Iain Ballantyne
@IBallantyn
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Editor @WarshipsIFR Author 'Hunter Killers', 'Killing the Bismarck', 'Warspite', 'The Deadly Trade', & more. Novel out 2026. Rep @PFDAgents Warships Pod host.
Joined April 2015
This was because next Warspite was a nuclear-powered Fleet submarime, aka 'hunter killer' or SSN, which ventured into Arctic seas. During one such patrol she was in collision with a Russian Echo 2 sub. That Warspite's story in my 'Hunter Killers'
orionbooks.co.uk
HUNTER KILLER: a submarine designed to pursue and attack enemy submarines and surface ships using torpedoes. HUNTER KILLERS will follow the careers of fou...
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On this date in 1914 the British cruisers Good Hope and Monmouth were sunk with all hands in the Battle of Coronel. The average age of the 734 men on the Monmouth was *25*. #history
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Although Robertson and Houghton are lone voices, this nails their nonsense: ‘Aside from the operational issues, there is the more fundamental question of sovereignty and national security. As an independent nation Britain alone reserves the right to use its nuclear arsenal in
Sharing our nukes with Germany would be madness ✍️ Alexander Baker https://t.co/1ulJgYzBMd
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Fujian and Shandong at Hainan. Note workboats at bow of Fujian, presumably applying her hull number. Aircraft on deck parked for event style activities. Crew rehearsing formation drills. All the indicators for Fujians commissioning in the near future, plausibly within days.
Earlier this week, Gen-3 captured two Chinese aircraft carriers at Yulin Naval Base, featuring various aircraft and crowds of sailors on deck and on the pier. Learn more about Gen-3 here: https://t.co/3Uh4Cy1xO9
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A good example of the challenges of submerged navigation, which cannot rely on datalinks like other military assets. Accurate clocks are required for dead reckoning navigation, especially over extended times.
Testbed uncrewed submarine XV Excalibur went to sea with @InfleqtionUK's quantum optical atomic clock on board – the first time such a device has been operated at sea in an underwater vessel. ➡️ https://t.co/GFhq9qOQKd
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Victor III was serious opponent - worryingly quiet
#OTD in 1983, USS McCloy snagged the Soviet submarine K-324 with her towed sonar array, causing damage to the sub's propeller. The disabled K-324 was forced to surface, giving the U.S. Navy the first good look at the new features on Victor III-class subs.
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USS Florida (SSGN 728) with a view of why the Four Horsemen of the Tomahawkalypse typically deploy with a loadout of 133 TLAMs.
Capable of releasing them all in a 6-minute salvo. They are almost NEVER in this full 154 configuration though. Typical loadout is between 112-133. 154 would mean no sneaky sneaky SOF via DDS.
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We spend 1.6% of GDP on conventional Defence and not all of that is spent wisely. Ultimately, you get what you pay for with the rider that as everyone can now see the state is in need of radical overhaul.
The UK’s F-35 programme is a devastating example of what happens when a nation picks a cool jet - but without the cash to pay for it We end up with a much smaller capability that can’t reach its potential but we have still spent billions of £s Bravo https://t.co/fhLhC7y2Kf
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Salmon's sister boat USS Stingray (SS-186) demonstrating what that (battle surfacing to gun your way out) would have looked like
OTD in 1944: on her 11th war patrol, USS Salmon (SS-182) endured the worst damage survived by a US Navy submarine, then battle surfaced & gunned her way out. Salmon suffered 30 close-range depth charges causing pressure hull deformation, flooding, & jammed stern planes.
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A reminder that women, like men, risked their lives behind enemy lines. If captured, they faced Gestapo torture and were sent to concentration camps. Many female agents and spies were brutally killed.
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The Strike Group is back in the Mediterranean after transiting the Suez Canal following 5 months in the Indo-Pacific! 🌅🌊 #CSG25 #OpHighmast
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Stand-off weapon problem is RAF-wide, not an F-35 thing. Beneath STORM SHADOW (limited in use cases and stockpile), TYPHOON also has no stand-off. And unlike F-35, it does not enjoy stealth. Nor is SPEAR 3 integration on it firmly planned yet. Focus on F-35 is pure politics.
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A rare 'catch' in UK waters: the Portuguese Navy @MarinhaPT Tridente Class diesel-electric submarine NRP Tridente inbound through a frisky Plymouth Sound to @HMNBDevonport this morning. Video courtesy @StephenJagger4 for Warships IFR.
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‘The ship and her company are gone but the example and inspiration remain’
The Siege of Malta pt 2 One word: imperturbability @James1940 @WeHaveWaysPod
https://t.co/dLL9E4dwV5
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The 1967 Cabinet Office assessment of the 'expected outcome of nuclear attack'. "From 5 up to 25 million deaths are expected... another 2-3 million might die from radiation sickness". Potentially 50% of the population of the UK would die in a few short hours...
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In an ideal world, we wouldn't spend anything on defence because we wouldn't need to. We dont live in that world, but we do live in a world where community notes expose the excreable drivel from some of our elected representatives.
There is always money for war, never for the poor. Every penny spent on bombs, tanks and missiles is stolen from our homes, schools and hospitals. We are not going to take it anymore.
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RT @WarshipsIFR: Our latest Warships IFR TV naval news video in case you missed it. A Wildcat helicopter armed with Martlet missiles. Some…
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Thoughts on why the USS Gerald R Ford Carrier Strike Group is heading for Venezuela and what the strategic aim of this pivot is Only kidding, I have literally no idea, so reduced to listing options I do know that's a lot of gun though... https://t.co/uPEyzTOEPv
telegraph.co.uk
The clock is counting down. I for one will be glad to be elsewhere when it reaches zero
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A blowtorch made for Ernest King by Thomas A. Edison, Incorporated in 1942.
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