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John Cooper (Dumfries and Galloway) (Con)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the 125th anniversary of the submarine service.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger.
Where were we on 12 April this year? It was a Sunday, so perhaps we were spending time with our families, out in the open air or at church. It was a long time ago—seven months. Remarkably, there are around 140 people aboard HMS Vengeance, one of our Vanguard-class SSBN nuclear missile submarines, who know exactly where they were on that date. They were leaving Faslane on the Clyde for who knows where and, incredibly, they are still out there somewhere, setting the record for the longest patrol ever undertaken by a Royal Navy submarine. They are the silent service: the men and, increasingly, women who wear the dolphins of the submarine branch of the Royal Navy. They are a breed apart, affectionately known as the “Fish Heads”, for it takes something special to live and be ready to fight in a tiny metal tube deep beneath the waves.
I have a particular admiration for them as, despite my father enjoying a long and illustrious career in the deep sea as a marine engineer, I get seasick in a bath. Lacking a keel, submarines—boats, as the Navy infuriatingly insists on calling them—are not the best on the surface in choppy waters, and I have gone green just watching them rolling like pigs, coming and going from Faslane on a blowy day in the Clyde. It came as a delight the day that I went aboard HMS Vengeance at HM Naval Base Clyde to find that the boat was out of the water and up on bricks, so to speak, for maintenance.
It is 125 years since the Navy operated HMS Holland 1, our first submarine, which was named for builder John Philip Holland and was laid down, as our submarines are today, in Barrow-in-Furness. So much has changed in that time. Our modern boats are nuclear-powered and, in the case of the Vanguard class that provides today’s continuous at-sea deterrent, nuclear-armed. It was the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, who advocated speaking softly while carrying a big stick. Truly, Trident is our big stick—a missile with a range in excess of 2,000 miles when nothing on the planet is more than 2,000 miles from the sea.
In many ways, however, little has changed. Submarine design is such that the ship’s complement must fit in around her essential machinery. There is little enough room for basics and none for luxury. When it comes to attack submarines, nothing has changed: 125 years ago, we had just one submarine, and how many do we have today? Well, just the one Astute class at sea: HMS Agamemnon. She is on the Clyde for sea trial, still months off being ready to patrol, while the remainder of the class is tied up alongside for reasons unknown. Perhaps the Minister, mindful as ever of national security, might be able to shed some light on why that is.
Talking of light, we must remember that the submariners’ world is a windowless, skyless one, where time and date mean little. The menu is on a strict daily rotation. That is the only means by which the sailors can tell what day it is. A roast means it is Sunday, curry means Wednesday, Friday is fish and Saturday is steak. Food is of huge importance not just for sustenance but for morale. Indeed, given that the boats make their own oxygen and fresh water, and have effectively a limitless nuclear fuel supply, food storage is the limit on patrol duration. That means that the boat’s freezers must be packed with exquisite care. Woe betide anyone who buries the entire supply of “snorkers”, or sausages, behind all the “babies’ heads”, as steak and kidney pudding is known—the shiny pastry is said to resemble a newborn’s pate. “Nutty”—chocolate and sweets in the parlance—is pivotal too, and it is said that aboard interminable Vanguard patrols it is all that keeps body and soul together.
Contact with the outside world is, unsurprisingly, limited, and only two people aboard—the commander and the navigator—will know where the boat actually is. Modern insulation design means that the old trick of holding a hand against the pressure hull—warm meant you were in the Med, cold in the Arctic—is now an old wives’ tale.
Let us think about that massive patrol for a second: months under fake light, breathing artificial air, drinking tea made with ersatz Millac milk and water distilled from seawater. In these days of a hyperconnected youth well used to the internet, submariners get a 120-word-maximum message via the Familygram system once a week: word comes in and nothing goes out, and family are warned not to send bad news. They deal with all that while sitting still somewhere in the depths of the ocean as the Russians listen out for them, and while being at readiness to fire. How long it takes to come to readiness is classified, but we know that a boat will be asked multiple times on patrol to come to readiness to unleash Armageddon.
We ask a great deal of our submariners now, and we have always done. We should take a moment to reflect on all those still on eternal patrol in the ocean’s depths, for submariner casualties are grim. In the second world war alone, we lost more than 3,160 submariners aboard 74 boats.
I will highlight just one: Lieutenant Commander Malcolm Wanklyn, one of our most successful submariners, who had strong connections with the exquisite Knockinaam Lodge hotel outside Portpatrick in my Dumfries and Galloway constituency. He and his crew aboard HMS Upholder sank 16 enemy vessels, taking 128,350 tonnes of enemy shipping to the bottom. Highly unusually, they sank three Italian submarines. But it was in action off Sicily in 1941 that he made his name. With its Asdic system—the world’s first working sonar—inoperable, Upholder slipped through heavy rings of Regia Marina defences to torpedo the transatlantic cruise liner Conte Rosso, which was ironically Clyde-built but used as an axis troop ship. It earned Wanklyn the Victoria Cross, our highest gallantry award. However, the following year, Upholder and its 30-year-old skipper went missing somewhere off Tripoli. The wreck has never been found; her fate is still shrouded in mystery.
