Secrets of Suranne Jones’ underwater Vigil adventure revealed – as captain of nuclear sub unveils what really happens
LURKING in the dark depths of the seas for months on end, our nuclear submarines are even more secretive than the SAS.
Known as the Silent Service, their whereabouts cannot be revealed, images of the hi-tech interiors are classified and crew never discuss their missions.
But now, thanks to the geniuses behind hit TV series Line Of Duty, the bizarre world of the submariner is being brought to the surface in gripping BBC drama Vigil.
The six-part murder mystery, which pulled in six million viewers for each of its first two episodes this weekend, sees Suranne Jones play a detective sent on board a nuclear sub to investigate a death.
But she struggles with the claustrophobia and psychological pressure of living in such a confined space.
Vigil’s set designers had to create their Vanguard-class sub without drawings or photos, because their interiors are so secret.
So how realistic is it? Royal Navy veteran Captain Mike Davis-Marks, who spent 36 years on submarines, says: “They’ve done a good job getting a lot of it right. I enjoyed it.”
The 63-year-old from Kent is also pleased the show is lifting the lid on the top-secret world — one whose contribution to defence is often overlooked.
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He says: “It is good to see what life is like inside a submarine, even if it is a drama.
“There has never been a fitting memorial. We have been too secretive.”
As the series is at pains to show, life on these billion-pound “cigar tubes” — which are the length of one and a half football pitches and four decks high — can be extraordinarily tough.
Away for three months at a time, the crew are never allowed to communicate with the outside world unless there is an extreme emergency.
Sending out any signal will compromise a sub’s position, so that means no streaming, internet or social media.
Shifts are six hours on, six hours off, repeated constantly, seven days a week.
It is good to see what life is like inside a submarine, even if it is a drama
And privacy on board is in short supply, with bunks stacked so close together your nose almost touches the one above.
Mike, who commanded one of the nuclear-powered hunter- killer submarines tasked with seeking out the enemy, says: “Submariners work 24/7. Often, the only way to know what day it is is by the food you are eating.
"There is usually a roast on Sunday, for example.
“Pull your curtain across your bunk and it’s night.”
A father of two, he has been married to Tracy for 25 years. But when they were dating while he was at sea, he says, she “wrote 27 letters to me but never received a single letter back”.
Silence really is the key word for submarines.
Tools are tied to lanyards so they do not clank around; there are twice-daily checks for loose objects; and Mike even asked his crew to wear slippers.
He explains: “It’s all about who has got the quietest submarine. A quieter one will hear the noisier one further away. That is a really good cat and mouse strategy.”
Even a death on board is not a reason to emerge from the depths. Mike says: “You wouldn’t surface a submarine except in an emergency.
“I have been in a situation where we weren’t able to surface and had to sit on bad news.
Away for three months at a time, the crew are never allowed to communicate with the outside world
"A friend of mine commanding HMS Tireless had a mini explosion on board which killed two members when they were at the polar ice cap, so they couldn’t surface at the Arctic.”
In Vigil, the submarine surfaces to allow Suranne’s DCI Amy Silva on board to look into the drug-related death of a sailor played by Line Of Duty’s Martin Compston.
But Mike doubts the Navy would allow that — and even if it did, it would not be a civilian copper investigating.
And though he praises the series for capturing the tension and oppresiveness of life on a sub, there is one thing which irritates him — the frosty relationship between much of the crew.
He says: “You would never have that. If you don’t like someone, you learn to deal with it, so the tensions don’t surface.
“Being stuck in a cigar tube under water for three months on end, you learn to tolerate everyone else. Most people think we are mad to do it.
“We just think we are a professional part of the armed services that get on with it.”
It was only eight years ago that the first women were allowed to serve too, and generally there are only eight among a team of 120.
And there are strict “no touching” rules, as Suranne’s DCI Silva finds out when she gets close to the coxswain.
Mike says: “You have the sexual element on a submarine, but we are so close-knit I don’t think anything untoward could go on, everyone would know.”
Silence really is the key word for submarines
What free time crew do have is spent sleeping, watching DVDs or joining communal activities such as quiz nights.
But they need to be switched on at all times for emergencies. Mike recalls: “At 3am, someone tripped the flood alarm and we surfaced in an emergency.
“You can’t assume it’s not real. If you take too long to make a decision and too much water gets in, it isn’t going to go upwards.”
When submarines were first launched by the Royal Navy in 1901, Admiral Arthur Wilson described them as “underhand, unfair and damned un-English”.
An Astute-class hunter killer sub is currently shadowing our £3.2billion aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth in the Far East and a Vanguard-class one is somewhere loaded with Trident nukes.
Mike now wants a fitting tribute to those who have lost their lives on subs and is part of the Submariner Memorial Appeal, backed by Prince William.
They have raised £440,000 of the half a million they need — and an 11ft bronze sculpture has already been designed.
Mike concludes: “I think we are a bit of a victim of our own self-preservation.
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“Like the special services, we don’t talk about what we do.”
Vigil continues on Sunday on BBC1 at 9pm.
