I am actually in this video. I was the signalman on the bridge when she came alongside. I know because I was the only rating on the bridge and I'm the one with the white wooly-pully on. It was a happy time and my fourth patrol with Repulse (port)
Much respect to you Brit's. Any time I see a serviceman in uniform or a veteran wearing unit patches or campaign ribbons on his jacket I always stop and thank them for their service. I offer my sincerest thanks to all you military personnel from the United Kingdom. I have huge respect for anyone who is willing to risk his/her life for their country. I enlisted in the US Navy back in the 80's. Made it halfway through boot camp and was told I have asthma and was sent home. I tried. Thanks again to all of you that keep all of us safe.
My late father took command of S19 (HMS Opossum) in 1965, one of the last Oberon's built during the Cold War. Nuclear submarines were just coming in at the end of his time in the service. In 1975, I was invited to spend the day on exercise with HMS Onslaught another O-boat, an unforgettable and exciting experience, standing on the bridge platform of the conning tower or (fin) as we made our way out of Portsmouth Harbour into the Solent. After reaching the deeper water just off the Isle of White near to St Catherine's Point, orders were given to dive to periscope depth and then conduct a series of practice torpedo runs. After spending a wonderful day on board with the crew of Onslaught, it gave me a real insight and profound respect for all submariners regardless of rank. Highly professional skilled men and now (women) who put their lives in danger every time they go to sea.
My first boat and crew, Mike Hawk presented me with my Dolphins on passing my part three qualification. As a Medical Assistant my boss was Richard Garth, lots of good memories of Repulse (Port) and even remember some of the lads names !
Never seen this video before. My brother was on HMS Renown. He's buried at Faslane Cemetery, died 31/12/1985. My own personal opinion but a submariner's life is a shit one. You sacrifice so much, as Raymond did, and you get little in return. My best to all submariners....you'll never be properly recognised.
I was twice drafted to Faslane in the early mid 70,s,the first time I was in the Education Dept.which was interesting,we made up courses for the crew on the Bombers,music etc.The second time I was Maint.Group in the Coppersmith Dept.again,was very interesting as I managed to get to do a couple of jobs on the Resolution.Long time ago now,but great times.
David, I have only just seen this. I served with your brother and attended his funeral. He was a lovely young man with a great sense of humour. He was also a talented artist and drew a slightly irreverent cartoon of me which I have hung in my office to this day. I hope it gives you some comfort after all this time to know he is fondly remembered.
@@Lionheart-ht9xu Wow, thanks for replying. Yes, it's been 35 years since Raymond's passing, and we still miss him dearly. The fact that you remember him will be comforting both to myself and my siblings. I joined MOD as a research scientist for a while after leaving university. And whilst most of my work was on a Type-23 frigate I did have the opportunity of spending some time on a SSN. Never thumped my head so much in my life. I'm about the same size as Raymond's pal Billy Goodall (I think I got his name right). Anyway, I certainly take pride in the job he did, and all the rest of the boat's crew. My best to you.
My brother is also buried at Faslane Cemetery, he died 27 January 1970 after a tragic road accident whilst serving on HMS Repulse. I'm told submariners who were lost on HMS K13 back in 1917 are also buried there.
@@lynnreed5298 hi Lynn, that's true about K13. My condolences to you about your brother. I was up at the cemetery just a few weeks ago to visit my brother's grave. They may be both gone... but hopefully never forgotten 😞
Worked on all four of the R class subs when they were in refit ( Rosyth) back in the 80's. The crews undertook fire sentry duty for us during hot work activities. Great bunch of lads.
I served with the Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service in Chatham Dockyard for a few years .......... but after the Dockyard closed down I worked 98 hrs a week 364 and Only had Christmas day off you little girls have it easy realy I am a hard working man please interview me
Being Scottish i've heard many a Piper, that one at the beginning of the vid must be the worst i've heard ! sounds like he's just been kicked out the pub.
My dad was in the Royal Navy for 21 years, he was an LSBA, but also ships photographer and a drummer in the bands onboard or at shore installations and before he died he watched this with me and nearly threw his coffee at the TV lol, told me if he had played that in front of any of the ships company he would have been chucked overboard, always got a laugh out of dads critiques when he saw or heard shite military music or shite playing of that music.
