For the first time ever, the Royal Navy has allowed television cameras access to the crew of a British nuclear submarine during an active mission.

The result is Royal Navy Submarine Mission, which shows us life on board Hunter Killer class HMS Turbulent as it travels from the UK, via the conflict in Libya and the Suez Canal, to take up its role as the UK’s only platform for Tomahawk missiles in the troubled waters of the Middle East.

Over three episodes, we’ve lived with the crew, finding out what it’s like to spend 10 months away from their families, isolated underwater in a vessel bristling with hardware but seriously short of space.

Among the characters we get to know are Captain Ryan Ramsey, always in control, but never losing his sense of humour; young submariner Andrew ‘Buster’ Brown, in trouble even before the mission begins; and Dan Gardyne, whose engineering duties include unblocking the submarine’s five toilets (there are 130 men on board...).

Along the way, we’ll see how the men pursue personal ambitions and respond to international incidents. We’ll find out why you can be disciplined for a ‘Hollywood’ and what to do when a missile jams in its firing tube. And we’ll hear what it takes to live with the dangers and demands of this extraordinary job.


The 3 episode series will be broadcast on Channel 5 on Monday nights at 8pm on 5th, 12th and 19th September 2011