(December 7th 2001)
Courageous to go on Public Display
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has revealed that the former Royal Navy nuclear submarine HMS Courageous is to be opened to the public at Devonport.
The decision was announced yesterday at a meeting of the Devonport Public Safety Local Liaison Committee.
Courageous has been berthed in 3 Basin since arriving at Devonport in 1993. Under the current plans, she will be moved to 3 Dock in the South Yard in Spring 2002. Once in place the dock will be emptied, leaving Courageous resting on support blocks. It is hoped that she can be opened for guided tours in time for Devonport Navy Days next August.
In her 21 years of service, Courageous saw action in the Falklands War and became the first Royal Navy submarine to be fitted with the sub-Harpoon weapon system. Although based at Faslane in Scotland, Courageous was laid up at Devonport after decommissioning in 1992. She was defuelled, stripped of her nuclear reactor and drained of coolant fluid.
Courageous will become the first nuclear powered submarine to be placed on display in Britain. One of the motives behind opening her to visitors is to alleviate public fears over safety.
Naval Base Commander Commodore Ric Cheadle explained "We want to take the mystery out of how a nuclear powered submarine works and let the public see for themselves how safe they are and to learn about how we maintain and operate them".
Commodore Cheadle also hopes Courageous will entice visitors to Plymouth and to Devonport Dockyard: "Putting Courageous on display is in line with our plans to expand the visitors' centre and naval base museum, to make us more accessible to the general public".