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[Airtrooper]

I'm trying to find ANY plans (but especially lines and body plans) for the RN's first nuclear submarine, HMS Dreadnought (S101). The NMM charge a fortune IMO  , so not a viable option as I need to keep costs low. The Submarine Museum and the NMRN don't hold anything.    This has left me pretty much stuck!    At this stage I'll be happy to find anything, even if it is lacking in detail! Perhaps someone out there can come to my aid please? For instance, does anyone know of any GA drawings published in books or magazines from any country around the globe?


Many thanks in advance.


Andy

[Airtrooper]

I now realise this may be better placed in the Submarines R&D forum?    If a Mod is reading this could you move it please? Many thanks 

Moved here

ken

[Davy1]

Hi Andy,


It would seem that you are not alone in your (difficult!) quest. See this link:


http://www.theassociationofmodelsubmariners.com/t1432-hms-dreadnought-or-vailantz-class-submarine?highlight=Dreadnought


I see that the Jecobin plans are still available.


David

[Airtrooper]

Indeed. It is a shame Jecobin don't cover HMS Dreadnought, or indeed HMS Valiant or HMS Warspite. I can't help hoping there might be something published in a foreign language magazine or book somewhere, as with USS Nautilus in Eastern Block publications for the Cold War era and since!

[gingyer]

What about asking OTW Design??

[deadbeat]

I spent three years in the planning/control team for Dreadnought's refit in Chatham Dockyard in the mid 70s, I got to know her quite well.

Try this link
http://rnsubs.co.uk/boats/subs/dreadnought-class.html

Also VSEL archives might help.

[Airtrooper]

Great suggestions! 


I'll try both OTW Designs (I didn't realise they sold an HMS Valiant model!) and VSEL archives and report back...


Many thanks


Andy

[Airtrooper]

Ah, I just remembered that VSEL is now BAE Systems and when I last enquired about some other drawings I got this reply...


"Unfortunately by order of the Board of Directors, we are unable to supply any form of technical drawings of predecessor company products due to wide-ranging liability issues"


I may still give it a shot, but I don't hold out much hope to be honest... 

[deadbeat]

Dreadnought was Yard No 1062 at Barrow, I don't know whether there is any mileage with this link.

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/1f46e684-7719-4094-902a-b85641035f9b

Also there may be help available at the Submarine Museum at Gosport.

[Airtrooper]

Wow, that last link could be a goer!    I'll contact them.


Also, I just got a call from OTW Designs, who although they couldn't provide any plans, were extremely helpful and it was wonderful to chat to them    They confirmed that in their experience drawings for Dreadnought/Valiant/Warspite/Churchill were non-existent


Regarding the previous post re: Sub Museum @Gosport, as per my original post I already enquired via official channels and they do not hold any such plans (unless anyone "on the inside" unofficially knows any different?!)

[Airtrooper]

Unfortunately that National Archives link drew a negative with Tyne & Wear Archives 


I'm now trying the Barrow Archive & Local Studies Centre...

[Fred Ellis]

In the past I asked the ship yard if they could help with drawing's for the boat that I was building at the time, and nine times out of ten they have been able to help, some of the drawing's from Vickers when to the Liverpool Museum give them a try.


If you ask the NMM at Greenwich you will have to pay a fee then the cost for the drawing's,

[Airtrooper]

Liverpool Museum is another great idea    I'll try them too

If you ask the NMM at Greenwich you will have to pay a fee then the cost for the drawing's,

Exactly, hence my comment about NMM in my original post.


No joy with Barrow Archive & Local Studies Centre, although they do have "plans for earlier submarines in the Vickers collection", which may be of use to others here 


No reply from BAE Systems archives (there new archivist is Janice Scott) but I don't hold out a lot of hope, as per one of my previous posts 

[Airtrooper]

It has been a couple of years since I last visited the RN Submarine Museum at Gosport and I can't locate the photos I took there. They had several superb models on display, including this one (not my photo):



The Royal Navy Submarine Museum - Gosport 2013 by Lajos Dixi Dioszegi, on Flickr


In the background is the famous painting of the launch of HMS Dreadnought, but can anyone recall whether the model is also HMS Dreadnought, or one of her half-sisters (Valiant or Warspite, both 20ft longer), or another boat?

[Rob47]

If the plans are digitised at nmm then price is low my drawings for HMS Victorious are £50
around the same as a Jecobin plan

[Airtrooper]

Latest prices are £70 for the first scan and £50 for subsequent scans. Note this doesn't include hardcopy printed.

TBH I think that is simply too much (e.g. other archives in the UK I could mention charge £10 per scan  ). Also it's not so long ago when MMM charged £17 for a hardcopy. £17 to £70/50 is a massive jump, especially for a lesser product/service At any rate I can't aford £70/50.

All that aside I still enquired with NMM and got a very nice reply... but unfortunately they don't hold any plans for Dreadnought 

[Airtrooper]

Here is a photo of HMS Churchill alongside Dreadnought at the 1977 Fleet Review at Spithead. Note the difference in how they sit in the water. Although differing ballast may account for some of this (like comparing apples and oranges) there is little doubt the form of the hull (plus the sail and hydroplanes for that matter) is significantly different. There is far more to this than an extra 20 or so feet.

[Airtrooper]

I also got my hand on the January '61 edition of Practical Mechanics... but no diagrams over than this cutaway re-drawn from official sources.





Despite the wild inaccuracies I still love the cover art!