budanski
04-25-2004, 03:19 PM
Nuclear Sub Revolt: Muntiny on HMS Trafalgar
Glasgow Sunday Mail (http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=14178154&method=full&siteid=86024&headline=nuclear-sub-revolt--mutiny-on-the-trafalgar-name_page.html)
Apr 25 2004
EXCLUSIVE: 11 'traumatised' crew refuse to sail £300m vessel's return to sea putoff
By Russell Findlay
A NUCLEAR submarine failed to set sail on its first mission since hitting the seabed after the crew mutinied.
The 11 sailors told their skipper they were 'too traumatised' just as HMS Trafalgar was set to leave Faslane on the Clyde.
They staged the revolt on Friday, 18 months after the £300million sub ran aground off the Isle of Skye.
The unnamed skipper listened to the concerns and agreed to replace the men, who will be given counselling.
Last night, Royal Navy top brass admitted the 'shakedown' trip had been delayed.
One Navy veteran said: 'These men obviously suffered a fright during the incident off Skye. But it pales in comparison to what military personnel face during conflict.
'Many people will be taken aback that a nuclear submarine crew would stage a mutiny. In the past, the Navy would have treated this type of behaviour as insubordination rather than with kid gloves.'
The sub is one of seven Trafalgar class Royal Navy vessels that were built between 1978 and 1990.
With a crew of 130, the 5200-ton vessel used Tomahawk missiles to wipe out an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan.
But, in November 2002, it crashed into the seabed off the north-west of Skye.
The crew were badly shaken and three injured after they were violently thrown to the ground. A court martial hearing last month took action against Commanders Robert Fancy and Ian McGhie, both 39.
Both men were reprimanded after trainees under their command caused an estimated £5million worth of damage.
The Trafalgar was finally ready to return to sea on Friday.
The 'shakedown' cruise was to put the repaired sub through its paces to ensure everything had been fixed. On Tuesday, the sub had been 'pushed to the limit' while still docked at Faslane home to the UK's nuclear deterrent.
Diesel had leaked into the ventilation system, sparking an alarm and forcing crew to breath through masks. Top brass believe that incident coupled with memories of the Skye crash sparked Friday's mutiny.
All 11 men who approached their skipper had declined the Navy's offer of oneto-one counselling after the Skye incident.
The Navy is assembling a team of replacement sailors with specialist skills.
Last night, a Royal Navy spokesman said: 'A number of sailors seem to have suffered delayed post-traumatic stress disorder.
'There had been an incident where diesel got into the ventilation system. The sub was being pushed to the limit without going anywhere, which is a normal procedure after a major refit of this sort.
'There was a diesel blowback which caused alarms to ring and a whiff of fuel.
'The crew then used face masks to use the emergency breathing system. That went fine and they sorted the problem.
'But this could have been another little click on the scale of stress to someone who didn't realise they had a problem.'
WARSHIP HMS Nottingham, which hit rocks off Australia in 2002 causing £39million damage, went back to sea from Portsmouth yesterday.
mailfile
Infamous mutinies
MUTINY is defined as open rebellion against authority.
THE most famous is the Mutiny on the Bounty of 1787, when sailors led by Fletcher Christian played by Marlon Brando, left, in the Hollywood version captured the ship.
IN 1857, the Indian Mutiny broke out with dissent among locals against British military rule.
IN 1931, the Atlantic fleet half the Royal Navy moored on the Cromarty Firth, joined the Inver- gordon Mutiny over pay cut plans.
Glasgow Sunday Mail (http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=14178154&method=full&siteid=86024&headline=nuclear-sub-revolt--mutiny-on-the-trafalgar-name_page.html)
Apr 25 2004
EXCLUSIVE: 11 'traumatised' crew refuse to sail £300m vessel's return to sea putoff
By Russell Findlay
A NUCLEAR submarine failed to set sail on its first mission since hitting the seabed after the crew mutinied.
The 11 sailors told their skipper they were 'too traumatised' just as HMS Trafalgar was set to leave Faslane on the Clyde.
They staged the revolt on Friday, 18 months after the £300million sub ran aground off the Isle of Skye.
The unnamed skipper listened to the concerns and agreed to replace the men, who will be given counselling.
Last night, Royal Navy top brass admitted the 'shakedown' trip had been delayed.
One Navy veteran said: 'These men obviously suffered a fright during the incident off Skye. But it pales in comparison to what military personnel face during conflict.
'Many people will be taken aback that a nuclear submarine crew would stage a mutiny. In the past, the Navy would have treated this type of behaviour as insubordination rather than with kid gloves.'
The sub is one of seven Trafalgar class Royal Navy vessels that were built between 1978 and 1990.
With a crew of 130, the 5200-ton vessel used Tomahawk missiles to wipe out an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan.
But, in November 2002, it crashed into the seabed off the north-west of Skye.
The crew were badly shaken and three injured after they were violently thrown to the ground. A court martial hearing last month took action against Commanders Robert Fancy and Ian McGhie, both 39.
Both men were reprimanded after trainees under their command caused an estimated £5million worth of damage.
The Trafalgar was finally ready to return to sea on Friday.
The 'shakedown' cruise was to put the repaired sub through its paces to ensure everything had been fixed. On Tuesday, the sub had been 'pushed to the limit' while still docked at Faslane home to the UK's nuclear deterrent.
Diesel had leaked into the ventilation system, sparking an alarm and forcing crew to breath through masks. Top brass believe that incident coupled with memories of the Skye crash sparked Friday's mutiny.
All 11 men who approached their skipper had declined the Navy's offer of oneto-one counselling after the Skye incident.
The Navy is assembling a team of replacement sailors with specialist skills.
Last night, a Royal Navy spokesman said: 'A number of sailors seem to have suffered delayed post-traumatic stress disorder.
'There had been an incident where diesel got into the ventilation system. The sub was being pushed to the limit without going anywhere, which is a normal procedure after a major refit of this sort.
'There was a diesel blowback which caused alarms to ring and a whiff of fuel.
'The crew then used face masks to use the emergency breathing system. That went fine and they sorted the problem.
'But this could have been another little click on the scale of stress to someone who didn't realise they had a problem.'
WARSHIP HMS Nottingham, which hit rocks off Australia in 2002 causing £39million damage, went back to sea from Portsmouth yesterday.
mailfile
Infamous mutinies
MUTINY is defined as open rebellion against authority.
THE most famous is the Mutiny on the Bounty of 1787, when sailors led by Fletcher Christian played by Marlon Brando, left, in the Hollywood version captured the ship.
IN 1857, the Indian Mutiny broke out with dissent among locals against British military rule.
IN 1931, the Atlantic fleet half the Royal Navy moored on the Cromarty Firth, joined the Inver- gordon Mutiny over pay cut plans.