NAVY NEWS, MAY 2011
Deeps get WETT SINCE the end of pressurised escape training (PET) for submariners in February 2009 the challenge to training staff at the Submarine Escape Training Tank in Gosport has been to make things realistic while minimising the physical risk.
Staff involved with SMERAS (SubMarine Escape, Rescue, Abandonment and Survivability training) have been working hard at developing new ideas to give submariners a feeling for both the mechanics of an escape from a crippled boat, and the kind of O FOST(DN) Capt Paul Halton and Cdr Nick Meredith, Commanding apprehension and fear that might Officer RN Submarine School), prepare to go through WETT training affect the way they perform – at least until they are familiar with “The SETT team are to be Escape Training Tower (WETT), the principles. and it enables personnel to go congratulated on the solution they In management speak, they are through the escape process all the have found to the issue of wet seeking to maintain an increased way to the point of pressurisation. submarine escape training.” stress dynamic. Capt Halton added: “The The trainee will dress in an Until recently this was partly WETT is a fantastic, innovative escape suit and experience the achieved during ‘rush escape’ dynamics of climbing into the and cost-effective training solution training, which covered the old tower with his escapee companion which has made a significant technique of flooding up the – including the claustrophobic improvement in training.” compartment of a submarine until conditions this can cause – Looking further into the future, the pressure is equalised, then plugging into his air supply and in line with the Submarine Centre escaping through a hatch – there of Specialisation policy, SMERAS the flooding of the tower. was little control possible with training is expected to move from On completion of the flood rush escapes, and the teaching process the escapees climb up out the SETT to Faslane by 2015. of the techniques ended last of the tower and continue their The intention is to develop the December. WETT concept on the Clyde, sea survival training in the water By that stage PET was just a giving trainees the ability to at the tank top. memory – though a vivid one; undergo training in both single The new system now has the it is this form of escape training and two-man escape tower FOST seal of approval as both that most readily springs to mind Flag Officer Sea Training Rear simulators, matching those when referring to the SETT, with Admiral Chris Snow and FOST escape towers currently used in submariners simulating an escape (Director (North)) Capt Paul operational submarines. from as deep as 30 metres, rising However, escape is the final Halton have completed a training to the surface under hyperbaric run through the WETT. option for submariners who pressure find themselves in a disabled Rear Admiral Snow said: “This By developing an old disused submarine, and future training facility significantly improves the training tower the SETT has training we can offer submariners will develop all concepts. devised a wet, unpressurised, in escape. Options available to two-man escape tower simulator, submariners in a disabled boat “It is imaginative, and goes a similar in size to the Logistics long way towards the ultimate are, in order of priority: ! If able to surface: Surface Escape Tower (LET) which is training solution I want which found on both Vanguard and includes a wet experience, Abandonment; ! If disabled on the sea bed: computer-based training, and Astute-class submarines. Rescue, using a rescue submersible onboard tuition. The new trainer is called the Wet 12790 - Navy Advert Landscape v8:Layout 1 09/08/2010 14:47 Page 1
! Escape. The concept of surface abandonment considers situations where remaining with a surfaced but disabled submarine is not judged to be safe, and all submariners undergo training in sea survival in their escape suits and, if required to leave their submarine on the surface, will have an acceptable degree of knowledge on how to survive. However, it is recognised that aspects of this could be improved, and options to achieve this are being actively considered. In terms of rescue, the RN has operated an independent submarine rescue system for over 25 years, and in recent years has collaborated with France and Norway to develop and commission a new air-mobile system. This jointly-owned NATO Submarine Rescue System (NSRS), is based in Scotland and is available to conduct rescue operations anywhere in the world, using combinations of aircraft and ships to rapidly move a combination of assets to the scene of the accident and recover survivors. The whole training and systems package should give submariners the confidence that, should the worst happen, the capability of their SMERAS equipment on board, the rescue assets, the Submarine Parachute Assistance Group (SPAG – divers who parachute into the water from aircraft to assist in rescues) and the wider SMERAS training given remain the best that can be achieved. SMERAS policy is periodically reviewed by the Royal Navy to ensure it remains at the cutting edge, and one such review has just started and it is expected to report to the Navy Board in the coming summer.
O FOST (DN) Capt Paul Halton prepares to enter the WETT tower Pictures: POMA(SM) Andy Leonard
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