THE COVENANTER
this was the first thing I saw on entering the much longer than the bunk which occupied
boat and only a few feet from the ladder I one side, the other side was taken up with
was a bit taken aback, even more so when he low cupboards the top of which formed a
asked me the name and address of my next bench seat and a nice wooden table took up
of kin (but not my own name) entered this the space in the middle. There was a small
in a ledger and took note of the time,date bookshelf, HiFi with earphones and some
and position of the boat when myself and photographs on the wall which made the
the other two sailors joined the boat. place a little less spartan but it was sobering
thought that this was the office and quarters
All this would be sent, immediately to the of the captain of a high tech (in those days)
Admiralty and I was now officially aboard attack submarine during its time on patrol.
the boat and subject to naval discipline The whole thing was probably about the
etc. He also made it clear that it was highly size of our COs bathroom.
unusual for me to be there at all. Then I was The Captain welcomed me aboard and
taken to the “fore-end” where I would bunk; told me a bit about the boat which was
along a narrow central passageway and an old wartime T class type but had been
through several hatchways which separated updated and modernised. He said we were
the boat into sealable compartments. Along at the moment sailing up the Minches and
the way I realised that nobody was actually would go round by Cape Wrath, on to the
wearing uniform. Shirts, rugby shirts, jeans, Shetlands for a short visit then proceed
old trousers even shorts was the preferred across the North Sea to Gothenburg in
style and footwear was mainly PT shoes just Sweden. I was to feel free to visit any part
like the army issue but navy coloured. of the boat and ask any questions I liked , the
The guys in the fore-end or more properly only exception being the electronics centre
the torpedo room made me very welcome which was on the other side of the control
and showed me the bunk I would use room opposite his cabin and just the same
which folded down from a framework on size. This housed the underwater warfare
which there were seven others and this sonars, radars, comms and stuff regarded as
was replicated on the other side of the highly secret.
compartment which meant sixteen men
slept in this space, no bigger than the MT I was being treated more like a visiting
office back at Winston Bks although half Member of Parliament with influence on
of them were always on watch and it never the defence budget than a buckshee soldier
really got crowded. along for a free ride.
The reason for the strange dress was soon
explained. Inside a sub is very warm and I did do a tour of the boat and saw
humid with an all pervading smell of diesel everything worth seeing. The noise in the
fuel which soon ruins clothing, therefore engine room was horrendous when the big
they wore any old clothes of no value diesel was pounding away but strangely
which could be thrown in the rubbish tip enough you didn’t really hear it in the rest
at the end of any voyage. They called this of the boat when the hatches were closed.
“steaming rig” Also, on the floor were little The engine room guys communicated with
wooden lockers about the size of a small each other by hand signal and lip reading
suitcase, one for each of the occupants, but the electric engine was practically
everything that the sailor owned had to fit silent and the batteries were about the size
inside so once washing and shaving kit and of small cars; weighed half a ton each and
shore going uniform was in there , that was it took five tons of distilled water to top
it. My big army suitcase was already creating them up. Once I saw all this and realised
a nuisance since there was nowhere to stack the amount of kit packed into the boat to
it out of the way. make it operate including the huge diesel
fuel tanks and suchlike I began to realise
Shortly after I was established in the fore- why space for the human crew was at such
end I was called to the Captains cabin on a premium and also noted that a spare body
the boats tannoy system. This was in the like me hanging around in some places only
control room just under and to the right of got in the way so after my tour I mostly just
the conning tower ladder and no more than stayed up in the fore-end.
ten feet from the periscopes. The CO of
this boat was certainly expected to be right In the front half of the boat where I was
on top of the action. Inside it was hardly there was only one washbasin with mirror
65
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