Fleet review.

Apparently some Admiral said it looked good, but didn’t have enough ships - he’d be sorely disappointed these days then!

I wonder if @Bill McCarthy could confirm the photo was taken from a Canberra?

[eltonioni]

A submarine called HMS Catchalot? Really? That's fantastic.