I am at the helm of a nuclear-powered submarine. In front of me is a bewildering array of dials, knobs, levers and screens. I’ve never piloted a submarine before, but I have seen The Hunt for Red October six times. What could possibly go wrong?
“Take us to 30 metres,” comes the order. So I gently apply pressure to the joystick. Suddenly the entire control room lurches forward and everyone is forced to grab the nearest stable object. The sub plunges 60 metres and ploughs straight into the seabed. Thankfully, we are all still safe – and dry – as this is only a submarine simulator, at the Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth.
Learning how to descend properly is just one of the challenges facing Naval trainees on How to Command a Nuclear Sub, a new fly-on-the-wall series starting on the Military History channel next week.
The four-part documentary follows the course instructor, Commander Jim Perks, as he puts five recruits though their paces on the Submarine Command Course – ominously nicknamed the “Perisher”.
Created in 1917, it is regarded as one of the toughest officer training programmes in the Armed Forces. It takes six months, although the TV series focuses on the most exciting phase: the four weeks spent at sea. Here students are judged on how they perform in underwater war games as they’re pitched against an armada in the treacherous waters off western Scotland.
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