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Message: <blockquote data-quote="bandula" data-source="post: 308991" data-attributes="member: 2655">inside a Trident submarine<img src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/uk_on_board_hms_vigilant_/img/1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />The BBC News website has been given rare access to a Trident II D5, the submarine-launched ballistic missile system that constitutes the UK's nuclear deterrent. The fleet's home is Faslane, on the west coast of Scotland, where HMS Vigilant is currently being refitted.<img src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/uk_on_board_hms_vigilant_/img/2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />The next time HMS Vigilant undertakes a patrol will be Commander Paul Dunn's first in charge of a Trident submarine. Of the Navy's four Vanguard-class submarines, one is on patrol at all times and carrying 16 Trident missiles.<img src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/uk_on_board_hms_vigilant_/img/3.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />The control room is the hub of the operation and the place where the order to fire would be given, though the actual trigger is held in the weapons room. The authority to launch Trident would have to come from the prime minister via a secure communications network.<img src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/uk_on_board_hms_vigilant_/img/4.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />The missiles are held upright in their launch tubes and pass through all four decks of the submarine. Everything else fits around their structure. Each missile is eight times as powerful as the one dropped on Hiroshima, and has a range of over 4,600 miles (7,400 km).<img src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/uk_on_board_hms_vigilant_/img/5.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />When at sea the crew numbers anything from 160 to 180, which includes around 20 trainees, who will eventually take the place of the regular crew member. Space is tight with nine men sharing a small bunk area.<img src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/uk_on_board_hms_vigilant_/img/6.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Leading Hand Henderson is the longest serving member of Vigilant's crew having been on her books for seven years. In his 16 years as a submariner his longest tour was 13 weeks and 5 days aboard another Trident submarine, HMS Vanguard.<img src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/uk_on_board_hms_vigilant_/img/7.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />There are three mess halls where the crew can relax, this one is the Senior Mess.<img src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/uk_on_board_hms_vigilant_/img/8.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />When at sea the kitchen is in operation 24 hours a day. The kitchen is run by Leading Chef McCall (pictured left) whose small team prepare over 160 meals four times a day for the crew.<img src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/uk_on_board_hms_vigilant_/img/9.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Tactics and Sonar Office Darren Mason demonstrates the periscope. The area is manned when the submarine is at a depth of 50m or less and the periscope itself can be used when Vigilant is at a depth of 23m.<img src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/uk_on_board_hms_vigilant_/img/10.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Trident has a 30 year lifespan that is due to end in 2024 and Tony Blair has outlined plans for a £20bn new generation of submarines to carry the Trident system. For now though, HMS Vigilant is preparing to set off on another three month mission beneath the waves.</blockquote>

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