Submarine: Life Under the Waves - Episode 1 | Channel 5 (2021)

someone take charge hms trenchant is a billion pound nuclear submarine i want an immediate report from the periscope i said known as a hunter killer that's a new one now right right guys let's get started this top secret boat is designed to silently track enemy vessels warships submarines anything that makes a noise in the ocean we can hear and keep them out of british waters but for her all-male crew [Music] this is also home we're used to bumping into each other a lot no privacy sexy for the very first time our cameras have been given unprecedented access to trenchant's four-month mission i need some help over here as she protects the british trident nuclear deterrent there is a threat unit out we need to be ready immediately and faces the challenges of living life under the sea definitely not [Music] there's a lot riding on this but that's what i get paid for [Music] it's eight o'clock in the morning hms trenchant is getting ready to leave port [Music] alright fellas all right good night gents all set good that's the right answer 41 year old dave burrell has been the captain of the submarine for nearly two years training session all right yeah command of a nuclear submarine is a thing i joined the navy to do i think i'm a people person i think that's really important hold it fellas all right [Music] hop to do set arounds just walk around the boat make sure everything's as it should be hello navs the captain's first stop is the control room to check in with his navigator right what's the plan i don't hit the rocks to kill the enemy i'm not driving the reactor against the rocks is that that's that's that's tactical level thought in your world isn't it i think i'm generally happy with that okay yeah i'll say that trenchant is the smallest of the royal navy's nuclear submarines and is home to a male crew of up to 130. there that's where the reactor is controlled from but unfortunately we're not allowed to film back there the top secret nuclear reactor powers trenchant's engines and means she can go for years without refueling it's easy to see a submarine and see what is the most complicated machine on the planet but fundamentally it's a village under the water so we're doing all right this is the wardroom normally about 20 officers live eat work the wardroom is used by the most senior crew on board we've got some exciting work to do this afternoon by the look of things [Music] in there is the junior race recreation and dining space incredibly small space about 60 of them that all try and cram in there [Music] head into the galley she what's for dinner what we've got today uh this evening we've got a slow roast belly pork with a barbecue sauce very nice and we've also got mint and chili lounge stew see that's that's tough the beating heart of the submarine is the galley the normal things that will keep a relatively young healthy male happy such as beer exposure to the opposite sex social media they're not here so how do we keep the boys happy we keep them happy by giving them exceptional food sunshine squadron down in devonport yeah you're moving things down down into the boat now [Music] lieutenant andy pandian is loading the last of the crew's food supplies i think there's 15 000 rashes of bacon so we are cooking 130 cook breakfast every day 130 lunches suppers and evening meals for me i was always going to join the armed forces it's a whole service ethos i like being part of something bigger than myself as the logistics officer andy must ensure there's enough food on board to last for 120 days there's no chance to resupply once they're underwater i'm very much the least cutting edge of the ship's company being the officer in charge of sausages catering for 130 people is you have 130 food critics on board and 130 michelin star chefs no matter what the chaps do there's always always going to be a christine the only way to load thousands of chicken breasts a quarter ton of rice 600 liters of milk and 10 000 tea bags is through the main hatch by hand milk coming down the people i love fruit food for still [ __ ] come on there's no room on board for a dedicated food store it's packed into cupboards and hidey holes all over the submarine so this is three deck on the submarine so around here you've got some living spaces you've got my office here underneath us you also have number three naval store which is where i hold the bulk of my dry provisions that is a lot of way to make cereal surprisingly popular when we offer breakfast every day i think that's pretty much everything loaded now gentlemen captain molly fellas relax thank you with the stores on board and minutes to go until departure the senior officers are being briefed on the mission okay immediately our one-up has required us to do some high-intensity operations to go and locate enemy submarines in protection of the uk's independent nuclear deterrent [Music] trenchant's mission is to defend britain's trident nuclear missiles trident is housed on a british submarine currently somewhere on patrol in the north atlantic over a thousand miles away you need to be ready to hit the ground running today okay the trident submarine is the number one thing that underpins the safety and security of the united kingdom it's our job to make sure that that deterrent isn't threatened that means absolute focus absolute eyes out the front on safety avoiding counter detection and achieving the aim questions