As we are in Portsmouth fairly often we bought a season ticket for the Navy museum. On previous visits we explored the Tudor warship Mary Rose and the steam warship HMS Warrior. We were back at the weekend and this time we took their water bus across the harbour to Gosport where the submarine museum is located.
You cannot miss it as there is a large submarine up on the dockside. This is HMS Alliance that was launched just after World War 2 and was active into the 1970s.
I am not sure I have been in a submarine before. As you would expect there is not a lot of space. They have added large doors at each end, so we did not need to climb through hatches. We boarded in the bow where some of the torpedoes were stored. An ex-submariner told us about his experiences. They would go on a ten week tour with no showers, so it would smell a bit. Every bit of space is used for storage, bunks and equipment. Above is the control room lit up for action. We could look through the periscopes.
We passed the few tiny toilets and wash rooms, the galley and wardrooms. At the back is the engine room with two huge diesel engines and electric motors. I think the batteries for running underwater are below the floor. Apparently they did not just select the short sailors for these vessels. I could stand up, but the bunks are small and the doorways not tall.
There is a small museum with various relics including a miniature submarine that was used to sneak into harbours to lay explosives under enemy ships in the war. That only had room for four and they would not even be able to stand up properly.
This is part of a Polaris nuclear missile that was our deterrent during the cold war. It seems British submarines liked to fly the skull and crossbones flag so they have a collection of those.
The museum is in one of the large marinas at Gosport with an old lightship just outside.
There are some very expensive looking boats there.
We caught the boat by HMS Warrior with the Spinnaker Tower nearby. We may go up that some time. You can abseil down it, but I am not sure I want to.
Bon voyage!