My constituency defers to no one in terms of how many German U-boats we sank. Operation Deadlight in 1945 saw many of the 156 surrendered U-boats towed from Loch Ryan, off my home town of Stranraer, and scuttled or sunk in gunnery training in the North channel. We are also the final resting place of UB-85, a German submarine of the great war, sunk as it sat on the surface off Galloway in 1918. The captured skipper later said that he could not submerge because of damage inflicted by a strange sea creature that had attacked and was driven off only by small arms fire. Fact or fiction, it is a stark reminder that worse things do happen at sea, and that those who today willingly put themselves in harm’s way in the depths of the ocean are worthy of our gratitude and respect.
Mr Mark Francois (Rayleigh and Wickford) (Con)
My hon. Friend mentioned HMS Vengeance. I am sure that, like all of us, he has seen the report in The Sun newspaper of two days ago that says that HMS Vengeance has now been at sea for 210 days, which marks the longest deterrent patrol in western naval history. Does he agree that that is a supremely impressive feat of naval achievement, in that those people have been at sea for so long to keep this nation safe?
John Cooper
My right hon. Friend makes a fantastic point. It is quite incredible—absolutely jaw-dropping—that those people are out there in incredibly difficult circumstances for so long, beyond what could reasonably be expected. Again, I hope that the Minister can touch on this: it seems that something has gone wrong. The length of patrols is increasing, and this one has reached a record level. It is remarkable.
I mentioned the sea creature, but today’s oceanic terrors are slightly different: ultra-quiet Russian submarines, autonomous uncrewed robot submersibles, and mines triggered by nothing more than the unique sound signature of our boats. Whether operating under the Arctic ice, in the shallow waters of the Med, east of Suez, in the old battlegrounds of the western approaches, in the bitter waters off the Kola peninsula or in the Greenland-Iceland-UK gap, today’s submariners still play high-stakes cat and mouse with Crazy Ivan, a worthy opponent. Are we supporting them fully when the infamously aggressive all-or-nothing Perisher course for submarine commanders, run in the narrow waters of the Kilbrannan sound in Scotland, has ground to a standstill for a lack of Astute boats? A century and a quarter of silent service must not be torpedoed by defence spending cutbacks. The men and women who earned their dolphins fear no enemy bar the accountants of Whitehall.
Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)
It is always an honour to serve under your chairship, Sir Roger. I thank, in all sincerity, the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper) for securing this really important debate. It is a pleasure and an honour to speak in it and to celebrate with everyone here the 125th anniversary of our submarine service.
I will let you into a secret, Sir Roger. When I was at school, we were tasked in our French lessons to say what we wanted to be when we were older. I remember exactly what I said but I cannot promise that the French is correct. I said: “Je voudrais être un capitaine de sous-marin.” I hope that there is nobody here who actually speaks French, because they will probably tell me that is completely incorrect. Then I looked more into what being the captain of a submarine would entail and I had second thoughts. I genuinely want to echo some of what was said earlier about the huge sacrifice and commitment that our submariners make to keep this country safe. I will add that I, too, get seasick.
Many hon. and right hon. Members will be asking what the Harlow connection is to our submarine service. I am honoured that the UK headquarters of Raytheon and its technology centre of excellence are in my constituency. Many hon. Members will be aware that Raytheon is involved in the development and production of both weapons systems and navigation systems for our submarine fleet. It is also responsible for the Barracuda mine-neutralisation system—and development of the software behind it—which helps to keep UK and allied waters safe. I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to all those who work in that vital area and keep us safe.
If you will allow me, Sir Roger, I also want to pay tribute to Harlow Sea Cadets. I was incredibly proud to see them alongside our Air Cadets and Army Cadets at our remembrance service on Sunday. They are a credit to our town, and I thank the volunteers who give up their time to ensure that that vital cadet service runs.
I wanted to find a story about a submarine from our past, because I think that telling stories about the brave endeavours of our submariners is important in a debate such as this. I looked through a few examples, and I came across that of HMS Triumph, which Members may be aware struck a mine on Boxing day in 1939. The explosion was so powerful that it temporarily blinded the men who were on the bridge of the submarine. The mine caused catastrophic damage: an 18-foot section of the submarine’s bow was blown off and a 12-foot split was opened in the hull.
HMS Triumph was in German-patrolled waters and was so badly damaged that it could no longer dive. It was leaking heavily, with its pumps working continuously to keep it afloat. The commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander John Wentworth McCoy, decided to bring the submarine home and embarked on a 300-mile journey back to the Firth of Forth in Scotland. On occasions, the submarine travelled at speeds as low as 2.5 knots, making it vulnerable to German attack throughout the journey.
As the submarine approached the Scottish coast, a German bomber spotted it and prepared to attack. Fortunately, before the bomber could strike, British fighter aircraft intervened and it was driven away. Thanks to the incredible leadership of Lieutenant Commander John Wentworth McCoy and his incredibly brave crew, HMS Triumph made it safely back to port despite being close to breaking apart. I think we can recognise the heroic nature of that crew, who faced several additional dangers: a crumpled bulkhead, a damaged torpedo, and steering gear that was severely damaged and barely functioning.
