Royal Navy fire 9ft torpedo from warship into nuclear dockyard

By

Hugo Gye

|

A 45kg torpedo has been accidentally discharged at a nuclear dockyard during a training exercise, narrowly avoiding causing a serious accident.

Navy bosses have launched an investigation into the blunder, which took place during a training drill at Devonport naval base in Plymouth on Wednesday afternoon.

Workers watched as the projectile shot out of HMS Argyll and flew 200 yards through the air before blasting a hole in a security fence and slamming into a storage container.

The torpedo was an unarmed version used for training, so it did not explode and merely thudded into the metal container.

Base: The scene at Devonport after a boat accidentally discharged a torpedo earlier this week

Blunder: No one was hurt in the accident, which took place during a training exercise

Nobody was hurt in the

incident, which took place at the port where Britain’s Vanguard-class

nuclear submarines are refuelled and repaired.

The Ministry of Defence refused to say whether or not any of the submarines were at Devonport at the time of the accident.

A

source said: ‘The torpedo came shooting out of the side of Argyll and

flew through the air before going straight through a security fence.

‘It’s

carried on going before hitting a storage container. If anyone was

inside it they would have a had a nasty shock – the whole side of the

container was stoved in.

Blunder: HMS Argyll accidentally filed a torpedo during a training exercise at Devonport naval base

Bang: The 9ft torpedo weighed 45kg and left a large dent in a metal storage container (file photo)

‘Had the thing been armed it would have let out a 200-metre blast. You could be talking about a major loss of life.

‘The Navy guys and the civilian dock workers are understandably appalled by what has happened. Someone has obviously pushed the button, presumably by accident – the big question is who.’

HMS Argyll is currently the oldest serving Duke Type 23 frigate in the Royal Navy, having been launched in 1989.

The 4,900-tonne ship underwent a £20million refit in 2009 to ensure her weaponry was at the cutting edge of naval warfare.

Her

armaments include anti-aircraft missiles, harpoon launchers, a 4.5in

mk8 cannon and two 12.75in ‘Sting Ray’ torpedo tubes, which are normally

submerged below the water but were exposed by the tide at the time of

Wednesday’s accident.

Accident: The blunder took place at Devonport, the naval base where nuclear submarines are serviced

Powerful: HMS Argyll is 25 years old but was recently refurbished to bring its weaponry up to date

The self-propelled torpedoes are armed with 45kg warheads to take out enemy submarines that they lock onto with acoustic homing sensors.

A spokesman for the Royal Navy said: ‘We can confirm an incident occurred onboard HMS Argyll on Wednesday 12th. The ship was alongside at Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth.

‘During a training exercise, an inert

Test Variant Torpedo unexpectedly jettisoned onto the wharf. There was

no explosion and no casualties.

‘An investigation is now under way to determine the cause of the incident. The torpedo is not an explosive hazard.

‘The specific details of the incident are subject to further investigation and it would be inappropriate to comment further.

Danger: If the torpedo had been fully armed it could have caused serious damage (file photo)

‘The result of the investigation will determine what actions will be necessary to avoid any repeat of this incident in the future.

‘However, torpedo system test firing alongside in the naval base has been suspended subject to completion of the investigation.’

Devonport, the second biggest naval base in western Europe, is one of three operating bases for the Royal Navy.

The 650-acre facility is also the sole military’s only nuclear repair and refuelling facility.

Comments (24)

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ehc,

london, United Kingdom,

moments ago

easily done

Sensible1,

Oxford, United Kingdom,

moments ago

I’m guessing whoever pushed the button has probably failed their training!!

Dazza,

Middlesex, United Kingdom,

moments ago

Very intelligent

null,

United Kingdom,

moments ago

Now what does this button do lets press it and see and run away

perryorchard,

Hartlepool, United Kingdom,

moments ago

Oops!

Robert Liscoe,

Southampton, United Kingdom,

moments ago

I read a short way through this before I stopped and I didn’t bother reading any further because of the sheer number of factual inaccuracies in the short bit I had read. Is this Journalism? We can all make mistakes but for Pete’s sake your selling absolute c**p to people, some of whom might actually believe everything they read. Can’t you at least TRY to get some facts right DM?

Resnam,

Currently Instructing in Dubai, United Kingdom,

moments ago

“No, Petty Officer. I definitely said ‘Lunch now and a cup of tea afterwards.’”

Navy Dusty,

Wirral,

5 minutes ago

Chacon one, Royal Navy nil. Times have changed since my days in the Andrew.

Teacupz,

London, United Kingdom,

5 minutes ago

A Dummy training device with no explosive content, so no more dangerous than someone crashing a Ford Mondeo into a wall. Nowhere near Z Berth where the submarines are docked either…. what a ridiculously overhyped article!

prole,

eussr, United Kingdom,

6 minutes ago

It’s just an ooops. Nothing to get all fired up about.

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Royal Navy fire 9ft torpedo from warship into nuclear dockyard