The Royal Navy has unveiled plans to build a major new maritime museum in Plymouth.
The Cold War Maritime Heritage Museum plans to feature a unique nuclear submarine as its centre piece, which is set to wow visitors at 87 metres long and weighing 4300 tonnes.
Built for the Cold War, the HMS Courageous radiates in Britain’s maritime history, including its tour to the Falkland Islands in 1982. The historic submarine retired from battle in 1992 and is now the last of its kind in the UK, and one of three left in the world, including the FS Redoubtable and USS Nautilus.
Volunteers have restored the famous submarine to how it was in the 1980s, immersing guests into what it was like at the height of the Cold War.
Through its uniqueness, the new Royal Navy visitor experience believes HMS Courageous could attract 150,000 visitors from all over the UK on a yearly basis.
An estimated £40,000 is needed for the project which will tell the lost stories of those in the Royal Navy and other forces through the turbulent years of The Cold War between the 1940s to 1991. It also pays tribute to the thousands of people who lost their life.
A representative from the Royal Navy said: “If successful, the project team believe the museum will give tourism and employment in Plymouth an important boost, underline the case for nuclear power and generally raise the profile of the Royal Navy in the South West.”
The Royal Navy have set Christmas up as the deadline for initial fundraising, which will look into the feasibility and time-scale to build the museum in 2021 before approving the go ahead.
In other museum news, the Museum of Flight has opened a special exhibition marking 75 years since the Second World War.