Of course, we are talking about the 125 years of our submarine service, and there will be many stories of incredible bravery and commitment, but I wanted to take the opportunity today to share just one of them. I put on record my thanks to all our submariners, past and present, for everything they do to keep our country safe.
Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)
It was an inspired idea of my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper) to mark the 125th anniversary of the founding of the submarine service today, the eve of the anniversary of Armistice Day. In preparation I spent time happily reminiscing about my schooldays in the 1960s, when I devoured a large range of books about the history of the Royal Navy in general and of submarines in particular. In those days there were still people alive who had participated in the battles of the first and the second world wars, and many of them were writing books. I will begin with a quotation from one of those books:
“When submarines first became units of the fighting fleets of the world in the early years of the twentieth century, they were unimpressive, unseaworthy craft equipped with an unreliable, low performance weapon. Those who manned them were, like the early aviators, looked on as harmless cranks. When the First World War broke out, they had not entirely lived down this reputation. Sea-power was still believed by the orthodox sailor to lie with the squadrons of stately battleships.
But before that war was over Britain, at that time the world’s greatest naval power, had been brought to within sight of total defeat by the submarine in the hands of her enemies. At the same time British submarines, with fewer opportunities to show their potentialities, had dominated the Baltic Sea and held German sea-power at bay on behalf of Britain’s Russian ally.
Submariners had thus joined the front rank of fighting seamen, though they still formed a group apart. In doing so they had revolutionized naval warfare.”
The author of that preface to his book “Fighting Under the Sea” was Captain Donald Macintyre DSO and two bars, DSC. Together with Captain Johnnie Walker, he was one of the two most successful U-boat hunters of the second world war. In the 1960s, such people were writing up the lessons they had learned. It was a great opportunity for those of us studying such subjects to be in touch with them. Indeed, I have a letter from Captain Macintyre regretting the fact that I had been unable to obtain a copy of his first book “U-Boat Killer”, which describes his role in the battle of the Atlantic, and that he was unable to supply me with a copy because he himself had managed to pick up one only when the Boots library sold off stock. Today, with the computer revolution, a copy of “U-Boat Killer” can be obtained with a few taps of the keyboard. I commend it to those who are interested in the story of the other side of the submarine equation.
The other matter to which I would like to draw attention in the limited time available is the question of submarine escape. Hazardous as the profession was, a great deal of inventiveness and ingenuity was put into the idea of how it might be possible to survive if something went terribly wrong. Captain W. O. Shelford was the Navy specialist in submarine escape during the second world war and the 1950s. He wrote a book called “Subsunk” that I also commend because it tells of the tragedies and the successes in trying to save life when something goes wrong.
Let us remember that something terrible did go wrong shortly before the second world war. In 1939 in Liverpool bay the submarine HMS Thetis, on its maiden voyage with 103 people onboard because many of the people from the builders were taking part in what was supposed to be the first of its sea trials, sank due to a concatenation of circumstances that are almost unbelievable until read in the account of the disaster given in “The Admiralty Regrets” by Jim Warren and James Benson. Both those people, like Captain Macintyre, knew that of which they spoke. One had been a human charioteer in the second world war; the other had served in midget submarines. In that case, 103 people were trapped in a submarine. They managed to raise its stern above the surface of the water, yet only four people were able to escape. Subsequently, the submarine was raised and recommissioned as HMS Thunderbolt. It had a distinguished wartime career until, sadly, it was lost with all hands in the Mediterranean.
On the credit side, in terms of looking at the price that had to be paid, were some of the achievements that the submarine service wrote into history. One of the most famous was the midget submarine attack on the German battleship Tirpitz in the Norwegian fjord, where it was hiding in 1943. On that occasion, three midget submarines penetrated and at least two of them managed to lay their charges beneath the hull of the battleship. When they were captured—some of the crew survived; some sadly did not—and taken aboard, they said nothing about the mighty explosion they knew was about to happen underneath them. That explosion disabled the battleship for a considerable length of time.
One has to remember that they were very young men, but some of them went on to have distinguished careers. Two of the midget submarine commanders, Godfrey Place and Donald Cameron, were awarded the Victoria Cross. The third, Lieutenant Henty-Creer, was sadly not awarded the VC because his submarine was destroyed and it is not known whether they successfully laid their charges and were on the way out, or whether they were still trying to get in to lay them. I always feel there is an unfairness that the crew of the X5 did not get the same recognition as the commanders of the X6 and X7, who were awarded VCs. As I think Churchill once said, every medal “casts a shadow”. Lieutenant Godfrey Place went on to become a rear-admiral in charge of reserves. I am not allowed to display accessories while making a speech, but if anyone wants to see it, I still have the autograph of Rear-Admiral Place, as he then was, from when he visited Swansea to meet the reserves back in the 1960s.
I hope hon. Members can see from my enthusiasm, if not the rather unstructured way in which I have made my remarks, that 60 years later, some of us are still inspired by the memory of what it was like to read about the extreme peril that very young men put themselves into—usually, if not always, as volunteers. So many of them did not live to tell the tale, but my goodness, what a glorious page in British naval history they wrote.
Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Roger. I thank the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper) for securing this debate celebrating an institute so deeply connected to my city of Portsmouth.
Portsmouth has a proud history with the Royal Navy submarine service. Just across the water, HMS Dolphin served as its home and headquarters from 1904 to 1999, training generations of submariners. I encourage all Members to visit the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport, where they can see Holland 1, the Navy’s first submarine, and walk through HMS Alliance to experience the extraordinary conditions in which submariners served during the second world war. The real gem is the moving and brilliant 15 oral life histories from submariners and their families, including words from Victor Crosby, a Pompey submariner who survived the sinking of HMS Saracen off of Corsica in August 1943. Sadly, Victor was captured by the Italians, but he escaped during the chaos following Italy’s surrender. He was hiding out with an Italian family, hoping to reached allied lines, but was tragically betrayed and shot by German military police. His grave remained unnamed for 75 years until historians established his identity. It is a remarkable story of sacrifice and a Portsmouth family loss.
The submarine service is not simply a part of history; it remains vital to our security today. For 125 years, the men and women of the silent service have protected our nation, often unseen, unrecognised and unthanked. From disrupting enemy shipping in two world wars and gathering intelligence in the cold war to delivering our continuous at-sea deterrent today, submariners have played an extraordinary role in keeping Britain safe. Every day beneath the waves they undertake demanding and often dangerous missions, spending long periods away from their families and children—some of whom I have taught in my city of Portsmouth—while knowing that much of their service will never be publicly recognised.
We should also recognise the fantastic work of charities and organisations such as the Submarine Family and We Remember Submariners, alongside wider Navy charity networks such as Aggie Weston’s and the Naval Children’s Charity. They provide vital practical, emotional and financial support to serving and former submariners and their families, including those facing hardship, bereavement and mental health challenges. Our responsibility to submariners does not end when they leave the submarine or hang up their uniform; we must stand by them and their families throughout their lives. I look forward to Portsmouth’s Op Valour centre playing its part in continuing that support. We owe them an enormous debt of gratitude.
The service’s contribution extends far beyond those at sea. Submarine construction and maintenance supports thousands of highly skilled jobs, sustains communities and protects vital sovereign industrial capabilities. I particularly welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment to a new apprenticeship scheme for the Dreadnought programme. It is an important investment in Britain’s future skills and defence industry, but we should remember that Portsmouth was once a proud centre of submarine construction. A generation of skilled workers helped to build the fleet that protected our nation. That shipbuilding capability was lost, and Portsmouth’s historic role in naval shipbuilding was further diminished under the Conservative Government. For a city whose identity is so closely bound to the Royal Navy, that loss is still felt very deeply. As we invest in the next generation of submariners, I want to see Portsmouth’s naval heritage recognised and opportunities created for our city to play a greater role in Britain’s future defence industry.
Behind every submarine’s capability is people. We must ensure that this country looks after those who put their lives on the line to protect it. I welcome the Government’s over 14% pay raise for the armed forces, and I welcome investment in service accommodation and practical improvements to service life. However, there is more to do. The Minister will know that I have long campaigned for better paternity leave for our serving fathers. I want to see longer, better paid leave, alongside reform of how parental and compassionate leave are administered.
I have heard from service fathers that access to leave can vary considerably, with some reluctant to ask for support that they are entitled to because decisions rest with their commanding officer and they fear the consequences for their career. Operational requirements must of course come first, but I believe that an independent human resources body could help to make these decisions more consistently and fairly while protecting our operational effectiveness. I am pleased that the Minister for Veterans and People has agreed to meet me to discuss these issues, and I look forward to working with him to make progress.
As we mark 125 years of the Royal Navy submarine service, we should celebrate not just the vessels, the technology and the operations, but above all the people: the submariners, past and present, and the families who support them. The silent service may operate beneath the waves and away from public view, but its contribution to our country speaks volumes. For more than a century, submariners have served in the shadows so that the rest of us can live in safety and freedom. To every submariner, past and present, I offer my deepest gratitude, and to those currently out on deployment, I say, “Fair winds and following seas.”
Sir Roger Gale (in the Chair)
Mr Shannon, you have not a second more than five minutes.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Roger. I thank the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper) for setting the scene incredibly well, to mark a truly monumental milestone in our nation’s history: the 125th anniversary of the Royal Navy submarine service.
The silent service has been the invisible shield safeguarding the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. From the gruelling unsung deployments of the cold war right through to today’s continuous at-sea deterrent, our submariners have stood fast in the deep. They have operated in the most hostile, claustrophobic and demanding environments known to mankind. Winston Churchill said of them:
“Of all the branches of men in the forces there is none which shows more devotion and faces grimmer perils than the submariner.”
I want to use my time today to put on record the immense, proud and historic contribution that Northern Ireland has made to the 125-year legacy. Our province’s history is inextricably linked to the survival and success of the submarine fleet. During the battle of the Atlantic it was the port of Londonderry’s HMS Ferret that served as the UK’s most westerly naval base. It was from our waters that the horrendous fight against enemy U-boats was co-ordinated, keeping our nation’s vital supply lines alive. It was also on the shores of Lisahally in Northern Ireland in May 1945 that the mass surrender of the German U-boat fleet took place—a moment of triumph etched forever into our local history.
