Non-motoring > Submarine visit Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Westpig Replies: 15
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 Sat 4 Jul 15 21:04 
 Submarine visit - Westpig
Anyone been on this?

Thinking of taking my boy.

tinyurl.com/o35835h
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 Sat 4 Jul 15 21:16 
 Submarine visit - Bromptonaut
I think Miss B has and found it interesting and informative. But since her 'chap' works for Babcock who run the dockyard it may have been some other sub on a families day sort of basis.

I've asked her but she's out on a night bike ride tonight so I'm not expecting an instant response.
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 Sat 4 Jul 15 22:31 
 Submarine visit - Westpig
>> I've asked her but she's out on a night bike ride tonight so I'm not
>> expecting an instant response.
>>
Thank you
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 Sat 4 Jul 15 21:27 
 Submarine visit - Armel Coussine
From childhood memory, I can recommend the navy as a proud, caring host eager to show off the more obscure capacities of its kit. In one experience, the US navy was very similar, just as good.

Matelots are kind and paternal. Who else would let a nine-year-old clumsily operate the controls of a four-barrelled Oerlikon turret on the side of some capital ship... I longed to fire it of course but that wasn't allowed, just banging it back and forth through its arc and making the guns go up and down... there was a sort of joystick in front of the gunner's seat which controlled all the functions including the main one of course. But it was stiff to operate if you were just a child. The sailors didn't seem to care about one's abusive playing with a weapon of war.

The nanny state was already taking shape, tchah! (just kidding. I was lucky).



Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Sat 4 Jul 15 at 21:29
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 Sat 4 Jul 15 23:52 
 Submarine visit - Armel Coussine
>> sort of joystick in front of the gunner's seat which controlled all the functions including the main one of course. But it was stiff to operate if you were just a child.

And its squeeze trigger arrangements could pinch a child's palm I seem to remember.

Those controls are supposed to be worked by horny unpinchable matelots' palms as ON may agree.

Or to put it more garishly, 'Yup, son, since we took Iwo Jima I ain't never felt a thang.'
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 Sat 4 Jul 15 22:13 
 Submarine visit - Old Navy
>> Anyone been on this?
>>
>> Thinking of taking my boy.
>>
>> tinyurl.com/o35835h
>>

I was not ships company (crew), but have been to sea in her carrying out equipment trials.
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 Sat 4 Jul 15 22:23 
 Submarine visit - Old Navy
If you are ever near Gosport this is worth a visit.

www.submarine-museum.co.uk/hms-alliance
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 Mon 6 Jul 15 08:11 
 Submarine visit - Cliff Pope
On a school trip to France in 1963 the master who taught Russian wangled a tour on a visiting Russian warship. Lots of the equipment was made in the GDR.
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 Mon 6 Jul 15 12:27 
 Submarine visit - Steve
I visited HMS Alliance at Portsmouth RN submarine museum last year. Apparently Alliance is the oldest surviving WW2 sub. It looks to be a good bit smaller than the one your planning to visit and the tour is basically a guided walk from one end of the sub to the other. On board was a torpedo similar to the one that sank the Belgrano and the guide explained how modern torpedoes explode in different ways to the WW2 ones. The tour takes you past sleeping quarters, galley, control room, engine room (very good) torpedo loading areas etc. Realistic sound effects in the engine room and snoring noises from some of the curtained off bunks. You can have a peep through the periscope at the marina. But no visit to the conning tower or battery compartment. The tour lasts about 45 mins but you can always go back round with the next group. At Portsmouth there are lots of other exhibits from pedal powered subs to a disarmed Polaris missile. Very good day out, I went twice.
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 Mon 6 Jul 15 22:05 
 Submarine visit - Bromptonaut
WP,

Just spoken to Miss B about this. It was Courageous she went on.

Subject to any min age rules she thinks a 6/7yo should be OK. Tour involves quite a bit of up/down ladders etc but IME parents are more likely to struggle then the kids :-P

Tour guides are retired submariners so there's an element of pot luck as to whether you get the 'child friendly' one. FWIW Mrs B and I went round the radar museum in Norfolk at Oct half term last year which is run on a similar basis and found the guides were very good with kids.
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 Mon 6 Jul 15 22:30 
 Submarine visit - Westpig
>> Just spoken to Miss B about this. It was Courageous she went on.
>>
>> Subject to any min age rules she thinks a 6/7yo should be OK. Tour involves
>> quite a bit of up/down ladders etc but IME parents are more likely to struggle
>> then the kids :-P
>>
>> Tour guides are retired submariners so there's an element of pot luck as to whether
>> you get the 'child friendly' one. FWIW Mrs B and I went round the radar
>> museum in Norfolk at Oct half term last year which is run on a similar
>> basis and found the guides were very good with kids.
>>
Thanks, sounds like a yes.
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 Mon 6 Jul 15 23:05 
 Submarine visit - Old Navy
Ex submariners are a bunch of old softies who spoil their grandkids. :-)
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 Tue 7 Jul 15 22:07 
 Submarine visit - Aretas
Went on HMS Ocelot at Chatham. However with a large tour I couldn't hear the guide and with the crush of people and narrow gangways I became stupidly claustrophobic and had to escape.
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 Tue 7 Jul 15 22:25 
 Submarine visit - Old Navy
Nothing to be ashamed of, although I have no problems with submarines I do not like heights, but do not have problems with flying.
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 Wed 8 Jul 15 08:13 
 Submarine visit - Cliff Pope
>> and had to escape.
>>

Like this?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_trunk

:)
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 Tue 7 Jul 15 22:30 
 Submarine visit - Bromptonaut
>> Thanks, sounds like a yes.

It is. Let us know how you and he get on.
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