England - The south coast.

After crossing the channel we stopped in Dover and had a look through the Dover castle grounds. This is like other former military sites we have struck, both in England and Europe, where the military still has ownership and retains control and a presence. Thus, with Dover Castle you get to see "The Keep" and most of the buildings, but not all of them. With the underground tunnel complex you get to see the top layer but nothing below that. This is not to say that you are being short changed, as it takes quite some time to see what is accesible.

On to the Portsmouth area

First off we went and had a look at the submarine museum located at the Royal Navy Base "Dolphin" at Gosport. On display here is a nice mix of exhibits ranging from a WW2 German "Biber" one man submarine to a complete "Oberon" class sub (1947) mounted high and dry ABOVE the water! There is also Englands first submarine which was found a few years ago and is now in a giant fibreglass cocoon which is filled with Sodium Carbonate! This was an essential preservation move as soon after the sub had been raised it started disintegrating due to the amount of salt its steel hull had absorbed.

The tour guide was a retired WW2 submariner who gave a very informative and detailed tour. As is usual, with submarines anywhere, we were not allowed into the conning tower, it is a mystery to me as to why? It was quite hot in there and one lad became distressed and had to get out. The guide said they are saving to buy an air conditioning system as with the sub's black hull and it not getting the cooling it normally would from being in the water, it can get pretty unpleasant inside.
The photo below shows the forward torpedo room of the sub. Normally, at the beginning of a patrol there would be very little room to spare in here due to the number of torpedo's carried and all the food wedged in between.

The torpedo data computer, this gizmo, when fed with all the range, course and other data will give the "firing solution" needed before a torpedo(s) can be fired.

The steering and planesman positions.

Here you can see one of the periscopes, in the raised position, to the right is anothere one in the lowered position, all there is to see is the chromed upper section.

The control position, but this time looking the opposite way.

The engine room.

On display just opposite of the Oberon is an "X-Craft" these small 3 man subs achieved there greatest fame when used to cripple the German battleship "Tirpitz" whilst it was secured in a Norwegian fjord after the "Bismarck" affair. The prominent bulge on the side of the craft is the "side cargo", which is a dull name for what was basically a huge chunk of explosive. There was one on each side and these had to be released UNDER the Tirpitz. They were not designed to carry torpedos and really are best described as an "underwater commando" submarine.

A German "Biber" one man submarine. The German approach was quite different to that of the English, as you can see in the photo, this craft carried its own torpedo, though, there was only 1.

Nelson's flagship "Victory" from the battle of Trafalgar. How this wooden hulled ship has survived hundreds of years is beyond me - amazing! It is in very nice condition and is actually still "on strength" with the Royal Navy (bet that annoys the powers that be no end as they would probably far rather spend the money on another missile or 2) so it is their responsibility to maintain it and look after it.

The tour is well worth the money and in our case was conducted by a retired Chief Petty Officer, though not one who sailed on her! He was typical of the breed of British senior NCO's and is a real character with a sharp and quick wit.
Most impressive!
The Victory can be seen along with other old ships and quite a collection of Naval related exhibits at "The Historic Ships" exhibition in Portsmouth Harbour. You pay to see only what interests you. We also took the harbour cruise which goes past whatever RN ships are in the harbour at the time.

Most notable of those present in harbour was the HMS Illustrious, which is a Harrier ski jump ramp and helicopter carrier.

To continue, click = England 99 part 2 (To Beltring)