As a Submariner who served on conventional boats in the late 1960's we went on patrol for 6 to 17 weeks and existed quite happily without Family Grams.
Bloke I once knew at work who was ex-navy and who was a bit of a comedian, it seems, told me he was once fined £100 (or something like that - it was a very long time ago), for being late reporting and said to the captain, "Will you take a cheque sir?" Dim views taken all round.
Thank you for sharing. I love watching all these videos from the 80s. I grew up next to a torpedo testing range in Scotland and didn't think twice about seeing submarines steaming along on the surface. HMS Astute grounded herself next to my village a few years ago....felt sorry for the commander and am sure a swift bollocking was dispensed when he was debriefed!
I hadn't long left ASTUTE when that happened and I was in Afghanistan when I got a shake to be told that ASTUTE had sank the next 6 hours or so were awful until I got the proper dit and caught it on the news!
It's interesting to realise that everyone involved in this programme must have expected this to be broadcast once on television, not be available forever to anyone around the world on a future computer network. That lad who missed the boat will have his discomfort displayed over and over. Mind you, he will be getting everyone's sympathy over and over, too. Lots of people will be able to see their dad as a young man and on duty in a submarine, which is pretty cool.
Excellent documentary. There are two others on YT about the Perisher course- one filmed in the 80s and the other in 2011..both good in their own ways and highlighting the rigours and training
my video copy of this program was sadly destroyed,so very glad to find it on you tube.i had a small part where i appeared on screen.was great to see some old mates from way back then .
mario m sorry mario but the sacrifice you speak of is only the fact that they are underwater, it is not as though they are deprived of anything other than sunlight and fresh air, and are/were amply rewarded with 20% extra pay. I spent far longer than these men did away from my family without contact with them. If you had said proud of all of our armed forces I would not have had anything to say. As for some of the. Wives bemoaning there lot in life is fair enough but the way they portray it it sounds like they are the only ones with problems. As for the captains wife I will only say,if it is so terrible sending your children to boarding school,simple solution,don’t send them, I don’t suppose the boarding school allowance bothered you to much. “Famlygrams” wow,luxury,though I thought they didn’t get outside news from families. I am so glad that this period in the history is over and a very new modern military are not as soft.
Years ago, when I was in the UP of Michigan, the son of a friend was in submarines - I do not know if nuclear or standard. I did visit U505 at the Museum of Science and Industry- the museum has changed the way people view that sub, for the better in my opinion- if you are in Chicago, I recommend you see that exhibit.
It's fun to see how seemingly lax and unfettered these Royal Navy commanding officers are compared to US Navy ones who tend to be extremely terse and rough cut. I doubt you'd see an American submarine commander sit and fish from the stern of his boat or bring teddy bears aboard.
It seems strange seeing the Repulse leaving faslane. I served at this base when all the base consisted of H.M.S.Maidstone as a submarine maintainance ship and a floating dock. This was when the only nuclear sub was brand new, i worked on a boat kitted out for diving and as this sub was far too big for any floating dock we did the work from underneath, the very first job was to change the prop. I recall that it was a very damp cold place and did not get much of a summer we ran our boat and did the work and as there were a number of P class submarines also stationed there including two unusual subs Exccaliba and Explorer as well. We had a very easy life when most ofbthe subs were at sea, but also travelled to other places in Scotland where subs had run into problems and needed work. To me it was the most unusual time in my service life, but regretable was the cause of a health problem that now gives me areal hard time, but you dont think of these things when your young, and clearly the department of defence are never going to admit they knew at the time. I understand that it is now a really big place effectively a proper base with all the needs of subs taken care of there, i wasvthere in the nineteen sixties and its now 2020, and i wonder if Hollylock is still used by America?
My old boat patrols were hard going at times but the sod's opera cheered everyone up. If you have served on a boat during the cold war like I did you should read "The Silent Deep" by Peter Hennessey and James Jinks. You thought life on board was safe?? What the Navy and politician's never told us!
