Vinnie Browse switches off his overhead reading light in his Junior Rating bunk aboard HMS Vigilant, a 16,000 ton, 150m long Vanguard class nuclear submarine while moored at HM Naval Base Clyde, Faslane, Scotland. Vigilant has a crew of 140 men and when at sea, only incoming communication, family-grams, are allowed so many months away on operational duty can be tough on home life. On-board entertainment is therefore important for morale. The Vanguard Class SSBN (Ship Submersible Ballistic Nuclear) provides the United Kingdom's strategic nuclear deterrent and carries Trident II ballistic missiles, powered by a pressurised water reactor (PWR) fuelled by a ton of fissionable uranium elements producing huge amounts of energy. Image taken for the 'UK at Home' book project published 2008.
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