Royal Navy to allow women to serve on submarines



Women could soon be allowed to serve on Royal Navy submarines for the first time.

Senior naval figures have opposed allowing women on subs due to the cramped conditions on board and the dangers posed by fumes inside the vessels to a foetus if a woman is pregnant.

But a review of the ban was ordered last year following pressure from Labour figures keen to introduce full equal opportunities for women in the Armed Forces.

Female friendly: the Royal Navy's Astute submarines can easily be adapted to accommodate women

The Royal Navy's new Astute attack submarines could easily be adapted to accommodate women and the Ministry of Defence has said that in the design of the new Trident nuclear subs 'consideration will be given to the possibility of women serving in the future'.

A ministry of Defence source told the Sunday Times: 'It looks likely that women will be allowed to serve on submarines.'

Defence chiefs are expected to veto a similar move to allow women to serve as frontline infantry.

The Australian, Canadian, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian navies already allow women to serve on their submarines.

Into the deep: women officers serving on a Royal Navy aircraft carrier. Soon they could serve under the surface

If the Royal Navy allows the move, only mine-clearance diving units and the Royal Marines would be closed to women in the Armed Forces.

Armed Forces commanders concluded last month that women lack the upper-body strength and physical resilience to withstand intensive combat on the front line.

Tests have found that women were eight times more likely than men to sustain injuries other than wounds in action and there were also concerns that infantrymen's first instinct would be to defend women fighting alongside them that to attack the enemy.





