Prince William visited Faslane to officially open a multi-million-pound training facility.

The Royal Navy say here that the Prince, who is Commodore-in-Chief Submarines, spent the afternoon at HM Naval Base Clyde, Scotland’s largest military establishment, beginning with an update on operations delivered by members of the Submarine Flotilla.

“While at the site His Royal Highness officially opened the new £34m Submarine Escape, Rescue, Abandonment and Survival (SMERAS) facility.

Known as “Thetis” building, after wartime submarine HMS Thetis which sank in Liverpool Bay in 1939, the facility is used to train Royal Navy submariners in how to safely escape from a stricken submarine.  

The state-of-the-art building features a realistic simulator capable of mimicking a variety of weather conditions and sea states.”

Captain Iain Breckenridge OBE, in charge of submarine training with the navy’s Flag Officer Sea Training organisation, said:

“We were delighted to host our Commodore-in-Chief to open this fantastic and world-leading submarine escape training facility. His Royal Highness toured the entire building, met training staff and students, and enjoyed some hands-on operation of the escape towers and wave generator.”

George Allison
George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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30 COMMENTS

  1. So I guess this is the replacement for the now derelict Submarine Escape Tower at Fort Blockhouse (nee HMS Dolphin) in Gosport then?

  2. The Royal Navy should have had this facility before now, but it is good that they have it .
    I wonder what will happen with this facility and the submarine base of Scotland goes independent.

    • The Royal Navy has had such facilities for several years. This is a replacement for the facilities at Fort Blockhouse, as part of the plan to consolidate submarine-related facilities at Faslane.

    • Scotland won’t be getting a referendum anytime soon. Not unless they hold the balance of power in the commons.

    • Nic I think the Union will hold but even if it doesn’t there would be a sufficient transition to enable alternative arrangements although one wonders what an SNP Scotland would do with a submarine base with no subs!. On another subject, Prince William is a fine gentleman who is the very best man to take the Monarchy forward in the 21st Century. I just hope Charles is sensible enough to move aside when the Queen passes and let him ascend to the Throne. The press are making much of William and Kate’s visit to Scotland as a charm offensive to shore the Union but people forget that SNP policy is to retain the Monarchy in any event. As for my extended family in NI there is no question they would prefer a King Billy to a King Charles  😂 

      • ”As for my extended family in NI there is no question they would prefer a King Billy to a King Charles  😂 ‘

         😄  😅  😆  seconded….

        • Funnily enough he was popular with many Catholics in his constituency as he did his job and assisted all, even those who did not vote for him. Also among others, Liam Neeson used to sneak into his Church and listen to sermons. He was a huge personality even if one did not like his politics

      • A small country like England, or Scotland, would not be able to afford nuclear submarines. So the issue is mute.

    • Very good actually, tower escape (as seen in pic with escape suit) is good for 200m, wouldn’t want to try a ‘rush escape h no suit’ that deep though, a lot more of a risk. Anything else (deeper) and you need a rescue submersible to get you out.

      • I wonder if an escape pod will be an option in the future now that crew numbers are significantly less than they where in the previous generation. The u212 is less than 30 crew, it would be a tight squeeze but should be possible if its a short 1 way journey

        • It’s certainly a option fitted on Russian T6(Akula1/2, Oscar 1/2) SMs, although not sure how many people they can accommodate?
          It’s clearly doable, although if you couldn’t get the whole crew out, not sure how you square the peg of who goes and who doesn’t? Possibly first come first served??

          • On Yasen class the pod is meant to accommodate the full crew according to the navy, I am not sure if this is true or just wishful thinking though

          • If you were to assume an average crew of say 100, that’s a big pod! I believe the Typhoons had 2 pods to be able to fit the whole crew in! Have to say, not sure how it would work in an emergency with all compartments shut down, isolating crew throughout the SM, then having to abandon ship so to speak?

      • Being an ex “skimmer” I have great respect for the submarine service, I remember when serving on a T22 we spent 2 weeks in Loch Long as an escort ship whilst the LR5 rescue sub was running practice runs on a Vanguard class (can’t remember which one), I used to dread dunker training never mind all that submarine escape stuff!

        • I always enjoyed escape training, tower escape was ‘good fun’, better then any ride at a amusement park by a long shot. But then again, I had a vested interest in it!!

          • Funnily enough, the best one you only got to do once, the 18M rush escape. I’m not sure why that wasn’t part of the refresher training, must have been a reason.

            Saying all that, I was glad when I was ‘excused’ wet drills when it turned out I had ‘exercised induced asthma’ and I could piss up the night before.

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