Working in the nuclear missile compartment of a Cold War Royal Navy Polaris submarine (213) - a podcast by Ian Sanders

John Andrews joined the Royal Navy in 1981 and went on to serve aboard the HMS Repulse, one of the UK’s Polaris nuclear missile submarines from 1982.
His role was Missile Compartment Control Patrol which included security of the nuclear missile compartment as well as assisting in the maintenance of the missile tubes and the nuclear missiles themselves. John shares details of life aboard the ship including missile launch tests, alcohol, practical jokes, escape procedures from a submerged submarine and many more.
This podcast relies on listener support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available for free. You can support my work and help to preserve Cold War history via one-off or monthly donationsJust go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.
Do join our Facebook discussion group where the cold war conversation continues between episodes. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.Now, this episode was recorded at the Hack Green Nuclear Bunker Soviet Threat event so you will hear some background noise, but I am delighted to welcome John Andrews to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode in our show notes which can also be found as a link in your podcast app here. 0:00 Introduction and guest John Andrews' role in the Royal Navy
3:05 Detailed background of John's service6:13 Discussion on John's claustrophobia and PTSD diagnosis
9:02 Recollection of a missile launch test15:32 Understanding of ship-wide activities
20:38 Role of detonators in missile launch24:28 Monitoring radiation exposure and experiences with PTSD28:17 Relationships and interactions with officers
31:40 Family communication on the submarine37:52 Running quiet on the submarine when being followed
42:22 Rivalry between submarines and crews44:30 Closing remarks by Ian Sanders
43:55 Acknowledging patrons and call for donations44:45 Cold War Conversations store advertisement
Table of contents powered by PodcastAI✨Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPodFacebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Further episodes of Cold War Conversations

Further podcasts by Ian Sanders

Website of Ian Sanders