The North Bowl: Royal Navy submariners enjoy a game of cricket in the Arctic

Blackleaf

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Royal Navy submarine HMS Trenchant has punched through ice in the North Pole – in a major show of strength to Russia.

The nuclear powered hunter-killer submarine – armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles – was on an exercise with two US subs.

And as soon as the crew punched through they had a game of cricket...


SNOW-BALL! Royal Navy nuclear sub crew enjoy a game of cricket at the North Pole


In a show of strength to Russia, the crew of the HMS Trenchant break through the Arctic ice for some fun and war games

By David Willetts, Defence Editor
20th April 2018
The Sun

ROYAL Navy submarine HMS Trenchant has punched through ice in the North Pole – in a major show of strength to Russia.

The nuclear powered hunter-killer submarine – armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles – was on an exercise with two US subs.


An HMS Trenchant crew member gets a frosting of ice as he waits to bat

And as soon as the crew punched through they had a game of cricket.

It is the first time in over a decade a Brit sub has broken Arctic ice.

Only Britain, America and Russia can operate submarines in the region.

The subs were conducting war games beneath the frozen wasteland – now seen as a future key battleground between the West and Russia.

HMS Trenchant's crew weren't frozen out, but may have have struggled with frozen googlies


The awesome hunter-killer submarine breaks through the Arctic ice with ease


Crew of the Trenchant disembark to survey the Arctic landscape

You don't often get a photo opportunity at the North Pole with your mates

Commander David Burrell, the Commanding Officer of HMS Trenchant, said: “This ice exercise has been excellent and very well conducted.

“The Royal Navy operates all across the globe, acting on behalf of Britain’s interests. That includes being able to successfully operate and conduct warfighting beneath the ice cap.

“It’s a vital skill which we have been honing over these last few weeks and I couldn’t be more proud of my sailors for their excellent work.”

Armed Forces Minister Mark Lancaster said: “This exercise shows that our Royal Navy is primed and ready to operate in the harshest conditions imaginable, to protect our nation from any potential threats.


HMS Trenchant's proud crew members gather on deck during the exercise


HMS Trenchant sails up the Thames in the USA, to a submarine base near the small town of Groton in New England


The powerful Royal Navy sub broke through the ice five times as it was put through its Arctic paces

“I was recently on board HMS Trenchant while she was under the ice and saw first-hand the skill and precision with which they worked alongside our US allies.”

The Navy revealed yesterday the hunter-killer submarine emerged at the top of the world some 2,750 miles from – and 37 degrees Celsius colder than – her home base of Plymouth.

Officials said she broke through the ice five times.

It is the second time in weeks HMS Trenchant has broken ice on the Ice Exercise 18 training mission.

A helicopter hovers over the Trenchant during a passenger exchange at sea


The Trenchant was the first Royal Navy vessel to fire the latest Tomahawk cruise missile in a live firing trial

Just weeks ago she punched through ice off Alaska.

Trenchant joined the USS Connecticut and USS Hartford for the drills, coordinated by the US Navy’s Arctic Submarine Laboratory.

Three Royal Navy crew members brave the freezing temperatures for a proud picture in front of HMS Trenchant

The crew on board HMS Trenchant. Their commander David Burrell praised the five-week operation as 'excellent'

HMS Trenchant rising from the ice in the North Pole. Royal Navy crew members watch as it breaks into the bitter climate

Crew members wave from HMS Trenchant after the submarine pushed its way out of the ice in the Arctic Circle

Submariners survey HMS Trenchant after it breaks out of the ice in the North Pole


Patriotic: HMS Trenchant had joined the USS Connecticut and USS Hartford for ICEX, which had been co-ordinated by the US Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory

HMS Trenchant emerging from the ice. Huge blocks splinter as the enormous submarine rises

The 'hunter killer' submarine stands proudly behind a crew member after forcing its way through the ice

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6106466/navy-submarine-north-pole-cricket/
 
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Curious Cdn

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Feb 22, 2015
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The ice sure isn't very thick for this time of the year. It looks like just a couple of feet.
 

Danbones

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Sep 23, 2015
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Geez it's about three feet thick in the bay out in front of my place...at 45 degrees north!


Don't mind him, he is still upset - the ice, it's supposed to be gone...It was supposed to be gone forever.
;)
BTW you should know...the russians like to break through before late spring, in WINTER, when the ice is the thickest in the though.

Say, what ever happened to that british global warming expedition which got stuck in the ice last year?

Global Warming Expedition Stuck in Arctic Sea Because of Too Much Ice

An expedition to the North Pole intended to measure the effects of global warming ground to a halt this month when the scientist’s ship got blocked by the ice packs near Murmansk, Russia, reports reveal.

The Polar Ocean Challenge set out on a two-month campaign hoping to prove that the ice at the North Pole was melting. As the expedition’s website explains, the group aimed to show “that the Arctic sea ice coverage shrinks back so far now in the summer months that sea that was permanently locked up now can allow passage through.”

Despite their best intentions to show that the ice is melting and the temperature at the pole is higher than normal, the group has only been confronted with the exact opposite as ice continues to block their path.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-govern...-stuck-in-arctic-sea-because-of-too-much-ice/


Navigate the Future of the Arctic Responsibly
Expedition Leader David Hempleman-Adams
Speaking from Bristol, UK 18 June 2016, the day before expedition start
http://polarocean.co.uk/objectives/
 
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Curious Cdn

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Feb 22, 2015
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It's about three feet thick.

A meter is not thick. Our new icebreaking AOPS ships are built to cut through that and the "gotcha" newspaper journalist crowd are calling them "slush breakers". Truth is, thin ice or no ice is the new normal.
 

