HMS Ambush comes out to play

Nineteen days after being formally "launched" behind closed doors, Barrow's newest sub, HMS Ambush, finally showed a face to the public yesterday, being quietly rolled out of the shed and onto the platform which will lower it into the water. It's been a good many years since a traditional launch in Barrow with a sub going sideways down the old slipway into the Walney Channel.

Ambush's sister ship, HMS Woodcock Astute, which has lately been blundering around the Hebrides, was launched in June 2007 to much more public notice with crowds gathered on the High Bridge to watch. I covered that here.

Ambush is now in the water and tied up at the dockside. There will now be six months of water play including diving trials before retiring to the shed for fitting out and installation of the nuclear reactor.

Note that as I now have a new dinky digital camera to replace the one that died over a year ago, I'll be back with more pics in 2011

Tosca

Here's something for anybody who's missed a Tosca fix while I've been away from this place.