BAE Systems - diesel oil tanks
Introduction
The photograph on this page of BAE Systems - diesel oil tanks by Chris Allen as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
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BAE Systems - diesel oil tanks
Image: © Chris Allen Taken: 21 Sep 2018
These are, I believe, associated with the SMITE facility (Submarine Machinery Installation and Test Establishment). The further tank is labelled as tank No. 2 and holds 3.4 million litres. The SMITE runs about every two years to test the complete machinery installation for one of the UK's nuclear submarines that are built in Barrow. During trials of HMS Astute's propulsion package the boilers burnt over 3,100 tonnes of oil, over 1 million cubic metres of seawater passed through the condensers and the trials replicated the submarine travelling 14,000 km. I would love to see inside SMITE but it's not happening. The historical arrangement between the US and the RN means that the propulsion plant is strictly under wraps and off limits to anybody without a legitimate reason. Indeed, a US navy sailor was jailed for photographing in the manoeuvring room of an American boat.
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Image Location
Latitude
54.101103
Longitude
-3.23408