On Her Majesty's Nuclear Service

Features of On Her Majesty's Nuclear Service

During the Cold War nuclear submarines performed the greatest public service of all prevention of a third world war History shows that they succeeded the Cold War ended peacefully but for security reasons only now can this story be toldEric Thompson is a career nuclear submarine officer who served from the first days of the Polaris missile boats until after the end of the Cold War He joined the Navy in the last days of Empire made his first sorties in World War II type submarines and ended up as the top engineer in charge of the Navys nuclear power plants Along the way he helped develop all manner of kit from guided torpedoes to the Trident ballistic missile system In this vivid personal account of his submarine operations he reveals what it was like to literally have your finger on the nuclear buttonIn his journey the author leads the reader through topsecret submarine patrols hushhush scientific trials underwater weapon developments public relations battles with nuclear protesters armwrestling with politicians and the changing roles of women and homosexuals in the Navy It is essentially a human story rich in both drama and comedy like the Russian spy trawler that played dance music at passing submarines There was never a dull momentBehind the lighter moments was a deadly serious game This the inside story of Britains nuclear deterrent reveals the secretive life of submarines and the men who served on them they kept their watch and by maintaining the threat of Mutually Assured Destruction helped keep Britain and the world safe