Avast mistake: Royal Navy fire 9ft torpedo from warship into dockyard which houses NUCLEAR submarines HMS Argyll was taking part in a training drill at Devonport base in Devon The 45kg projectile flew 200 yards through the air and hit a metal container The base is used to refuel and repair Britains nuclear submarines By HUGO GYE PUBLISHED: 15:13, 14 March 2014 | UPDATED: 16:23, 14 March 2014 577 shares 206View comments A 45kg torpedo has been accidentally discharged at a nuclear dockyard during a training exercise, narrowly avoiding causing a serious accident. Navy bosses have launched an investigation into the blunder, which took place during a training drill at Devonport naval base in Plymouth on Wednesday afternoon. Workers watched as the projectile shot out of HMS Argyll and flew 200 yards through the air before blasting a hole in a security fence and slamming into a storage container. The torpedo was an unarmed version used for training, so it did not explode and merely thudded into the metal container. +7 Base: The scene at Devonport after a boat accidentally discharged a torpedo earlier this week +7 Blunder: No one was hurt in the accident, which took place during a training exercise Nobody was hurt in the incident, which took place at the port where Britains Vanguard-class nuclear submarines are refuelled and repaired. The Ministry of Defence refused to say whether or not any of the submarines were at Devonport at the time of the accident. More... Was missing jet hijacked and flown towards Indian islands? Radar data shows flight MH370 was heading towards Andaman Islands A source said: The torpedo came shooting out of the side of Argyll and flew through the air before going straight through a security fence. Its carried on going before hitting a storage container. If anyone was inside it they would have a had a nasty shock - the whole side of the container was stoved in. +7 Blunder: HMS Argyll accidentally filed a torpedo during a training exercise at Devonport naval base +7 Bang: The 9ft torpedo weighed 45kg and left a large dent in a metal storage container (file photo) Had the thing been armed it would have let out a 200-metre blast. You could be talking about a major loss of life. The Navy guys and the civilian dock workers are understandably appalled by what has happened. Someone has obviously pushed the button, presumably by accident - the big question is who. HMS Argyll is currently the oldest serving Duke Type 23 frigate in the Royal Navy, having been launched in 1989. The 4,900-tonne ship underwent a £20million refit in 2009 to ensure her weaponry was at the cutting edge of naval warfare. Her armaments include anti-aircraft missiles, harpoon launchers, a 4.5in mk8 cannon and two 12.75in Sting Ray torpedo tubes, which are normally submerged below the water but were exposed by the tide at the time of Wednesdays accident. +7 Accident: The blunder took place at Devonport, the naval base where nuclear submarines are serviced +7 Powerful: HMS Argyll is 25 years old but was recently refurbished to bring its weaponry up to date The self-propelled torpedoes are armed with 45kg warheads to take out enemy submarines that they lock onto with acoustic homing sensors. A spokesman for the Royal Navy said: We can confirm an incident occurred onboard HMS Argyll on Wednesday 12th. The ship was alongside at Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth. During a training exercise, an inert Test Variant Torpedo unexpectedly jettisoned onto the wharf. There was no explosion and no casualties. An investigation is now under way to determine the cause of the incident. The torpedo is not an explosive hazard. The specific details of the incident are subject to further investigation and it would be inappropriate to comment further. +7 Danger: If the torpedo had been fully armed it could have caused serious damage (file photo) The result of the investigation will determine what actions will be necessary to avoid any repeat of this incident in the future. However, torpedo system test firing alongside in the naval base has been suspended subject to completion of the investigation. Devonport, the second biggest naval base in western Europe, is one of three operating bases for the Royal Navy. The 650-acre facility is also the sole militarys only nuclear repair and refuelling facility. Share or comment on this article 577 share Read more: dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2581082/Royal-Navy-fire-9ft-torpedo-warship-nuclear-dockyard.html#ixzz2vxqwW4LF Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 18:48:16 +0000