HMS Alliance (P417)
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HMS ''Alliance'' (P417/S67) is a
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
A-class, ''Amphion''-class or ''Acheron''-class submarine, laid down towards the end of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and completed in 1947. The submarine is the only surviving example of the class, having been a memorial and museum ship since 1981. The ''Amphion''-class submarines were designed for use in the Far East, where the size of the Pacific Ocean made long-range, high surface speed and relative comfort for the crew important features to allow for much larger patrol areas and longer periods at sea than British submarines operating in the Atlantic or Mediterranean had to contend with. ''Alliance'' was one of the seven A-class boats completed with a snort mast - the other boats all had masts fitted by 1949.


History

From 9 October 1947 until 8 November the submarine undertook a lengthy experimental cruise in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa to investigate the limits of the snort mast, remaining submerged for 30 days. Between 1958 and 1960 ''Alliance'' was extensively modernised by having the deck gun and external torpedo tubes removed, the hull streamlined and the fin replaced with a larger (26 feet 6 inch high), more streamlined one constructed of aluminium. The purpose of these modifications was to make the submarine quieter and faster underwater. Following the modifications, the wireless transmitting aerial was supported on a frame behind the fin but was later replaced with a whip aerial on the starboard side of the fin which could be rotated hydraulically to a horizontal position. The original gun access hatch was retained, however, allowing ''Alliance'' to be equipped with a small calibre deck gun again when serving in the Far East during the
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of the early 1960s. In May 1961 the pennant numbers of British submarines were changed so that all surviving submarines completed after the Second World War were now numbered from S01 upwards, and ''Alliance'' was given the number S67. On 13 January 1968, she grounded on
Bembridge Bembridge is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish located on the easternmost point of the Isle of Wight. It had a population of 3,848 according to the 2001 census of the United Kingdom, leading to the implausible claim by so ...
Ledge off the Isle of Wight, but was subsequently refloated with the help of Admiralty tugs. On or around 30 September 1971, a battery explosion occurred on board, while she was at
Portland Harbour Portland Harbour is beside the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England. Construction of the harbour began in 1849; when completed in 1872, its surface area made it the largest human-made harbour in the world, and it remains ...
, which killed one sailor and injured 14 others. From 1973 until 1979 she was the static training boat at the shore establishment HMS ''Dolphin'', replacing in this role. In August 1979, she was towed to Vosper Ship Repairers Limited's yard at Southampton to have her keel strengthened so that she could be lifted out of the water and preserved as a memorial to those British submariners who have died in service. Since 1981 the submarine has been a
museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...
, raised out of the water and on display at the
Royal Navy Submarine Museum The Royal Navy Submarine Museum at Gosport is a maritime museum tracing the international history of submarine development from the age of Alexander the Great to the present day, and particularly the history of the Royal Navy Submarine Service fr ...
in
Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hampshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 70,131 and the district had a pop ...
. Although listed as part of the
National Historic Fleet The National Historic Fleet is a list of historic ships and vessels located in the United Kingdom, under the National Historic Ships register. National Historic Ships UK is an advisory body which advises the Secretary of State for Culture, Media ...
, in recent years as many as 100
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had been nesting in the submarine, causing extensive corrosive damage. She also sat on cradles over seawater, adding to problems of corrosion and preventing easy and economical maintenance to her exterior. Urgent repairs were needed and it was announced on 30 May 2011 that HMS ''Alliance'' would share in an £11 million
Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
grant. ''Alliance'' would receive £3.4 million to repair her bow and stern and address extensive surface corrosion. The restoration included reclaiming land beneath HMS ''Alliance'' using a cofferdam and backfill. This provides easy access for future maintenance and a new viewing platform for visitors, additionally opening up the conning tower and casing. A new HMS ''Alliance'' gallery is also part of the project to help ensure visitors fully appreciate the significance of this submarine and what she represents. Restoration was completed by March 2014, and the submarine was opened to visitors at the
Royal Navy Submarine Museum The Royal Navy Submarine Museum at Gosport is a maritime museum tracing the international history of submarine development from the age of Alexander the Great to the present day, and particularly the history of the Royal Navy Submarine Service fr ...
in April.


In popular culture

In 2017, the submarine was featured in the movie '' Transformers: The Last Knight'' and appeared to be a Transformer itself. In 2020, the submarine was featured in a
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advertisement.


References


Sources

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External links

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Google Street View Tour
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alliance (P417) Amphion-class submarines Cold War submarines of the United Kingdom Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness Museum ships in the United Kingdom 1945 ships Ships and vessels of the National Historic Fleet