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HMS E17

You will have passed the bridge of this submarine on your way through the avenue of trees. E17 was one of the magnificent E-Class submarines which fought during WW1. She was caught and sunk off the Dutch coast, but many of her crew managed to escape drowning, although they were taken into prisoner-of-war camp. The submarine lay undisturbed for many years until she was discovered by divers, and with RNSM backing (she was not a war grave), her conning tower was recovered and placed in the museum. It now sits on a plinth as a memorial to the brave crews who lost their lives in the 53 Royal Navy submarines sunk during the Great War.

The O & P Class model

The large O Class model which sits on a stand surrounded by the badges of the submarines of the Porpoise and Oberon Class, is an example of a tank model developed by the Defence Research Agency at its Haslar site. This world renowned establishment has been responsible for research into achieving the most efficient hydro-dynamic shapes for Royal Navy submarines since WWII, and you will see many examples of their work around the Museum.

The Ps and Os were the first anti-submarine submarines to be built for the Royal Navy. Ordered in 1956, they had diesel-electric propulsion, had all their machinery acoustically mounted to make them quiet, had long-range, and were fitted with a good mix of sonar capability. In their time they were the best conventional submarines in the world. They were modernised over the years, and by the time that HMS Opossum paid off as the last of the class in 1995, they were fitted with towed array (very low frequency) sonar, and in addition to Tigerfish torpedoes, also carried the Royal Navy Sub-Harpoon anti-ship missile. They were terrific servants at a critical time during the Cold War.

LR3

This vessel is an early example of a Submarine Rescue Vessel.

There are two different philosophies of getting out of a distressed submarine (dissub) at work here, and the clue is that for every two foot increase in depth, pressure increases by 1lb per square foot. A pressure of 300 lbs per square inch (600 feet) has strange effects on the human body!

Escape from a sunken submarine is possible down to depths of 600 feet, and in recent history this has not only been the limit of man's physiological capability (air will not sustain life beyond this depth), but also that of a submarine's internal bulkhead strength against the pressure of the sea. As submarines have become stronger and deeper diving, it is now possible for a dissub to provide physical protection to the surviving members of its crew at depths deeper than from which they could escape. So they must be rescued if they are to survive.

The principle is that a rescue vessel attaches itself to the Escape hatch of the dissub, extracts the survivors from the escape compartment, and then ferries them to a mother submarine that has made its way to the scene of the disaster. This way they are never exposed to pressures that would kill them.

LR3's successor, LR5, is at constant alert at Glasgow Airport. It is operated by Cable and Wireless and Rumic Ltd on the Royal Navy's behalf. Deployable from a variety of ships, this craft can be carried to the scene of a disaster at short notice, and can take care of a number of survivors herself, particularly those who might be injured or in immediate need of assistance. More importantly she can deliver emergency stores that will help to sustain life within the stricken hull of (hopefully) a large number of men.

This 'first-aid' activity is undertaken prior to the arrival of the US Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel, which will be flown from the east coast of America to an appropriate airport and from there shipped to the port where the 'mother' submarine will be waiting. Once embarked, the mother submarine (usually a Strategic Ballistic missile firing submarine - SSBN) then sails to the scene.

Historically in peace-time most submarine accidents around the world occur on the Continental Shelf, which has a depth of about 600 feet, so submarine escape remains high on the training agenda. The principles of escape will be explained to you by your guide in HMS Alliance, and you will see an example of the RN's latest escape suit. The 100 feet deep Submarine Escape Training Tank, in which Allied and Royal Navy submarine crews practice escape techniques, dominates the skyline inside Fort Blockhouse.