Bob Mealing - HMS Alliance : submarine museum

Introduction

HMS Alliance was laid down at the Vickers Shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness on 13 March 1945. Allied forces had entered Germany and the defeat of Hitlers Third Reich was just weeks away. In the Far East, the war with Japan was at its height. HMS Alliance and the other A Class submarines under construction had been designed for the Pacific in World War Two. Following the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States in August 1945, the Japanese surrendered and the war was finally at an end. When HMS Alliance entered service in 1947, Britain was still subject to economic austerity and wartime rationing. The first signs of tension between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union were apparent and the British Empire was beginning to break up.

Over the next three decades, Alliance performed many different roles in the post-war Cold War era. She operated all over the world and many hundreds of submariners served in her during the course of her 26 years in commission. In 1958, her familiar appearance as a World War Two-era submarine changed dramatically when she was comprehensively modernised to meet the demands of Cold War submarine operations. Alliance was streamlined and made quieter and faster underwater because her new role included countering the submarines of the Soviet Union.

In 1973 Alliance was finally paid off at HMS Dolphin in Gosport, then the home of the Royal Navy Submarine Service. For a few years Alliance served as a static training submarine, but in 1979 the Navy embarked on the ambitious task of preserving Alliance as the last surviving submarine from World War Two. In 1982, HMS Alliance went on display to the public for the first time as an historic ship, and also as a memorial to more than 5,300 submariners who had given their lives serving in Royal Navy submarines.

World War Two

In 1939, at the outbreak of World War Two, the Royal Navy did not possess any submarines specially suited for operation in the Far East. The climate and sheer size of the Pacific Ocean meant that submarines operating in that theatre needed greater endurance and improved crew habitability. In the Pacific, a submarine might take up to a week just to reach her patrol area, while the heat and humidity was a constant challenge to the efficiency and health of the crew. The A Class were specifically designed for Far East operations and there were a number of key features incorporated into the design. Alliance was bigger and faster than previous Royal Navy designs, and most of the crew accommodation was located forward of the noise and smell of the Engine Room and heads (toilets). In addition, Alliance could carry more fresh water, had greater cold storage for food, and an air-conditioning system. Fully fuelled, Alliance could travel up to 15,000 miles.

Above: HMS Alliance (as P417) underway on Sea Trials off Barrow-in-Furness, August 1946.

Above right: HMS Alliance coming alongside after a week snorting in the Atlantic, 1947.

Below: HMS Alliance underway, 1947.

The Cold War

In the latter stages of World War Two, it was apparent that with improvements in radar detection and the capability of anti-submarine aircraft, a submarine on the surface was becoming more vulnerable to detection and attack. Submarines needed to be able to remain submerged for much longer periods in order to minimise the chance of detection. Alliance was therefore constructed with a snort mast that enabled the submarine to remain submerged at periscope depth while running her diesels and charging her batteries. The necessity to surface under cover of darkness was therefore much reduced. Shortly after her commissioning in 1947, Alliance conducted a record-breaking passage of three weeks continuously submerged. It was headline news and, for a short period, Alliance held the World Record for the longest time a submarine had spent underwater.

O Class submarine underway at sea. View of officer on the bridge.

Left: HMS Alliance post modification underway. Camouflaged. 1967.

Below: HMS Alliance post modification entering Malta.1965.

The Crew

Roles

HMS Alliance had a crew of five officers and 60 men. The Captain had absolute authority over the submarine but at the same time lived in extremely close quarters to even the most junior members of the crew. The second in command, or First Lieutenant, was known by the crew as the Jimmy and had responsibility for the day-to-day running of the submarine. Alliance was operated on a three-watch rota, which meant that while a third of the crew were at work, the rest were either sleeping or off duty reading, writing letters home or playing cards. At Action stations and Diving stations, all the crew were at work.

Alliance is technically very complex and the crew needed a wide range of skills to operate the submarine. The largest contingent of the crew were Junior Ratings who performed the routine tasks of operating the submarine; they were typically in their early 20s. The Senior Ratings, the Petty and Chief Petty Officers who supervised the Junior Ratings and were often highly skilled technicians were often able to fix problems at sea and keep the submarine operational. Specific technical skills included mechanical and electrical engineering, wireless communications, navigation, SONAR operation and weapons engineering.

Above: HMS Alliance. Interior. Crew members in the mess. Note the projector. Taken whilst en route to Singapore, 1964.

Right: HMS Alliance. Crew members relaxing in their mess after 1947 snort cruise.Tom Brunyee (on right) wrote 120 letters during the trip.

The Crew

Sleeping

Forward of the Control Room there were four messes for the men and the Wardroom for the officers. In the messes the crew ate their meals, slept and relaxed. The largest mess was home to 30 of the Junior Ratings. The second largest, the Stokers Mess, was for those men who worked in the Engine Room. The smaller messes were for the Petty Officers and Engine Room Artificers (ERAs), reflecting their specialist skills and seniority.