Celebrating important occasions in the construction of a submarine
Launching and commissioning ceremonies have a long history. They are used to commemorate important occasions in the construction of a ship and many of the traditions associated with them are believed to protect the vessel from bad luck. The launching of a ship, in particular, became a great public event, with large crowds assembled to watch the ceremony. In this article you will discover that during the 20th century these old traditions merged with new technology as keel laying, launching and commissioning ceremonies all extended to the submarine service.
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Introduction
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The keel laying ceremony
What is a keel laying ceremony?
The keel is a large beam around which shipbuilders make the hull of a ship or submarine. It is generally the first part of the vessel to be constructed. Laying the keel, or placing the keel in the cradle in which the engineers build the submarine, is a momentous event in the vessel’s construction. It is, therefore, usually marked with a ceremony. Builders place coins in to the keel to invoke good fortune during the submarine's construction and throughout its future years at sea.
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Launching a submarine
What is launching?
Launching is the method of transferring a new submarine from its building site to the sea. The oldest and most widely used is the end-on launch, in which the vessel slides, usually bottom first, down an inclined slipway.
In 1901 the Royal Navy carried out the launching of their first submarine Holland 1 in secret and without ceremony because at this time there was a great deal of bad feeling towards these vessels. The first submarine the Navy launched officially was Holland 2 in 1902. Watching the launching, however, was no more than a small group of people which included the Managing Director of Vickers shipyard and his daughter. By the 1960s the ceremonies for the launching of submarines were large public events. In 1969 10 000 people cheered and waved flags at the launch of the submarine HMS Conqueror, one of the largest crowds ever to watch the launch of a ship at the Cammel Laird shipyard.
See a commemorative brooch made for the launch of Holland 2
What happens at the launching ceremony?
At the launching ceremony the Royal Navy officially names the submarine. The person launching the submarine proclaims, ‘I name this ship...and may God bless all who sail in her’. The vessel is then ‘christened’ by smashing a bottle of champagne against its side. In the early days of submarines the Royal Navy used an axe to cut the rope which tied the vessel to the dock, releasing the boat into the water. Nowadays, they use a lever to free the vessel.
Who performs the launching ceremony?
Until the end of the 1700s it was usually the Dockyard Commissioners who carried out the ceremonies. During the early 1800s the Prince Regent suggested that a lady should preside over the launching of military ships and since then this has become a tradition with all vessels. The Queen and the Queen Mother have both launched submarines during the 20th century.
What traditions are associated with the launching ceremony?
The custom of smashing a bottle of wine or champagne began during the reign of George III. It replaced an older ceremony where the King’s representative named the ship, sprinkled wine on the deck from a goblet and then threw the goblet overboard. People consider that if the wine or champagne does not spill then the vessel will have bad luck. This belief comes from a launching carried out by a Princess of Hanover who, aiming the bottle at the bows of the ship, hit a spectator instead. They were badly injured and sued the Admiralty for damages!
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The commissioning service
What is a commissioning ceremony?
When a submarine is fully ready to go to sea the Royal Navy holds a commissioning ceremony. It marks the culmination of all the varied aspects of the submarine’s completion: trials, fitting out, drafting and training of the crew and the appointment of the officers.
What happens at the commissioning ceremony?
The commissioning service includes the reading of the Commissioning Warrant by the Captain to the Ship's Company and the playing of the National Anthem. Later in the ceremony the Captain’s wife and the youngest member of the Ship’s Company cut a cake decorated with the badge of the submarine.
A key moment in the commissioning of a submarine is the hoisting of its commissioning pennant. Once raised, it flies when the submarine is on the surface of the water.
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Location of the ceremonies
Where are the ceremonies held?
The famous Barrow shipbuilding firm Vickers and Armstrong Ltd has been responsible for building many of the Royal Navy's submarines. As a consequence this has been the location for many of the launching and commissioning ceremonies. Britain's first nuclear submarine HMS Dreadnought and first Polaris-armed ballistic nuclear submarine HMS Resolution were both built, launched and commissioned at Barrow.
