"Had the thing been armed it would have let out a 200-metre blast...You could be talking about a major loss of life," one source noted as The Telegraph reports [2] British military chiefs have launched a major investigation after a Royal Navy warship accidentally fired a torpedo at a nuclear dockyard. Workers watched in disbelief as the tube-shaped projectile flew through the air before blasting a hole in a security fence and slamming into a storage container. "Someone has obviously pushed the button, presumably by accident - the big question is who," as the Royal Navy stiff-upper-lippedly stated "during a training exercise, an inert Test Variant Torpedo unexpectedly jettisoned onto the wharf. There was no explosion and no casualties." Perhaps they should stay away from the Black Sea for a while - just in case.
HMS Argyll was moored at Devonport Naval base in Plymouth when the 9ft missile suddenly shot out of its starboard side during a training drill.
Workers watched in disbelief as the tube-shaped projectile flew through the air before blasting a hole in a security fence and slamming into a storage container.
The torpedo was an unarmed version used for testing drills so it merely thudded into the metal container and did not explode.
Nobody was hurt but shocked Navy bosses ordered an urgent investigation into the incident that took place inside a high security area where Britain's nuclear submarines are refuelled and repaired.
...
The comments from onlookers are stunning and perhaps somewhat comical:
"The torpedo came shooting out of the side of Argyll and flew through the air before going straight through a security fence.
"It's carried on going before hitting a storage container. If anyone was inside it they would have a had a nasty shock - the whole side of the container was stoved in.
"Had the thing been armed it would have let out a 200-metre blast. You could be talking about a major loss of life.
"The Navy guys and the civilian dock workers are understandably appalled by what has happened.
"Someone has obviously pushed the button, presumably by accident - the big question is who."
The Navy stated:
"We can confirm an incident occurred onboard HMS Argyll on Wednesday 12th. The ship was alongside at Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth.
"During a training exercise, an inert Test Variant Torpedo unexpectedly jettisoned onto the wharf. There was no explosion and no casualties.
"An investigation is now under way to determine the cause of the incident. The torpedo is not an explosive hazard.
"The specific details of the incident are subject to further investigation and it would be inappropriate to comment further.
Adding that...
torpedo system test firing alongside in the naval base has been suspended subject to completion of the investigation
Let's just delay any torpedo-testing until this whole Russia-Ukraine thing blows over, eh?