Furthermore, during the darkest days of the troubles, our maritime borders were kept safe by the brave deployments of the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines. We remember operations such as Op Granada where vessels such as HMS Cachalot—a traditional diesel-electric patrol submarine—carried out elite Special Boat Service kayak insertions along the rugged coast from Torr Head to Garron to intercept the IRA’s illegal arms smuggling and protect innocent lives on land.
Northern Ireland’s connection to the silent service is not just a relic of the past; it is an active and living relationship. Right now, Northern Ireland businesses and engineering firms are the ones providing the high-tech muscle and keeping our modern fleet moving. Just recently, Magherafelt-based construction firm Henry Brothers secured millions of pounds in infrastructure contracts at HMNB Clyde, delivering the critical facility upgrades to sustain the current Vanguard class and pave the way for next-generation Dreadnought nuclear deterrent submarines. Our local workers are literally building the secure facilities that allow our submariners to deploy. Let us also not forget the engineering heritage of Harland and Wolff, whose Belfast workforce has historically stood ready to repair and refit the vessels that keep our seas secure.
When a submarine slips under the waves, it disappears from public view, but it never disappears from our minds. The isolation and sacrifice of missing births, deaths and family milestones along with the heavy burden of absolute secrecy is a weight carried not just by the crew but also by the families waiting anxiously back home in Strangford and across the UK. As we mark 125 years, we remember the nearly 6,000 submariners who have gone on eternal patrol and never returned home. We owe them a debt that we can never fully repay.
What has never changed is the courage of the people. The courage, technical excellence and sheer grit of the British submariner remains exactly the same. Northern Ireland is very proud of its role in this history, proud of its industry supporting the fleet today and proud to stand with the silent service for the next 125 years.
Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I congratulate the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper) on securing this debate.
The first debate I led in Westminster Hall on 15 January 2025 was also on the UK submarine service. It is an important issue which we should always keep coming back to periodically—perhaps some of our colleagues from other parts of the United Kingdom will take turns next time round.
I want to talk about the naval base and dockyard at Rosyth in my constituency. Just last week I had a ten-minute rule Bill on submarine recycling—a programme which I will come back to later. Rosyth was a critical part of the submarine service during world war one, from where squadrons of submarines left for the battle of Jutland. In the second world war it was particularly a base for Polish submarines. If anyone has the time, including perhaps the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis), who is sitting opposite, to read up on the history of the Polish submarine Orzeł, they will find that it is a fantastic story about not only the boat itself while it was based at Rosyth, but the antics—shall we say—of some of the crew, which are famous around Fife. I am delighted that there is a memorial to the crew of the Orzeł and other Polish members of the community who served with the Royal Navy in world war two being constructed very close to Rosyth. It is a reminder that when the UK fights wars, we tend to fight them with our allies and that we will continue to do so in the future.
Rosyth is also a very key part of current submarine activity. We currently have missile tubes for Dreadnought-class submarines being constructed at Rosyth with fantastic hard work and high-end manufacturing being done there. Indeed, the manufacturing standards are so high that they are also building the same equipment for the US Columbia-class submarines. Anyone who has dealt with anything about defence will know that for the Americans to give up that level of investment in one of their key pieces of technology shows exactly how important that workforce is. Indeed, they are also building parts of the next Virginia-class submarines as well. Again, that is a testament to the fantastic workforce at Rosyth.
Anna Gelderd (South East Cornwall) (Lab)
Just across the river from South East Cornwall is HMNB Devonport, which has been at the heart of our naval history for more than 300 years. As my hon. Friend makes clear, the interoperability and the support of the defence supply chain across the country, from Cornwall to Scotland, are crucial. Just yesterday, I had the absolute privilege of visiting the naval base and HMS Anson to see at first hand how the base and the incredible servicemen and women are on the frontline of our defence. We are talking about 300 years of history and a huge future for our Navy. Does he agree that the UK Government are demonstrating our commitment by investing more than £7 billion in Devonport’s facilities and that that will be a great opportunity for the servicemen and women I met yesterday going forward?
Graeme Downie
I agree entirely. I was about to move on to talk about submarine recycling, something that is of course shared between Devonport and Rosyth. I have never been on a submarine while it has been in service, as my hon. Friend has. However, I was privileged to go on to HMS Swiftsure, which is currently being recycled at Rosyth dockyard. More than 60% has already been completed—more than 90% of it will be recycled and reused in other submarines and for other defence uses, including in Dreadnought, guaranteeing jobs across the UK as a vital part of the submarine supply chain.
Something that I will repeat in this House over and over again is the need to take advantage of the highly skilled workforce we have at Rosyth, who are currently undertaking submarine recycling. Swiftsure having almost been finished, there are six further submarines currently sitting at Rosyth: Resolution, Churchill, Revenge, Renown, Repulse and HMS Dreadnought. It is quite something to think that we are about to have going into service a new HMS Dreadnought when the previous HMS Dreadnought is still sitting in Rosyth, waiting for something to be done to it. The skilled workforce there are ready to do that. If my hon. Friend the Minister is able to give me any update—I always ask for an update on the next stages of the submarine recycling programme— I would be very grateful, because there is a huge opportunity not only for UK submarines, but for that facility to become a centre of excellence for the world. This is something that has never been done before, but is now being done by the incredibly skilled team at Rosyth.
