HMS Alliance

HMS Alliance is an A-class submarine at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum on the southern English coast near Portsmouth. The vessel measures 86 meters (282 feet) in length and displays torpedo chambers, command centers, and crew spaces across multiple levels below deck.

The submarine launched in 1945 and served through various naval operations until 1973 during Cold War tensions. She remains the last surviving vessel from the wartime generation of British A-class boats.

The name Alliance refers to the military partnerships formed in the final months of the war. Visitors today walk through the cramped sleeping quarters and mess areas where up to 65 men lived together during months-long patrols beneath the ocean surface.

The museum offers guided tours from Wednesday through Sunday between 10 AM and 4:30 PM, with longer hours during school holidays. Visitors should expect low passageways and narrow corridors inside, along with steep ladders connecting different sections of the boat.

Visitors can operate a working periscope in the control room to watch ships passing through Portsmouth Harbour today. The same optical equipment once helped crews navigate and track enemy vessels during real patrol missions at sea.