Time for the T-Boat

Since 06-21-05

Excerpted from NSL UPDATE 06-15-05

TIME FOR THE T-BOAT

British Royal Navy Attack Submarine HMS TRAFALGAR made a unique location for a formal British tea party when she visited King's Bay, Georgia, America's Premier East Coast submarine base.

Howard Sepp, a Hospital administrator from Kingsland, Georgia could not resist such a rare opportunity to join the nuclear powered submarine when he bid for the Tea Party prize at a charity auction in aid of the Dolphin Trust, a US based submariner's benevolent charity.

Together with nine of his guests, Mr Sepp enjoyed the hospitality of British Naval Officers in the submarine's wardroom, the main communal space and dining area for the commissioned officers on board. In the confined area, officers hosted a formal tea party with the best bone china and a selection of treats for the American guests.

Howard Sepp was delighted with his special afternoon tea and tour of the submarine and said: "My wife and I were delighted to participate in this once in a lifetime opportunity, meeting the professional officers of the Royal Navy submarine service as well as contributing to such a worthwhile charity"

The Commanding Officer of HMS TRAFALGAR, Cdr Mark Williams presented Mr Sepp with a framed print of the original ship's commissioning painting of the Battle of Trafalgar when the British overcame the French Fleet in October1805.

Cdr Williams added: "I am absolutely delighted that HMS TRAFALGAR was able to offer such an unusual prize that caught the imagination of these generous donors to the Dolphin Trust. It's not often that submarines are in a position to help in this way owing to their operational programmes. The fact that the event falls on Memorial Day is significant too; by assisting this Charity today HMS TRAFALGAR is helping to remember all submariners who share a common bond of brotherhood and understanding of a life of service underneath the world's oceans."

Naval Historians and antiques collectors would be fascinated to see that HMS TRAFALGAR possesses a very rare framed banker's note signed by Admiral Lord Nelson dated 13 September 1805, just over a month before he died at the Battle of Trafalgar in which he orders his London Bankers in Pall Mall to pay his notorious mistress Lady Emma Hamilton the sum of £100. Lady Hamilton signed her name with a cross on the note as she was unable to read or write. Each officers cabin on board has rare etching images of famous Nelsonian battles from Naval History.(ends)

BACKGROUND FACTS ON HMS TRAFALGAR

HMS Trafalgar is the first of the class of nuclear powered submarine and is the 13th submarine of this type to enter service with the Royal Navy. She was built at the Barrow in Furness yard of Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering (the only yard building nuclear powered submarines for the Royal Navy) and launched by Lady Fieldhouse on 6 July 1981. The boat was commissioned in Barrow in Furness 27 May 1983 to the Second Submarine Squadron based in Devonport Naval Base, Plymouth, in the United Kingdom.

The submarine has a seagoing complement of about 130, comprising 19 Officers, 52 Senior Rates and 59 Junior rates.

The design particulars and performance of the Trafalgar class submarines are similar to the Swiftsure class, however there have been a series of improvements, notably in such areas as noise reduction and weapon system performance. HMS Trafalgar has a submerged displacement of just over 5000 tonnes and a surface displacement of 4700 tonnes. The submarine is 85.4 metres long while her pressure hull diameter of 9.83 metres is the same as the Swiftsure class. The submarine was the first to be fitted with a new design of reactor core which has been designed to give a longer life than earlier versions. Heat generated in the reactor produces steam which is used to drive the main propulsion turbines and the turbo generators. Machinery has been mounted on rafts to reduce noise to the lowest possible level.

In 1998 a significant upgrading in combat capability was achieved with the successful introduction into service of the Block III Tomahawk Land Attack missile (TLAM). The UK remains the only nation that the United States has sold this capability to. TLAM has been used extensively in operations in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.

In 2004 UK Ministers endorsed the proposal to procure 64 Block IV TLAM from the United States under the terms of a Foreign Military Sales case at a maximum procurement cost to the UK of £70M. The missiles are made by Raytheon in the USA. The weapons are the first of their class to be used in UK submarines and will soon be capable of being fired from our current Trafalgar Class submarines as well as from the new Astute Class submarines when they enter service.