I will finish by echoing the words of colleagues from across the House and saying that we must always remember the critical and unique role that submariners play in our defence. That has been echoed by the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway and others. They have spoken about the silent service and the pressures of not being in contact that both submariners and their families must endure. We should always be grateful not only to the submariners themselves, but to their families for allowing them to protect our country.
Ian Roome (North Devon) (LD)
I thank the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper) for initiating this debate on the 125th anniversary of the submarine service.
The Liberal Democrats pay tribute to the courage and discipline of all those Royal Navy submariners who serve far beneath the waves. The UK has a proud maritime heritage, and for more than a century our subsea fleet has given our island home a critical strategic advantage. Royal Navy submarine crews operate undetected for months at a time, in cramped conditions, at a classified depth, hundreds of metres below sea level. At that depth, the water pressure is five times the fatal limit for a human being. Every person who serves in our armed forces deserves our respect, but we should acknowledge that this kind of service takes a special kind of bravery.
In the first few decades after 1901, early submarines were both experimental and dangerous. In my constituency of North Devon, a memorial in the coastal town of Ilfracombe bears the names of two local men: Leading Seaman George David Cook and Engine Room Artificer David Bennington. Sadly, both were killed in the sinking of HMS Affray in the channel in 1951. That was the last Royal Navy submarine to be lost at sea. They were just two of the brave souls who served somewhere most of us cannot imagine going.
Thankfully, modern submarines are much safer and more advanced, but looking back, we can see that the submarine service and the advent of the submarine era “torpedoed” all the accepted wisdom of naval strategy. At the time, Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson famously condemned early submarines as
“underhanded, unfair, and damned un-English”.
He is often said to have described submariners as little better than pirates, even as the Royal Navy began exploring the technology’s true potential. It is just as well that we learnt quickly.
In the past 125 years, the UK has twice seen off the terrible danger of the U-boat threat, during two world wars, while our subsea fleet has become one of the most lethal capabilities of the Royal Navy, first with conventional and now with nuclear-powered submarines, providing everything from cruise missile launch to covert naval deployment of special forces and the UK’s round-the-clock nuclear deterrent. NATO now maintains the submarine rescue system—the NSRS—which is led by the UK, France and Norway.
However, despite all the advances of the last 125 years, we know that rescuing a stranded submarine crew is difficult, and that the duty that crews volunteer for is unique. Far beneath the waves, the submarine service developed its own culture and identity—its own slang and traditions. Having served in the armed forces myself, I know just how much comes back to personnel, grit and character. Faced with isolation, stressful deployments and patrols of six months or longer at sea, it is training and teamwork that sets a submarine crew apart. That would have been just as familiar to Drake or Nelson as it is to the Royal Navy today. Last November, the Defence Committee had the chance to visit Faslane to see the work and dedication of those personnel for ourselves.
Senior figures in the Navy have expressed concerns about the difficulty of recruiting and retraining personnel for this highly specialised service several times. Changing that means making it clear that we hold the submarine service in great admiration. The silent service are a breed apart. They are usually unseen, but their duties are immense, and on this anniversary, we pay tribute to their heroism.
Mr Mark Francois (Rayleigh and Wickford) (Con)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper) on securing this important debate on the 125th anniversary of the Royal Navy’s submarine service, and for introducing it so ably.
I declare two interests: first, my late father, Stoker First Class Reginald Francois, served in the Royal Navy during the second world war, although he was a minesweeper man, not a submariner; and secondly, I am, by virtue of my father’s service, a long-standing honorary member of the Rayleigh branch of the Royal Naval Association. Members of the Rayleigh RNA were out in force on Remembrance Sunday, led by their chairman Mike Sandbrook, who is a former submariner. I am wearing my RNA tie this evening.
Despite Admiral Wilson’s strictures, which we heard about from the hon. Member for North Devon (Ian Roome), the Royal Navy’s first operational submarine, the Holland 1, entered service in 1901. It was built in Barrow-in Furness, which is where BAE Systems builds our nuclear submarines today. The submarine service began the first world war with some 60 submarines. Those gave good service to the King, as evidenced by the fact that five of the 14 Victoria Crosses awarded to the Royal Navy during the great war went to submariners. The Royal Navy began world war two with a similar number of submarines, although by 1945, that number had more than trebled. RN submarines operated in the Atlantic and Pacific, but perhaps most famously in the Mediterranean—my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries and Galloway has already mentioned the exploits of HMS Upholder.
During the cold war, the Royal Navy transitioned to primarily nuclear propulsion, and our first nuclear attack submarine, HMS Dreadnought, was commissioned in 1960. RN submarines played an important role in the Falklands war of 1982. That includes the HMS Conqueror famously torpedoing the Argentinian cruiser, the General Belgrano, and returning to port flying a Jolly Roger. Later classes of attack submarine—the Swiftsures and Trafalgars—continued the noble tradition of protecting the seas, as is now performed by the latest Astute class.