that's it carry on command approved and clipped the main access hatch and you know that shot and clipped your shot clips with the submarine sealed preparations for departure are now at an end there's a certain sense of relief the goodbyes are done boys are ready to go gents that's a submarine now in pit condition to sail follow goal lines let go let's go hms trenchant's mission is now underway outbound outbound 1-3 over the operations of british submarines are highly classified once she's left port trenchant's movements become a closely guarded secret it's a nice day for it though [Music] you get mixed emotions i'll definitely miss my family being back at home now here and just getting ready for whatever's to come trenchant must now travel to a secret location deep in the north atlantic where trident is on patrol the most important task that the uk ministry does is the nuclear terror it is now for us to go make sure that we keep that deterrence safe it will push every member of the ship's company to their limit [Music] the royal navy's hunter killer submarine hms trenchant is heading north towards the atlantic [Music] are you good to go are we happy yeah executive officer jimmy dent is on his morning inspection rounds that is minging down nice grim oh that's that's offensive it takes two hours to check every compartment on the submarine it's health and safety rounds as much as anything we're not after catching people out we're not opening lockers it's pretty roping as trenchant's second in command it's jim's job to maintain strict standards on board hello um can you get your watch to start scrubbing out i know we're doing rounds now i've only got to 20 on balkan rank like underneath the step submarines a confined environment you get ill quickly and if someone gets ill everyone gets it out do you have a dmv on the boat it's great manhattan diary and vomiting yeah there's always the sort of two stages is one where you're afraid you might die in the second one you're afraid you won't so it's great each sleeping compartment is home to 60 men but it's only the size of a single garage i could like clean me in the dust and pubes under there bunk spaces the lights don't always go on all that often so i mean the cogs can go around to make sure that the the bunk space is uh a fit and not disgusting effectively yeah the crew hot bunk which means two men share one bed swapping over every six hours it's fairly up here though you get things like scabies breakouts which is pretty it's pretty grim but it does happen ditch all the curtains all the bedding what's that facebook that i wouldn't touch it don't touch it don't touch it body things have two uses don't they being an exo i've once had it described as like having 130 step children you just want the best for them and uh and they just hate you look how crushed you are i'm very crucial why are you crossing when you're cramped up in a tube like this it sort of heightens your emotions you have to be much more mindful of how you act and speak the more high up you get i think because it has a bigger effect on people i still don't get it right every time you turd hms transients is still sailing on the surface because of the shallow waters around the british isles fellas how are we doing all right good welcome essay clark is driving the boat and doing a great job of it which is all the more remarkable considering he's never actually driven a car but is fully qualified to drive a 5 000 ton nuclear submarine trenchant is now about to enter the north atlantic and it's only here that the water is finally deep enough to attempt her first dive beneath the surface captain roger planes show me rise unlock emergency blows all main events are shut yeah happy that's the water 150 meters off to watch roger after six months in port there's only one way for the captain to test if trenchant is still watertight by the submarine dive this submarine i say full dive on the plane fought when you have control of the bubble chip control make the pipe diving now dive in now diving now after case begins trenching descends slowly three and a half up 8.5 meters 12 meters good dive is on 16 meters now she's underwater every door and hatch must be checked for leaks weapons embarkation that's dry for escape tower dry dry main access okay we're happy [Music] now fully and safely underwater trenchant can continue her journey towards trident in secret [Music] 20 year old joe monty is one of the youngest members of the crew shop by decides to be blended in and a little bit taken off the top not too much because i don't want to go bald but you know still enough there i grew up in middlesbrough got to the end of school done my gcses didn't do as well as i expected my brother-in-law said why don't you look at joining the nervy and i thought this is actually something i want to do the the rules are quite um stringent of what you know what we're allowed and what we're not for haircuts and as long as it's off the ears and off the collar and it's no longer than 15 centimeters on top you you know you're pretty good adapting to the submarine life is is quite hard so you've got to get into that routine of being in that cramped space and just getting on with it is that good enough yeah that's good i like it can i get a refund definitely not joe is one of trenchant's sonar operators now the submarine is underwater he's one of the most important jobs on board cancel down track forces horrible nights the sonar is so