Calm seas and sunshine, but hardly enough room for a deckchair as sub crew surface mid-ocean

AFTER seven months and 27,000 miles at sea, Plymouth submariners enjoy lounging around in the sun as they begin the long journey home.

Smoking cigarettes and making phone calls from the surface of HMS Talent may look like a cosy job — but the 130 crew members are returning from a vital deployment.

As well as working to provide peace in the Middle East, the trip saw them conduct the first exercise between British and Indian submarines for many years.

One of a number of high-profile training missions during their stint at sea, the operation was seen by the Royal Navy as an important way of building ties between the countries.

Luckily, the crew’s strength was kept up by a team of dedicated chefs, who served up a whopping 37,000 bread rolls, 22,000 eggs and 11 tonnes of potatoes.

More than 200 families, friends and well-wishers are expected to line the jetty at Devonport Naval Base on Monday for HMS Talent’s return.

She sailed from the city on a cold and blustery day in February, taking in the mild Mediterranean, scorching Middle East and Indian monsoon season.

The crew joined Merlin helicopters from 820 Naval Air Squadron, based at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall, Type 23 frigate HMS Northumberland, American patrol aircraft and Los Angeles class submarine USS Alexandria for anti-submarine warfare exercises.

They also conducted regional engagement visits to the United Arab Emirates, India, Jordan and Crete, crossing the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Arabian and Mediterranean Seas and the Gulfs of Aden and Oman in the process.

Charitable submariners also took to the surface for good causes during the deployment, staging a ‘Row the Suez’ challenge on rowing machines and raising £1,500 a children’s hospice with a ‘horse racing’ afternoon.

They are being joined for the final leg of their trip home by commander-in-chief Fleet Admiral Sir Trevor Soar.

HMS Talent’s commanding officer, Commander Simon Asquith, said: “We had a very busy deployment and my team should be very proud of what they have achieved.

“It is particularly good that so many of our families and friends are expected to be here to meet us. Their unwavering support to my team has been key to our success.”

HMS Talent is due to spend the rest of the year at Devonport, with Babcock Marine providing maintenance and weapons upgrades.