In 1968, the Royal Navy assumed the role of providing our nuclear deterrent from the Royal Air Force, and the Resolution class of ballistic missile submarines entered service. From then onwards, at least one Royal Navy nuclear deterrent submarine has always remained at sea, in the ocean depths, providing the ultimate guarantee of our national security. That mission, known as the continuous at-sea deterrent, or Op Relentless, has been successfully performed for more than 57 years. That is an amazing tribute to the professionalism and endurance of Royal Navy submariners.
The Royal Navy also has an extremely proud tradition of utilising its nuclear attack submarines to monitor potential adversaries, particularly the Russian navy as it seeks to operate in the High North and the north Atlantic. Nevertheless, as we have already heard, there are also concerns about the availability of our attack submarine fleet.
It is an oft-forgotten fact that Vladimir Putin’s father was a submariner and Putin has continued to invest heavily in his submarine fleet and increase the monitoring by Russian submarines of undersea cables around the British Isles that are absolutely fundamental to our commercial life.
In the light of that, it is deeply worrying that, for a period of several months earlier this year, not a single one of our attack submarines was at sea, as is well known to the Chinese and the Russians. Perhaps when the Minister responds to this debate, he can explain why that was the case and, even more importantly, what is being done to fix that situation. It is simply unacceptable that the Astutes, which cost £1.5 billion each, are tied up alongside for long periods when the Russians are roving at will in the north Atlantic. The wall of silence about the chronic unavailability of the Astute class cannot go on; I would like the Minister to address that issue when he responds.
In summary, the Royal Navy’s silent service, whose motto is “We Come Unseen”, has an extremely proud tradition of service to this nation. It takes a quite extraordinary individual to be prepared to serve at sea, often for months at a time, especially on deterrent patrols that take them away from friends and family, and without access to so much as a mobile phone. The nation rightly remains proud of those who wear dolphins and will no doubt continue to give valiant and resolute service to the people of these islands, just as successfully as they have done for the past 125 years.
The Minister for Veterans and People (Mr Calvin Bailey)
It is a pleasure, Sir Roger, to serve under your chairmanship for the first time in my role.
I congratulate the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper) on securing this debate and giving us this opportunity to recognise 125 years of the Royal Navy submarine service. This anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on the service’s extraordinary history, to recognise generations of submariners and the families who supported them, and to remember those who gave their lives serving our country. The work of submariners often depends on remaining unseen, but today we can ensure that their contribution is properly recognised.
On 2 October 1901, the launch of Holland 1 marked the beginning of the Royal Navy’s submarine story, as we have already heard. During both world wars, submariners distinguished themselves in conditions that demanded exceptional courage, skill and endurance, engaging in everything from reconnaissance to disrupting enemy supply lines.
The introduction of nuclear propulsion brought another profound change. In 1963, HMS Dreadnought entered service as Britain’s first nuclear-powered submarine. Six years later, the Resolution class of submarines began our continuous at-sea deterrent. Successive generations of submariners have maintained that deterrent without interruption. That unbroken mission depends on a crew at sea, on those preparing to take their place and on everyone ashore whose work makes each patrol possible.
Alongside providing deterrence, our submariners gather intelligence, hunt hostile submarines, protect maritime forces and offer the ability to strike targets at sea and on land. Their ability to operate undetected gives the UK options that few other capabilities can provide, and much of their work cannot be discussed publicly. Operational security rightly limits what we can say about individual deployments and the readiness or availability of particular submarines.
Mr Francois
Before the Minister chides me for discussing submarine movements in Parliament, I am not doing so; I am discussing the absence of submarine movements. So, either now or before he ends his speech, will he tell the House why not a single one of our nuclear attack class submarines—the Astute class—was at sea for months?
Mr Bailey
I thank the right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford for setting himself up, because I will take great pleasure in explaining to him why we are in that position.
However, I will first explain that a central part of democracy is the ability to report responsibly on submarine operations. Crews cannot reply to speculation, and their families cannot be told where their loved ones are. Unfounded guesses about the activities of a boat, particularly a submarine on a deterrent patrol, leave a husband, a mother or a child at home worrying about when they will next see the brave sailors who crew our submarines. For that reason, I urge responsibility in discussions about these matters.
The hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway asked me to shed light on why we are here. The right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford has so passionately set himself up to hear why. It is quite clear that the cuts made in the 2010 strategic defence and security review did the damage that we are trying to recover from now. Let us be clear: it was the Opposition who deferred the replacement of Vanguard by four years, and it was the Opposition who slowed the Astute build.
Sir Roger Gale (in the Chair)
Order. If the Minister wishes to give way, he will. He does not have to.
Mr Bailey
Thank you, Sir Roger. It was an 8% cut in real terms that did lasting damage, taking us from 2.6% of GDP down to 2.1%. This Government have taken us from 2.3% when we entered office to 2.7%, and we will go on towards 3% in 2030. We have had to put £26 billion into our bases to recover from the damage that the Opposition did—£15.1 billion in Clyde, including the purchase of three new floating docks and shoreside maintenance facilities to fix the underinvestment, and, as we have heard, an investment of £7.1 billion at Devonport.