sensitive it can pick up underwater sounds hundreds of miles away from large marine life to enemy submarines explore man one four eight six five i'll plant a green strip that's a new one now right joe's just picked up a muffled sound don't know about it an unidentified boat somewhere ahead of them right let's get some classifications that's fine crap 6'4 standby prosecution he needs to identify it [Applause] two seconds and work out if it's a threat some of that i've got there we go i want to call our fish investors according to navy rules trenchant must stay well away from a fishing boat stop by classification if the submarine got tangled in her nets it could drag the boat and her crew underwater a message is sent to the control room okay good he says yeah happy with that all right [Music] trenchant now gives the fishing boat a wide berth oh that's better it's just spilling cuts on five two six reporting just six just six four suspending zero eight it's it's quite hard i basically watch a screen while listening to what we have in the ocean days you think i can't do this anymore so you've gotta get into that routine of being in that cramped space and just getting on with it [Music] one of the crew has been injured can i get another the incident is near the nuclear reactor a classified part of the boat briefly on the casualty after what he's done he's put his right hand onto some steam pipe work for about three seconds a moment we've got a two to three inch uh partial thickness burn to his right palm right okay it's already started to blister as well we're monitoring his pain we've given some pain relief as it is yeah julia if the sailor needs hospital treatment trenchant will be forced to surface and that means giving away her location [Music] hms trenchant is sailing underwater 450 miles off the west coast of scotland [Music] but engineer jack bellamy has suffered serious burns and needs evacuating i was changing the lamp and i went to go reposition myself and touched a mainstream pipe work uh burned my hand um and now i can't literally scramble out my hand and skin's not looking good so they put a bandage on it it's still in pain now but getting him off the submarine isn't easy good morning hms tradition this is hearsay speaking this morning we'll be conducting a boat transfer to get one of our personnel off british warship hms sutherland has arrived to collect him [Music] now [Music] [ __ ] warship this is submarine it's channel 7 4 over [Music] let this submarine set this submarine [Music] so so now now one thing so happy [Music] um [Applause] she's trying to work out if it's going to be calm enough to get the man off you need to get the rib alongside to judge precisely whether it's achievable or not but um maybe maybe jim dent is worried about the rough sea the burn being to his hands means that he doesn't have full control as he goes down into the boat so it's not looking good at the moment i don't think don't worry queso just coming left [Music] despite the weather they decide to go for it to take position on the ladder when you're ready and then the boat will come in normally there you go hold there backward with only one good hand jake must climb down and time a backwards jump into the speedboat [Music] is coming up now [Music] thank you we've just come up [Music] now he's safely on board bellamy will be back in a british hospital in the next 24 hours all right guys let's get outside let's get the ladder in let's get done fox 31 this is a surface submarine uh that's um boat transfer now complete uh thank you for the excellent handling of your sea boat there i'm not sure we could have done it with a uh not such a good crew over so every time you put men on the casing it gets your heart rate up it's a risky thing to do but it was was well handled today so i think the success of this is born down to that but we need to get back underwater now every moment trenchant spends on the surface she risks being seen by spy satellites or enemy radars captain speaking end once underwater trenchant can resume her journey into the north atlantic hoping she hasn't been spotted [Applause] hms trenchant has two day chefs and one night chef who produce meals around the clock placing all right i reckon uh gordon ramsay would be proud from the best aren't we the galley is one of the busiest places on the boat and the hottest [Music] we're used to bumping into each other a lot no privacy everybody knows all your comings and goings chef louis smith is preparing the crew's favorite weekly meal so tonight we've got the philips steak we've got a southern fried chicken sweet corn peas onion rings chips and then a cheese board for dessert and later on tonight the lads will probably have an ice cream all going well all going well boss all going well logistics officer andy is in overall charge of the galley on wednesday they'll have cheesy wham-bombs friday fish and chips saturday they have their steak night it's a bit like being in a really weird underwater boarding school it's just great fun everyone gets involved as you can see chicken and chips the queue for state night stretches right down the length of the submarine it's like a zoo in yeah there's nowhere to sit there's music on and people are just doing their own thing we kind of make the decision to save a little bit of money during the week because we get a certain amount of money to feed the guys so we use some slightly cheaper menu options over the course of the week