Early Cold War A-class Submarine "Alliance"

Much as memory and imagination can transport me back to my time in HMS Alderney, there is nothing quite like actual photographs and authentic comments from one who was there. A recent article in the Daily Mail has both. For former hands in boats, and anybody interested, have a look here. As a former navigator, I got a special kick out of the dividers and parallel rule on the chart table. (Both of which come in handy in my upcoming submarine thriller set in an A-boat.)

"Canadian" Submarines in the Cuban Missile Crisis (1 of a series)

This is a photo of HMS Alliance, a Royal Navy A-boat (also sometimes known as the Amphion or Acheron class). She is wearing camouflage, and probably in the Far East when the photo was taken. The Alliance lives on as the main feature at the RN Submarine Museum at Gosport, Hants.
There were fourteen A-boats built in the United Kingdom, of which two served in Canadian waters during the Cuban Missile Crisis. They were stationed in Halifax as the Sixth Submarine Flotilla, but were under Canadian operational control. They typically carried a number of Canadian officers and men serving on loan and for training with the Royal Navy.
The two A-boats mentioned above were Her Majesty's Submarines Alderney and Astute.
More about them in subsequent posts.
My novel about a fictitious "Canadian" A-boat, HMCS Alert, in the Cuban Missile Crisis is due out in August 2014, the Canadian submarine centennial year.

Video of HMS "Alliance" Interior

At right is a photo of HMS Alliance during her heyday. I am guessing it was while she was on active service in the Far East, judging by the camouflage paint job.
No longer in commission, the Alliance has survived some hard times to become the centrepiece of the Royal Navy Submarine Memorial and Museum in Gosport, Hampshire.
Here is a link to a recent video that shows how well the Museum has preserved and rebuilt her both inside and out.
The Alliance is a particularly interesting exhibit from my point of view, in that she was a sister to my only Royal Navy boat, the Alderney, long gone to the breaker's yard. And my next historical novel, bearing the working title "Sailor Down", is set in an A-boat.
For a look at the Amazon page for my cavalry story, "Soldier of the Horse", click here.

Royal Navy Submarine Museum HMS Alliance

The Royal Navy's only remaining World War II vintage submarine, HMSAlliance, is reunited with her periscopes. The boat is high and dry alongside Haslar Creek, near Gosport, England, her home base for many years. Alliance is now a museum piece, slated for opening to the public in 2014. A good year for submariners, especially Canadian ones, given 2014 is the centenary of submarines in Canada.
The photo is courtesy of the RN Submarine Museum. For more on the Alliance look here.