I urge some humility at a moment when we are trying to talk about the submarine service. Scrutiny strengthens our armed forces, but careless disclosure and discussion—and using our service people as a political football—do not support our armed forces; they damage the people and families who are out there serving and putting their lives at risk for us.
Chris Vince
I want to make this point because I heard other hon. Members mention it, and I know my wife would not forgive me if I did not. We have spoken very passionately about submariners and the sacrifice that they make, but the Minister is absolutely right to identify the huge sacrifice that their families make, particularly in relation to the nuclear deterrent. Those families cannot know where their loved ones are—that is a huge sacrifice. Does he agree?
Mr Bailey
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow, who spoke so passionately about the contribution of Raytheon, about and the wonderful Sea Cadets in his constituency and about HMS Triumph. He has just made the point that I was trying to make earlier: we need to be responsible in our reporting and discussions. We need discussions that challenge but are respectful of those who cannot respond when they are used as a political football.
I wear this tie of the submarine service today because, from 2017 to 2020, I worked in the Ministry of Defence alongside some incredible submariners. Every Monday, I had to go up to see some of the colleagues I now work opposite and explain to them why our systems and services were in such a mess. Every Monday, we had to explain the damage that had been done to the submarine service and to the Royal Air Force.
I welcome the comments from the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis), who gave an excellent account of the U-boats. I have a reading list from him about the U-boat killers and the importance of the aircraft that support our submarines. Again, I point to the aircraft that were deleted in the 2010 SDSR. We should all remember the loss of the XV230, the Nimrod from 120 Squadron under the captainship of Flight Lieutenant Squires, which was lost 20 years ago this year, and the 14-person crew—12 RAF, one Royal Marine and one Parachute Regiment—who lost their lives. I am grateful to the right hon. Member for recognising the contribution of those airmen as part of the undersea mission. I also felt great pride during his discussion of “Subsunk”. I was held at readiness to deliver that mission.
I want to acknowledge those who support the service ashore: our engineers, dockyard workers, designers, civil servants and industrial partners who build and sustain the submarines on which it depends.
Graeme Downie
I thank the Minister for setting out how the Government are putting in place the infrastructure necessary for the future of the submarine service. On a very specific point, will he raise with his officials the need to upgrade the contingent docking facility at Rosyth? That would allow it to host HMS Dreadnought as part of ensuring the continuous at-sea deterrent for decades to come.
Mr Bailey
My hon. Friend is a doughty champion not only for our servicepeople and the submarine service, but for his constituency. In response to his question about Rosyth, HMS Swiftsure is a demonstrator of the necessary recycling capabilities. Again, I have to point to the fact that although an abundance of submarines and boats in my hon. Friend’s constituency require fixing, the party of the right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford chose not to address that. I welcome my hon. Friend’s championing of that point; I was pleased to see his appointment to the Select Committee on Defence.
Jim Shannon
In my contribution, I referred to the critical role that Northern Ireland played during the second world war. I also paid tribute to what the submariners and the Royal Marines did in the conflict in Northern Ireland by stopping illegal weapons coming from the Republic of Ireland into Northern Ireland. Does the Minister agree—I know he will—that we are not often told about that critical role for our security?
Mr Bailey
I agree with the hon. Member about the centrality of Northern Ireland, which I think is symbolically represented in the capturing of the German U-boat fleet during the second world war. That is why, very early on in my role, I made two visits to Northern Ireland to recognise its contribution to our services and defence industry.
This anniversary is also a moment for us to remember and honour—we are on the eve of Armistice Day, so this is particularly fitting—those submariners who did not return and the families whose lives were changed forever by their loss. We remember the nearly 6,000 submariners and 150-plus submarines that never returned. Behind those figures are lives, friendships and families. They must never become simply numbers on a page or used as political footballs. The submarine community speaks of them as being on eternal patrol—an expression of remembrance and of a bond that does not end with death.
Doing justice to that history also means looking ahead. The Dreadnought programme will provide the next generation of CASD. Advanced attack submarines from AUKUS will carry forward the service’s tradition of technological innovation. But our gratitude must be more than that.
I will stray from my script. As I was sitting next to two incredible submarine captains in the Ministry of Defence, they encouraged me to wear the tie of their service today. I will never walk past the dolphins— I understand their importance. I hope that everything I do is reflective of their service.
John Cooper
I will be as brief as I can. As a former journalist, I have to say that it is right that we scrutinise the military; it is not a political football. We have not really heard what is wrong with Astute-class submarines. To paraphrase Admiral Beatty at the battle of Jutland, something appears to be wrong with our bloody ships.
I thank all right hon. and hon. Members who have taken part in the debate. It has been a tremendous opportunity to pay tribute to the stoicism and bravery of submariners throughout the ages, which has sadly and too often been tinged with tragedy, as we have heard. We can all go home tonight and sleep safely in our beds knowing that they are out there somewhere, watching over us.
Question put and agreed to.
Resolved,
That this House has considered the 125th anniversary of the submarine service.