No These Aren’t Starships In Space Dock, They Are Nuclear Submarines Under Construction

Updated Dec 9, 2019 8:33 PM EST

The image above looks like it could be ripped from a space action science-fiction thriller, the classic shot of hulking and futuristic starships under construction in orbit , but its origin is far more down to earth than that. It was taken at BAE Systems’ Devonshire Dock Hall located in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The massive enclosure is the largest of its kind in Europe and it is where modern Royal Navy submarines are born.

The 270,000 square foot installation was built in the mid-1980s for Vickers Shipbuilding. Shortly after opening in 1986, it garnered the nickname “Maggie’s Farm” as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was a staunch supporter of making the upgrade from the Polaris submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) system to the Trident SLBM system and building the submarines that were required to accommodate it. These were the Royal Navy’s Vanguard class nuclear ballistic submarines, all four of which were constructed at Devonshire Dock Hall. The Trident- Vanguard class pairing continues to exist as the U.K.’s sole nuclear deterrent to this day.

Profile view of BAE Systems Devonshire Dock Hall. It is a gigantic and strategic facility for the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense and the industry it depends on., SteveMi/Wikicommons

Since 2001, the facility has supported the Astute class nuclear fast attack submarine program. Many would argue that the Astutes are the most advanced fast attack submarines ever constructed and their striking and futuristic physical appearance can look more spaceship than submarine.

The banner image shows three of the planned seven Astute class submarines under construction in Devonshire Dock Hall. Here are some other images of their construction in the cavernous facility:

As Astute class production winds down in the first half of the next decade, BAE’s big submarine construction facility will undergo an upgrade at the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, which includes an enlargement that will allow it to build the giant Dreadnought class. These huge nuclear ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) will replace the Vanguard class and assure the Royal Navy’s nuclear deterrence mission well into the second half of the century.

Nuclear submarines are often compared to fighting starships as they are sort of the closest thing we have in reality to such a thing. Of course, their domain is the innermost space on our planet, not outer space, but the general idea is similar. In fact, this is a reason why space adventures often steal plots from famous submarines films.

Regardless, the future is very much alive at Devonshire Dock Hall, even if they aren’t building space frigates just yet.

Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com

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更新于美国东部时间2019年12月9日晚上8:33

上面的图片看起来像是从太空科幻动作片里截取出来的经典镜头——庞大而充满未来感的星际飞船正在轨道上建造，但它的拍摄地却远比这要接地气得多。这张照片拍摄于英国坎布里亚郡巴罗因弗内斯的BAE系统公司德文郡船坞大厅。这座巨大的建筑是欧洲同类建筑中规模最大的，也是英国皇家海军现代潜艇的诞生地。

这座占地27万平方英尺的设施建于20世纪80年代中期，由维克斯造船公司承建。1986年启用后不久，它便获得了“玛吉农场”的绰号，因为时任首相玛格丽特·撒切尔是英国将北极星潜射弹道导弹（SLBM）系统升级为三叉戟潜射弹道导弹系统并建造与之配套潜艇的坚定支持者。这些潜艇正是英国皇家海军的先锋级核动力弹道导弹潜艇，全部四艘均在德文郡船坞建造。时至今日，三叉戟-先锋级潜艇组合仍然是英国唯一的核威慑力量。

BAE系统公司德文郡船坞大厅的侧视图。它是英国国防部及其所依赖的工业的一座规模庞大且具有战略意义的设施。（图片来源：SteveMi/Wikicommons）

自2001年以来，该设施一直为“机敏”级核动力攻击潜艇项目提供支持。许多人认为，“机敏”级是迄今为止建造的最先进的攻击潜艇，其引人注目且充满未来感的外观更像是宇宙飞船而非潜艇。

横幅图片展示了计划建造的七艘“机敏”级潜艇中的三艘正在德文郡船坞建造中。以下是它们在这座巨大船坞中建造的其他一些图片：

随着“机敏”级潜艇在下一个十年的前半段逐渐停产，BAE系统公司的大型潜艇建造厂将耗资数亿美元进行升级改造，其中包括扩建，以便建造巨型“无畏”级潜艇。这些巨型核动力弹道导弹潜艇（SSBN）将取代“先锋”级潜艇，确保英国皇家海军的核威慑任务能够持续到本世纪下半叶。

核潜艇经常被比作星际战舰，因为它们可以说是现实中最接近星际战舰的存在。当然，它们的作战区域是地球内部空间，而非外太空，但基本概念是相似的。事实上，这也是太空冒险电影经常借鉴著名潜艇电影情节的原因之一。

无论如何，德文郡船坞大厅的未来充满活力，即使他们目前还没有建造太空护卫舰。

联系作者：Tyler@thedrive.com

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