If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to live and work in a submarine then you need to visit HMS Courageous in Plymouth, one of only three public submarines in the UK – where just for a couple of hours you can experience the atmosphere for yourself and explore the control room, a façade of the manoeuvring room, living accommodation, galley and torpedo stowage compartment, and imagine what it would be like to be one of the 110-120 members of the crew who took the ‘boat’ (as it’s commonly called) to sea. Royal Navy personnel and civilian volunteers, most of whom were submariners themselves, provide guided tours by appointment to explain how the submarine functioned, including the chance to see examples of torpedoes and missiles in this superb living museum.
HMS Courageous was one of the first-generation nuclear submarines and became part of the Third Submarine Squadron based at Faslane, after its launch in 1970. She was used as part of the surveillance initiative to track and gather intelligence about Soviet units during the Cold War, as well as being deployed during the Falklands War. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 at the end of the Cold War, the MOD decommissioned older nuclear submarines, including Courageous, which meant the reactor plant was defuelled and all the equipment forward stripped out, leaving just the hulk.
Courageous was first refurbished on a very limited scale in 2002 for public viewing at Navy Days in Devonport and a group of volunteer guides was formed to show members of the public round the boat. A handful of the guides had served on Courageous and were keen to restore it to its former glory, so took it upon themselves to continue refurbishing Courageous to its current high standard. Parts were begged, borrowed, bought and ‘relocated’ from other laid-up submarines, and their work soon earned them first place in the queue for spare parts. They stripped some of the boat back to bare metal and painstakingly recreated the internal living and working areas to their original specifications, even to the lengths of moving a façade of the manoeuvring room forward in the boat layout, so it could be included on the public tour, complete with a full set of non-operational control panels. Ex-submariner Michael Pitkeathly, who served on Courageous during the Cold War years, was awarded the MBE in 2013 for his work in co-ordinating the refit of Courageous at minimal cost, and enabling the public to really appreciate ‘the complex nature of these unique underwater fighting machines’ (HMS Courageous guidebook).
You can also check out the fascinating Devonport Naval Heritage Centre which has been the site of a museum since the 1800s, and contains a series of galleries charting the importance of the relationship of Devonport, Plymouth, The Royal Navy and the Dockyard through major conflicts since 1300, including two world wars. In addition, the Engine House and old Fire Station map the history of ship-building with a fine collection of ship figureheads and interactive exhibits detailing the tasks of caulkers, sawyers, coopers, riggers, ropemakers and shipwrights, as well as life on a gun deck. Knowledgeable guides bring all the artefacts to life with interesting anecdotes, even explaining how terms and phrases came into being, such as a ‘square meal’ (a main meal eaten from a square-shaped wooden plate) and ‘not enough room to swing a cat’ (the cat-o'-nine-tails whip used to punish offenders). The 18th Century Pay Office houses numerous types of naval dress, swords and medals but also covers the important subject of food and drink or naval victualling with exhibits connected to everything from the essential rum ration to a royal dinner service used to serve Queen Victoria. If you don’t manage to get to the submarine then you can visit the Courageous display and see what you can spot using the fully operational submarine periscope.
For more information visit www.devonportnhc.wordpress.com and for bookings and enquiries please call 01752 552326 or email navynbcd-book1@mod.uk - please note that up to 2 weeks’ notice can be required for tours and that visitors to the submarine need to be able to manage steep ladders, wear appropriate clothing and the minimum height for children is 1.2 metres.