HMS Vigilant, with crew, in happier times (Photo courtesy Royal Navy, 2012)
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What do you call it when:
1. the Captain of nuclear missile submarine HMS Vigilant (SSBN) is removed for an inappropriate
relationship with a female crew member,
relationship with a female crew member,
2. thenhis second in command (Executive Officer) is also removed– same reason – different female
crew member, and
3. then it is revealed these shenanigans“sparked anger among crew members, with five [officers]
threatening to resign”?
This is very serious on account of HMS Vigilantconstituting Britain’s whole active nuclear deterrent during the three to six months it is on patrol. During that period the other three Vanguards would be inactive while training or being overhauled.
This is very serious on account of HMS Vigilantconstituting Britain’s whole active nuclear deterrent during the three to six months it is on patrol. During that period the other three Vanguards would be inactive while training or being overhauled.
This Lockheed Martin document [PDF 10MB] also raises a third activity on page 6 - that is the Vanguards also regularly have their rented Trident missiles [right click mouse to translate] restocked at the US-UK Strategic Weapons Facility Atlantic (SWFLANT) at the US SSBN Base at King's Bay, Georgia.
Kings Bay Base is large, at 16,000 acres and employing 9,000 people. A likely photo of US-UK Strategic Weapons Facility Atlantic's giant SSBN sheds is below - courtesy French Wikipedia.
See inside one shed [on page 1. same PDF 10MB]
---A. In view of the Vigilant Scandal the issue of having female crew on UK and US SSBNs is likely to
be reviewed.
B. The five officer threat to resign from what is a front line vessel might approach mutiny by some
definitions. The most famous Mutiny on the Bounty was much more insignificant in comparison.
fleet in one vessel – mounting up to 16 city smashing “guns”.
Pete