Submarine Centre – Helensburgh

From Peter Jeanneret

A couple of years ago I visited the Submarine Centre in Helensburgh and was disappointed to see they were still showing the same show that had been showing for the previous 6 or so years, albeit an excellent show, but just mainly about X51 and the project to install it in the centre.  

I asked them about plans for further shows but there didn’t seem to be so much drive and enthusiasm at the time, and the centre appeared to have suffered rather since Brian Keating stepped back a bit from active interest.  So when I went to the centre today with two friends, I wasn’t going to stay for the show, but they said they did have a new one (since last August).  See this link.

It was absolutely brilliant – a history of submarine development from the earliest days, focusing mainly on midget submarines when it got to the 20th century.  There was an excellent section on Operation Source.  The audio-visual effects are at a completely new level – apparently there has been some significant update to the technology.   Well worth a visit.  I don’t know if SMQ trainees from Faslane get a visit here as part of their curriculum, but they should.

They do have an Submarine Book of Remembrance plaque fixed to the wall outside the front door, but I wonder if it would be worth them having a stand-alone touch screen inside for people to browse OBOR while they are waiting for the show to start? 

Altogether very encouraging!