More than 100 experienced submariners formed up on the parade ground at Clyde Naval Base as the men behind the Navy’s ultimate weapon held divisions. HMS Vanguard’s port crew – one of two crews responsible for the 16,000-tonne strategic deterrence submarine – were inspected by Capt David Graham.
The 130 or so deeps on parade at their home base form half the ship’s company of the strategic deterrent submarine.
Each of the four Trident-missile-armed boats – Vanguard plus her sisters Vigilant, Victorious and Vengeance – has two crews as part of the Silent Service’s enduring commitment to carry out deterrent patrols.
When active (Vengeance is currently out of the line undergoing her mid-life refit in Devonport) one crew actually in charge of the boat, another back at base undergoing training, courses, perhaps enjoying leave, so that once a boat returns from patrol or training exercise, they can take charge – and thus ensure a permanent presence at sea going back to the late 1960s.
One can easily recognise the dolphins – a submariner’s badge of honour, the symbol that he knows his boat in and out and is permitted to join an elite band of underwater warriors – these men are wearing.
And there’s quite a few Golden Jubilee (blue ribbon with a red and white stripe down the middle) and Diamond Jubilee (red ribbon with a red and white stripe down the middle) on display.
Beneath them, however, not a few of Vanguard’s deeps wear the deterrent patrol pin – HMS Resolution, with a Polaris missile, wreathed in bands of electrons to represent nuclear power and bearing the motto ‘always ready’ – which recognises their unique service.
The pin was introduced for V-boat crews back in 2010.
Every serving man who has sailed on a deterrent patrol for more than 30 days is eligible for a silver pin – or recognition badge – while those who have completed 20 or more patrols have earned the gold version.
And 20 patrols is a considerable commitment – when associated training and exercising is taken into account, it could add up to eight years below the surface.
The design of the pin pays homage to HMS Resolution, the very first deterrent boat, which conduct the first patrol with Polaris missiles on June 15 1968.
She and her sisters paid off in the 90s when the Vanguard-class and their Trident missiles entered service.
Not a day has been missed since the round-the-clock patrols began, with submariners past and present having successfully conducted more than 300 missions.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, January 14, 2013; Image: Royal Navy