Blackleaf

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Oct 9, 2004
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A meter is not thick. Our new icebreaking AOPS ships are built to cut through that and the "gotcha" newspaper journalist crowd are calling them "slush breakers". Truth is, thin ice or no ice is the new normal.

HMS Trenchant isn't an icebreaker, though. It's a submarine.
 

Curious Cdn

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Feb 22, 2015
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HMS Trenchant isn't an icebreaker, though. It's a submarine.

Riiiight. They risk all sorts of damage if the ice is too think, though. Look at all of the slender masts ...

...and submarines usually surface at the Pole in summer, when the ice is thin. It is no longer required to wait until July.
 

Curious Cdn

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Feb 22, 2015
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By the way, those Trafalgar Class submarines are very close cousins to our Victoria Class SSK submarines (different power plant, obviously). The Victorias (Upholder) we designed after and they put a lot of the same tech into them. This Trafalgar class in the story is the type that the Mulroney government ordered for us that was killed by the Yanks because of "technology transfer issues", they say. I wonder why the Americans don't want us to patrol our own Arctic?
 

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
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By the way, those Trafalgar Class submarines are very close cousins to our Victoria Class SSK submarines (different power plant, obviously). The Victorias (Upholder) we designed after and they put a lot of the same tech into them. This Trafalgar class in the story is the type that the Mulroney government ordered for us that was killed by the Yanks because of "technology transfer issues", they say. I wonder why the Americans don't want us to patrol our own Arctic?

The Upholder class were originally Royal Navy submarines.
 

Gilgamesh

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Nov 15, 2014
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Royal Navy submarine HMS Trenchant has punched through ice in the North Pole – in a major show of strength to Russia.

The nuclear powered hunter-killer submarine – armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles – was on an exercise with two US subs.

And as soon as the crew punched through they had a game of cricket...


SNOW-BALL! Royal Navy nuclear sub crew enjoy a game of cricket at the North Pole


In a show of strength to Russia, the crew of the HMS Trenchant break through the Arctic ice for some fun and war games

By David Willetts, Defence Editor
20th April 2018
The Sun

ROYAL Navy submarine HMS Trenchant has punched through ice in the North Pole – in a major show of strength to Russia.

The nuclear powered hunter-killer submarine – armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles – was on an exercise with two US subs.


An HMS Trenchant crew member gets a frosting of ice as he waits to bat

And as soon as the crew punched through they had a game of cricket.

It is the first time in over a decade a Brit sub has broken Arctic ice.

Only Britain, America and Russia can operate submarines in the region.

The subs were conducting war games beneath the frozen wasteland – now seen as a future key battleground between the West and Russia.

HMS Trenchant's crew weren't frozen out, but may have have struggled with frozen googlies


The awesome hunter-killer submarine breaks through the Arctic ice with ease


Crew of the Trenchant disembark to survey the Arctic landscape

You don't often get a photo opportunity at the North Pole with your mates

Commander David Burrell, the Commanding Officer of HMS Trenchant, said: “This ice exercise has been excellent and very well conducted.

“The Royal Navy operates all across the globe, acting on behalf of Britain’s interests. That includes being able to successfully operate and conduct warfighting beneath the ice cap.

“It’s a vital skill which we have been honing over these last few weeks and I couldn’t be more proud of my sailors for their excellent work.”

Armed Forces Minister Mark Lancaster said: “This exercise shows that our Royal Navy is primed and ready to operate in the harshest conditions imaginable, to protect our nation from any potential threats.


HMS Trenchant's proud crew members gather on deck during the exercise


HMS Trenchant sails up the Thames in the USA, to a submarine base near the small town of Groton in New England


The powerful Royal Navy sub broke through the ice five times as it was put through its Arctic paces

“I was recently on board HMS Trenchant while she was under the ice and saw first-hand the skill and precision with which they worked alongside our US allies.”

The Navy revealed yesterday the hunter-killer submarine emerged at the top of the world some 2,750 miles from – and 37 degrees Celsius colder than – her home base of Plymouth.

Officials said she broke through the ice five times.

It is the second time in weeks HMS Trenchant has broken ice on the Ice Exercise 18 training mission.

A helicopter hovers over the Trenchant during a passenger exchange at sea


The Trenchant was the first Royal Navy vessel to fire the latest Tomahawk cruise missile in a live firing trial

Just weeks ago she punched through ice off Alaska.

Trenchant joined the USS Connecticut and USS Hartford for the drills, coordinated by the US Navy’s Arctic Submarine Laboratory.

Three Royal Navy crew members brave the freezing temperatures for a proud picture in front of HMS Trenchant

The crew on board HMS Trenchant. Their commander David Burrell praised the five-week operation as 'excellent'

HMS Trenchant rising from the ice in the North Pole. Royal Navy crew members watch as it breaks into the bitter climate

Crew members wave from HMS Trenchant after the submarine pushed its way out of the ice in the Arctic Circle

Submariners survey HMS Trenchant after it breaks out of the ice in the North Pole


Patriotic: HMS Trenchant had joined the USS Connecticut and USS Hartford for ICEX, which had been co-ordinated by the US Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory

HMS Trenchant emerging from the ice. Huge blocks splinter as the enormous submarine rises

The 'hunter killer' submarine stands proudly behind a crew member after forcing its way through the ice

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6106466/navy-submarine-north-pole-cricket/
But,but,but, Lord Charlatan Suzuki swears that the Arctic ice is long gone.

This just cannot be❗

(/sarc)