I am an ex-matelo R.A.N. 12 years service. Crikey, if you are going to mope about home/WAGs etc,all the time that you are at sea(or under it), why did you bloody well join up !! The potential submariners undergo careful evaluation for suitability of prolonged periods in isolation under the waves....seems a few slip through the net. Otherwise, a good video showing a glimpse of conditions for the Dolphins. Cheers, Peter. ex-CPO ERA
Grumblegrams. My Dad, who worked at Mount Pleasant sorting office, was always forgetting to post mine. Never a problem for me, but I used to see some of the lads get worried if theirs didn't turn up. Also, why no shots of Uckers being played, with the shouts of "You ludo playing bastard" to accompany them? Reso (stbd).
Lol, well said. I delight in using free speech to point to a generalised if not truthful reality, which can be smothered by gagging. Btw are you wearing a muzzle these con vid days (wink)
I remember the Nav Centre members (I was a WEM(R) then LWEM(R) WEMs, one fwd MEM, two dabbers, one RO. chefs tho couldn't tell ya. I can see their faces though
This is a bit of a mess, done for t.v purposes so if you're interested .... each boat had two crews (Port/Starboard ) when it came back from patrol the new crew would take the vessel to Coulport (around the corner from Faslane) to have the Polaris missiles removed. Then it would head for Rosyth for a full service/refit as needed which could take up to two years. Of course, a lot has changed since then and at the moment Repulse and her sisters are sitting in either Devonport or Rosyth waiting to be scrapped.
I wonder how much the officers were briefed on all the close calls in the state of the nuclear alert status of the US and USSR during 1983. During this cruse the Stanislav Pterov crisis will happen, as will KAL-007.
tomas luque: Your impression would be wrong. The British Resolution class subs were 425' long by 33' in diameter. It's American contemporary, the American Ohio class were 560' long by 42' in diameter however, no one has ever accused any submarine of being 'roomy'.
I would hate to serve in a submarine I don't suffer from claustrophobia but I think if I was in a submarine I would. This submarine is a great deal better than the 1950s submarine you can go aboard at the Gosport Submarine Museum. At least the bunks have a little space over the whole width. A couple of the bunks at Gosport are up against the inner curve of the hull and you couldn't even roll over in them.
I was GS, but now work with boats and one of the blokes said that the smell of opening the hatch after patrol can actually be horrible. As GS we do months and months away at a time, so much longer than Submariners generally, but a week on a 'BN must be like a year on a Surface ship. I chose not to and thank god I wasn't drafted like some I know where.
That waß good watching soapy. I felt for RO Lucas, it must have been tough for him. Im an ex skimmer and not sure how I'd have felt being drafted to subs
...and their wifes have related sticks with batteries in them, to avoid the risk of unautorised blokes entering their strongboxes. These are both nice anachronisms, to show how far we've been coming till now, that we are still some sort of apes, of cave dwellers. Some apes beeing the cattle of Wall Street banksters and socalled 'philanthropists', some beeing the City of London's and a weird German families livestock and some belong to Putin and his oligarchs (which is the same as the western philanthropists). But the cattle is not interested in social or mental evolution. They are measuring the length of their sticks. Sticks, which belong to their patoralists. Poor buggers with too less money, too less private space and no chance of getting free at all. Even prisoners have more dignity, space and better food than those sailors.
@@TheRealist2022 It might be a wee bit blowy but November is a great month on the coast. It's still beautiful. I take your point though if your on guard lol.
I have to say the Navy's version of CO's Orders is much more civilised than the Army version LoL !£35 for an hour AWOL ? I do hope she was worth it Jack :)
Wow, tail section reminiscent of x15 scram jet, not surprisingly though as that plane was designed for vacuum Dynamics but just the water Dynamic curves that entire sub is based on a whale shape conforms to space flight travel and water being similar
The submarine commander fishing at 21:11 Surely this would not be allowed for fear of tangling line on any rotating machinery or other equipment. For example, offshore oil workers are not allowed to fish from the oil rig
I found parts of the information given in the strategic objectives of these patrols a bit contradictory or not as confidential as made out. I am sure it was intentionally all smoke and mirrors ! We were informed that she ‘disappears into the oceans of the world’ but then again ‘she moves at walking pace so as to avoid detection through noise’. On that basis, in eight weeks, she is not going to get that far from the shores of Scotland bearing in mind she has to come back as well !!
Career option for Upper Classes. Smart ones become lawyers, dodgy ones work in the city, thick ones go to the military, useless ones join the clergy or become MPs