so we can throw a little bit more of the catering budget towards slate night and uh yeah it's good for all purposes not necessarily for our weight signs if you're on any submarine the unique conditions in which we live creates for a tight-knit community real band of brothers that is the best part the end of the night they'll bring through a little bucket for the slot which they haven't eaten and if that's not very full you know you've done a good job say everything went well tonight quite successful worst part of the night though cleaning down i've gone from a full chef to a dish pig [Music] oh the job done [Applause] turn the fan on check if it works you've not done that yet there's a problem on two deck send the oranges first please one of trenchant's two fridges has just broken down we've got a slight leak in the fridge so the idea is to basically get the refrigerant out of the fridge and then use that to ventilate out to stop poisonous gas from the fridge contaminating the air supply [Music] it's being pumped out of the boat [Applause] milk milk is probably the priority milk definitely at least half of the fresh provisions will soon start to go off which is a headache for andy fresh fruit fresh milk do you know what i'm hot i think it'll almost be worth getting the apples out of the messes will we bring it down yeah i might feel that that makes sense [Music] weeks worth of fresh supplies need to be eaten as quickly as possible here we go lads nice to meet you oh and solid food yes please all the fresh they must now find a way to stretch the remaining supplies still got loads of dry tins and stuff like in the refrigerator yeah however they have to have uht with their cereal we embarked significant amount of dry provisions this will give us the endurance to stay out and sail even without a fridge in the worst case scenario we will not have fresh food we will have pouch meats and tinned vegetables which i'm sure will be delightful with no way to replenish supplies the crew must ration what they have left we've got a very creative team of chefs on board at the moment so they've managed to adapt and overcome with the challenges we face or character building i suppose yeah so you're happy with that then boss yeah i think that makes sense happy days i mean the biggest things that uh impact we're out in submarine is food [Applause] [Music] news about the problem with the supplies quickly reaches the crew we've gone to less food potentially onto ration packs which are not great but it's better than not eating [Music] it's going to be tough really and it you just gotta laugh it off honestly a bit annoyed you gotta remain flexible one of the key things with the navy after four days at sea hms trenchant has arrived at a classified location in the north atlantic the trident submarine carrying britain's nuclear deterrent is on patrol close by and the captain has just received intelligence about a potentially serious threat to trident right fellas um we've been tasked to go and find an enemy submarine that we believe to be in the area we don't know exactly where they are but we need to find them and protect trident the submarine they'll be hunting for has been identified as russian and they'll need to find it before it finds trident in my certain total brief so 24 to point out how look had sir um saw in the signal that you'd uh highlight those areas and expect deterioration of conditions lieutenant james mcnair needs to work out the best way to begin the hunt getting the other hand to position ourselves to south and transiting to mars signature against the general background and difference the crew have less than 12 hours to prepare that means you need to be on the top of your game it will be a stressful time for almost all the ships company won't get a lot of sleep but you wouldn't be doing it if you weren't capable of doing it keeping britain's nuclear deterrent safe from the russians is now the focus of trenchant's mission questions that's it thank you [Applause] this is the most important tasking that we ever do this is it now no mistakes [Music] 90 of this is planning and 10 is actually carrying out the plan the exact position of the russian submarine is still unclear we exist for one reason only when it's defending the nuclear deterrent the best asset to use against another submarine is the submarine intelligence has just revealed the russians last known position we don't know what course they're doing but they could be doing a maximum of 30 knots for instance it then creates this circle all this doing is saying in this region here that's where they could be operating at that speed so you're looking at anywhere within about 105 miles at this time so that gives us an idea of where we can start searching but she could be up here or she could be down here a search area of just over a hundred miles puts the russians firmly in the range of trench and sonar find the right page i'm just doing some research and typing things off so that we can get ready joe monty is about to start his next shift on the sonar he's reading up on the russian submarine we want to be better than our enemies we want to be better than russia we want to try and find her get as much information there as possible it's just about getting into the box learning what type of submarine she is what her speed is things that we can work out so we can get the best advantage over the unit of interest is a russian submarine and that carries 28 torpedo