Worst boat

What is the worst boat you ever served on? I am reading a book about the loss of the USS Scorpion-what a heap!!!I am glad I was never on that one.

 

I know HM/SM Revenge was a real shed , and went to see litrally
held together by black maskers a few times . I t was a nightmare
going on a bomber patrol knowing the Revenge was the boat that
was going to replace you .She would always breakdown and
you would get that dreaded pipe '' repent bravo Revenge has
broken down '' .

 

Revenge was a shed, as were all the Polaris bombers towards the end (I did all four)....I do however fondly remember my trip to Florida on Revenge and watching the night sky light up when she let one off....magic.....

 

I was on Revenge Port from 78-80 and we never had a problem at all.

 

I had three DE A boats, they all leaked, Artemis was the worst and proved it by sinking just after I came off her for demob.

Who remembers the joys of pooping on an A boat, no Elephants foot rigged just a full bore entry down the Conning Tower hatch, diesels going full bore and the vacuum trying to pull your eardrums out.

I brought the Amphion home from Singapore, exercising with the Yanks off Panama they hit us with a practise Asroc, that was the last time she dived as the foreplanes gave up the ghost and had to be secured by a wire strop to stop them flapping around. We already had 4 x 4 lengths of timber from the deckhead to the cylinder heads on the donks because the cylinder head bolts had started sheering off.

On the Alaric off of San Juan, one of the Props fell off and they had to fly another one out from Canada to replace it.

P & O Boats were drier, but to be fair a lot younger than the A's when I joined them.

Ah! the joys of being a Submariner in the '60's

 

Top story , you are still a stupid old git .

 

Looking at that lot, just the tip of the iceburg really, I couldn't have been very bright when I was younger either, or I would have deserted

 

A Boats in roughers shear luxury, just try a Low Bridge Stretched T a'la Tiptoe, Truncheon etc. Described as an abortion and altered to high Front of Fin bridges in Oz for them lucky enough to be part of SM4 in Sydney. Away from the control of HM Dockyard. The top of the bridge was only about 12 foot above sea level. We had the elephants food, birdbath and wandering punp out hose rigged in all sea states above 2. Perhaps that is where the Canucks went wrong.

The wheel (OK tapper bar) was just about under and to port of the lower lid. Goffers and a 40 knot wind what fun for the helmsman and messenger.

Shall we start down the road of have a crap and blow it each time heads.

Appy Daze

Nutty

Nutty

 

Revenge first commish.
I joined her beginning of '72 after the first of my four patrols I picked up my POs rate and went into the SRs mess. What a shower of children!! You couldn't sit in certain places in the mess as it was was the domain of members. The Clankies or Black Dafties used to sit in a little cliche here the MCC and Missile Queens sat there whilst the For'd mob sat somewhere else. The bar never seemed to shut. Scared me to think that certain members used to get rat arsed and then go on watch. If the Clankies worked their watches right then they used to manage a weekend at sea.
I was bloody glad to get of them bloody things and back to SM1 at least I knew i would be safe at sea cos every one was sober we all spoke to each other and we were all totally professional.

 

Has to be the Valiant 1974-1978: there were things going wrong that even Rolls Royce and Vickers couldn't fix, let alone the crew and Guzz Dockyard. Somehow, we struggled along until Chatham refit, and I went outside just afterwards. Life as a civvy is less stressfull.

 

Worst boat, for me it was Tireless first commission, not a happy place at all. Worst boat for the state of it, easy, Revenge on her last commission, it really was a shed! I literally did have a ‘it came off in my hand chief’ moment while showing a new TS round. I stuck my hand up to show him some valve and the bleeding thing did just break as I touched it (the extended spin thingy sheared as the metal was rotten).

 

Sovereign alongside 2001. was supposed to be off doing special ops and going on visits. Reality, sat on 6 berth dayworking and duties, S**T.
Give me a 4 knot fudge packing machine anyday, FOSM's Ferrari's my arse.

 

I remeber Valiant before first refit and she was not that happy a boat then either.

I find it difficult to pick a woirst boat because I had a good time on them all, even Olympus during 6 months unfit to dive with dicky stern tubes, which Harold would pay to have fixed. If really forced I would pick Finwhale, not because there was anything wrong with her or the crew but because I was taken off her after I did my part 3 to go Nuclear instead of going with her to Singapore, that really pissed me off.

 

The



The Reso skippered by Captain Henry and Jimmy ,Ponsomby. Lads great but tried to run the boat and crew like a friggin skimmer.Not a happy boat at times.

 

Remember it well Cos: rounds in each compartment Monday to Friday, internal WSRT on Saturdays, church on Sundays. Not to mention 2 and 1 grog - not my idea of a submarine. They offered me a way out after the first patrol. so I was off like a shot: while youse were on the Xmas and New Year patrol, I was in Birkenhead, looking at 3 steel rings on the building slip (aka CONQUEROR), wondering how long I'd be there.

 

I remeber Ponsonby, a triflre pompous fro my liking, but hey it takes all types.

 

Bumped into him in 1973 when he was skipper of SALISBURY out of Guzz: XO of RESO (P) was Dick Husk, Cos. Got his 3rd ring on 1st patrol in 1968, Old Man was passed over, and forever referred to his Jimmy as "the Commander" . Was my skipper on VALIANT for a while before he was SM 2 and Commodore of DRAKE. Not bad for a Boy seaman, eh?

 

Things had't changed when I done her last patrol early 90's. Being my first boat I never had another to compare with, but I hated it and everything to do with them. :shakefist:

 

I'm sure there have been some happy boats out there but Renown was the same as Polycell says in 83/84 but then I was non volunteered into sumarines. It was sheer drudgery with lots of the guys with serious drinking problems at sea in the SRs mess.
The only dits the volunteer crew had was when they did the Florida trip, yawn.

 

I'm sure some were happy because they were always, when off watch, pissed. It wasn't about happiness it was about being professional.
Action stations used to amaze me. Actions stations went one fore noon I lept out my rack switched the lights on and got "switch that f***ing light out " I said but action stations has just been piped "well I'm not involved"
WHAT!!!!