8 NAVY NEWS, FEBRUARY 2011


Ambush is out in the open


NO sooner was she out than


she was in again. HMS Ambush, that is – out of the dock hall and then into the water.


The reluctant submarine, second of the cutting-edge Astute class,


failed to roll out of her


shed at the end of last year when the low-loader transport system refused to budge.


But the roll-out ceremony went ahead almost as planned, as can be seen from the pictures on this page.


Devonshire Dock Hall at BAE Submarine Solutions’


Large crowds gathered in the yard in


Barrow to welcome Ambush, the 24th nuclear boat to be built at the end of the Furness peninsula. Lady Soar, wife of Commander- in-Chief Fleet Admiral Sir Trevor Soar,


Many of the 2,000 or so who


watched her have worked on the boat over the past seven years, and will continue to do in the coming months, as well as on the remaining five of class. “The submarine looks impressive and powerful, however that sleek exterior hides an internal complexity of mind-boggling proportions,” John Hudson, BAE Submarine Solutions Managing Director,


reminded those


sheltering in the 270,000 sq ft dock hall from the cold December wind. Technically-advanced though


‘launched’ Ambush by releasing a bottle of champagne which duly shattered against the vessel’s flank.


she is, Ambush remained hostage to the more modest mechanics of the errant low-loader for a few days after the crowds dispersed, then inched out into the daylight for the first time. Christmas and the New Year came and went before the next stage was achieved, and Ambush is now in her natural environment.


Thanks to a giant synchro-lift the 7,400-tonne £1bn boat was lowered gently into the water in the early part of January, then moved into the adjacent dock where she will remain firmly secured while the next battery of tests is carried


out and further work done on her interior.


watch around the clock from now on, and it is hoped that the Mighty Bush, as she has been dubbed, will put to sea for the first time before this year is out. Meanwhile, construction on the


There is a ship’s company on


Strategic Defence and Security Review, will be named Ajax. More than 5,000 BAE personnel


are working on the hi-tech programme, with a further 1,200 firms across the UK providing specialist parts and equipment. And joy at her arrival on the


third vessel of the class – Artful – is continuing, with the command deck in place and work on the hull almost completed. The fourth boat, Audacious, is also taking shape after the keel was laid almost two years ago. The ground work for boat five (Agamemnon) has started and materials for boat six (Anson), including her reactor core, have been ordered. The seventh of the class, which was confirmed in last year’s


● Crowds gather in the Devonshire Dock Hall to see the launch of HMS Ambush (above), among whom were members of her new ship’s company (right)


Pictures: LA(Phot) Stu Hill


● (Left) Ambush sits high and dry on the low-loader which delayed her emergence from the dock hall


DE&S Photographic Manager


HMS TURBULENT has stormed through a rapid-fire Basic Operational Sea Training (BOST), claiming a coveted ‘Very Satisfactory’ into the bargain. CO Cdr Ryan Ramsey set a 27-day deadline, which meant running some serials


High-speed Turbulent Triumphant progress


simultaneously rather than in sequence, putting extra pressure on the crew.


They rose to the challenge, winning words of praise from the Flag Officer Sea Training staff, which described them as a “well- led and highly-motivated team”.


YOU might think that the life of a submariner could be a tad dull. Day after day on patrol below


the waves, the hours marked by the hands of a clock rather than the rising and setting of the sun (though there has not been much sun above the waves over the past few weeks either, admittedly). But the deeps of HMS Triumph might challenge that assumption – variety was very much the order of the day for them. Last autumn saw the boat acting as a training platform for the latest Perisher course – otherwise known as the Submarine Command Course.


The students led Triumph through a series of demanding exercises, intensive


beginning with an ‘eyes only’ phase,


in


which numerous surface ships or skimmers harass the boat at speed, with the students using only the periscope to keep Triumph safe. The pressure is racked up


over the remainder of the course, but Lt Cdrs Jeff Filmore, Dave Filtness and Dan Martyn, along with Lt Cdr Dan Reiss of the US Navy, demonstrated the skills necessary to undertake that most demanding of jobs – commander of a nuclear submarine. A weekend of training with land


forces, delivered by helicopter, was completed before the submarine left the environs of Faslane for open waters off the Scottish coast and Exercise Joint Warrior. This saw Triumph integrated


● Troops leap from a Chinook straight into a Scottish loch during exercises with HMS Triumph Mark Anderson.


into task group operations and compete in tactical exercises against two other highly-capable submarines,


conventional submarine HNoMS Ula and Triumph’s sister boat HMS Turbulent. The culmination of Perisher is the final inshore weekend where the boat steams south from the Hebrides back home to Faslane. Opposition is provided by


several Type 23 frigates and assorted aircraft, and the pressure is racked up as the students are watched closely by VIPs such as Commander-in-Chief Fleet Admiral Sir Trevor Soar and Rear Admiral Submarines Rear Admiral


the Norwegian


Of the final inshore weekend, Admiral Soar said: “I was impressed with all I saw during the final stages of Perisher, both capability and people.” He added: “HMS Triumph’s


support to the Submarine Command Course has been first class and I look forward to visiting the submarine again when possible.”


With the newly-qualified captains delivered back to Faslane, Triumph made a surface transit to Den Helder in Holland for a rare foreign run ashore – the first the submarine has had in over six years.


Picture: Andrew Linnett,


scene was not confined to Barrow. An MOD spokesman said: “Clyde Naval Base, the home of


the UK Submarine Service, will see all the Astute-class vessels berthed alongside along with the remaining Trafalgar-class submarines and the Royal Navy’s Sandown-class mine hunters. “It is always an exciting time when a new vessel is launched, and those working at Faslane are looking forward to welcoming Ambush to her new home.”


Fixtures were arranged against


local rugby and football teams, and a tour organised of the Amsterdam Arena stadium, home of the mighty Ajax football team, while some of the senior rates obtained tickets for an AZ match – the Eredivisie (Dutch premiership) club’s stadium was within a two- minute walk of the sailors’ hotel in Alkmaar.


Visit Liaison Officer Lt Nick Stone said: “The lads did an excellent job behaving themselves and making the most of every opportunity to have a good time. “There really was something


for everyone and we were hosted impeccably by the Dutch Navy.”


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