Depressing that....

Just to bring things back to reality, I think it's time to remind you
that the subs being built at the moment aren't missile subs and
they'll be tasked to do a lot more than just sniff the arses of other
submarines.

 

Indeed, diesel electric subs went out of fashion 40 years ago for very
good reasons. Nuclear power is the only way to stay under water for more
than a few hours at a stretch.

 

http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/ssk_victoria/

Hardly 40 years.They were shit though so I suppose they don't really
count.

 

Keep me in overtime.

 

Holy shit ... so to speak

 

Problems? Just park 'em at Rosyth, surely?

 

Surely you would muster indoors if there was a problem with them.
Windows closed, AC off and all that sort of stuff. That was our drill,
on the other coast.

 

Not entirely: many navies still use diesle electric subs for coastal
patrolling. Canada, for example.

Diesel electric subs /can/ sort of stay submerged: they sometimes have
snorkels. Also, diesel-electrics are easier to make stealthy. A
nuclear sub has to have its reactor, and thus all the ancilliaries,
running all the time - you can't just switch it on and off at will.

Nuclear boats are generally large: the nuclear plant is big and
powerful and on top of that, if you're going to spend weeks submerged,
then it makes sense to build a bigger boat. All of this adds up to a
(relatively) unstealthy craft.

 

We used the Oberon class for decades. Do we still have diesel-electric
subs?

 

I thought we sold them all to Canada, and they sunk on the way over. Or
something.

 

Yeah, I had this idea that they were the last ones. In fact, they were
uppermost in my mind when I posted.

 

But they're out of fashion....

Rumour has it that they're quieter than nukes and as a hunter killer
that's something of an asset.

 

You went outdoors if there was an 'incident'? **** that.

 

I'm pretty sure we don't but looking at the RN website will tell you.

I only know what's going on with the one's I'm working on and I'm
certainly not posting anything about them that you can't find on the
website.

I did try to find out the planned name for the next boat in the
Astute class (if there's going to be one) so I could try and place a
bet on it because I knew they were calling boat 4 Audacious within a
couple of days of it being decided but nobody with any ideas will let
on.

 

Could be worth betting a few quid on it.

It shouldn't be too difficult to narrow it down because the navy
aren't famous for their originality and it'll begin with an A. The
trick is to get the bet on as soon as they decide they're going to
build boat 5.

 

I think they need 3 more.

Bodacious
Heinous
Excellent

 

Bogus
Copacetic
Full-On Robot Chubby

 

I miss your point?

 

That's pretty damn impressive!

 

Don't be such a cock.

--
TD
1991 VFR400R NC30 (black and red)
2001 ZX-9R (red and black)
1999 M5 (neither black nor red)
Missing: SOB, Unreliable Italian exotica, Lardy tourer (but 9R is near enough)