weapons on board and we know what machinery she has we know that she's very very quiet and she's a very capable unit it does show how big the submarine is she's pretty much like almost double the size of us which is quite scary to imagine just finding the russian submarine rests solely on joe and the sonar team this is exactly the reason why i signed up listening to the waters and listening trying to find some rain i want to be the first to find it there's a lot riding on it for me with the russian submarines somewhere out there all eyes are on the sonar room [Music] hms trenchant is deep under the north atlantic a thousand miles from land it's quiet intelligence has suggested there is a russian submarine in the area but so far there's no sign okay we need to wait for our opportunity to control just balancing the captain slows trenchant's engines right down to give joe and the sonar team the best chance to detect the faintest sounds you'll see an ever-growing number of people staring longingly into the sonar screen it's all about everybody being ready lots of coiled springs ready to react playing the long game and trying to find it i've got a new one here that's a new one now right bearing joe can hear something moving it's below the surface 12 kilometers away that is loud when you find contact throwing two three one over contact it's exactly the kind of sound he's been trained to expect from a russian submarine side contact force contact and it's coming nearer standby prosecution all eyes are on joe to make the right call [Music] [Music] [Music] a fire alarm's been triggered in the engine room close to the submarine's nuclear reactor compartment [Music] i need some help over here a fire in this area threatens the entire submarine [Applause] [Music] how is that [Music] now the crew must find out what damage has been done [Music] suffered a fire on the motor we'll have to see if it's damaged that can be repaired on board or whether it's something that's in a position where we can't really do this at sea and will be required to go back alongside [Music] the engineers are worried about what they're seeing the damage to the engine means steam heated to over 200 degrees is now leaking into the submarine okay um it has deteriorated where he is the increase in the engine room is more than one single point right that's what we're saying right so so just again talk me through are you still concerned in my concerns at the moment i believe it's too hot it's just about my feel of it it will get worse we're at the stage where we have to fix this 48 hours minimum okay to get it repaired to get it cooled down and repaired we need to ask the captain to make that call the risk now is that the engines could fail all together but switching them off for repairs can only be done in port okay so this is the brief from the action hogs we've just had um so it is too hot back there yeah and it is only going to get worse yeah from where it is right now our recommendation out of this then sir is we we can't do nothing so we need to fix it okay okay so uh i will speak to hundreds of as i said all right okay the captain needs to decide if he can risk keeping trenchant sailing or if the hunt for the russian submarine must be abandoned [Music] this is the worst possible scenario at possibly the worst time right separate to the brief you've got from radar my job is making the right decision this is the most difficult decision i've had to make the fire has clear implications and we're now looking at a complete loss of propulsion and then we're sat at night in the middle of the ocean good afternoon tension uh captain speaking as a result of the fire that we suffered in the engine room we have exceeded my own miss our ability to remain at sea i now need it to be the right and proper thing to take the submarine alongside to conduct deferentification [Music] with the safety of the crew in question the captain must now hand trident over to the protection of another navy vessel [Music] nobody as you look around the boat least of all me wants to go back alongside the period alongside is going to be frustrating we're going to have to do everything we can to try and maintain momentum to minimize the impact of this and welcome delay next time we're about six parts a million is carbon monoxide poisonous gas begins to fill the boat every single wrap we've got maximum money on our sonar system so any hint of the enemy we can find a russian attack submarine enters british waters possible dangerous he's not attacking he works sonar i want attacking and trenchant gets a new captain take control of the situation or i will do it and don't miss that next monday at nine battling rough seas in the most treacherous locations rob bell sees what it takes to construct lighthouses building the impossible brand new friday at 9. after the break a man with a rare dangerous heart condition poses a challenge for dr humphrey as every second counts and casualty 24 7 next [Music] you

Channel: UKTvTube

Views: 313,947

Rating: 4.9010134 out of 5

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Id: WBDHsF6frhU

Length: 46min 8sec (2768 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 14 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/sneezedr424]

Holy crap! EVERYTHING breaks!

[u/ginger_harry]

Not sure if this has been posted before, but thought it might be interesting for some people.

[u/Saturn_Ecplise]

Even on British submarines, the food is awful.