A Virginia class nuclear submarine has visited HMNB Clyde at Faslane, near Glasgow.
The US Navy say that the port visits “strengthen cooperation between the United States and United Kingdom”, and “demonstrate US capability, flexibility, and continuing commitment to NATO allies.”
Our first US visitor of 2020.
Unfortunately arrived while still dark but a few record shots at least.#submarine #shipsinpics #submarines #scotland #USNavy #Shipping pic.twitter.com/iQRBepFulk
— Dougie Coull Photography ??????? ?? (@DougieCoullPics) January 10, 2020
The Virginia class is a class of nuclear-powered cruise missile carrying fast-attack submarines. Designed by the General Dynamics Electric Boat and the Huntington Ingalls Industries, the Virginia class submarines are the US Navy’s primary undersea warfare platform incorporating stealth, intelligence gathering and comprehensive weapons systems technology.
The submarine is now berthed at HMNB Clyde. The base is sited at Faslane in the west of Scotland not far from Glasgow, one of Britain’s largest cities.
It’s one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy, the others being HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth. It is best known as the home of Britain’s nuclear weapons, in the form of nuclear submarines armed with Trident missiles.
Faslane was first constructed and used as a base in World War II. During the 1960s, the British Government began negotiating the Polaris Sales Agreement with the United States regarding the purchase of a Polaris missile system to fire British-built nuclear weapons from five specially constructed submarines. In the end, only four were constructed; HMS Resolution, HMS Repulse, HMS Renown and HMS Revenge. These four submarines were permanently based at Faslane.
Faslane itself was chosen to host these vessels at the height of the Cold War because of its geographic position, which forms a bastion on the relatively secluded but deep and easily navigable Gare Loch and Firth of Clyde on the west coast of Scotland.
This position provides for rapid and stealthy access through the North Channel to the submarine patrolling areas in the North Atlantic.
Faslane is the second largest single-site employer in Scotland, after the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
‘Faslane itself was chosen to host these vessels at the height of the Cold War because of its geographic position, which forms a bastion on the relatively secluded but deep and easily navigable Gare Loch and Firth of Clyde on the west coast of Scotland’
I thought it was chosen because it’s not in England and is near Glasgow ?
More seriously I wonder who will refer to it as a WMD ? When Astute was rolled out the local news covered it and said it was a ‘wmd’ !
I thought Faslane was chosen as if their was an airburst over Faslane, the blast and shock wave would hit Glasgow in about 18 seconds, and therefore cleaning the place up and improving property prices!
It would only do £5 worth of damage. Fair doos, I’m only joking, you Scottish blokes. I was really referring to Wendsbury. But being serious for a minute, have the SNP activists superglue themselves to the hull yet.
Vice Versa:
https://news.usni.org/2020/01/14/three-allied-frigates-converge-on-east-coast-ahead-of-eisenhower-csg-deployment
Cheers
American subs in Scottish Watters is hardly news…. we did after all host their Boomers in the Holy Loch….
Fast attack boats were stationed in Holy Loch as well, iirc. That was stopped…oh, early to mid 90s? Not long after the cold war ended, anyway.
Quite a while ago – they went when the SLBM’s had the range not to need to be berthed so close to Europe.
Nowhere does it identify the actual sub. ?
Not really anybody’s business is it really.
Plenty of photos of it.
Get real.