§ 68. Captain Kerbyasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what was the original cost of Her Majesty's Submarine "Turpin"; and what has been the cost, to date, of refitting, re-equipping, and converting this ship.
§ Mr. AllanH.M.S. "Turpin", which was built during the war, cost £420,000. Since then the total cost of all refits, re-equipping, and the extensive conversion to fast battery drive, has been approximately £1,240,000. I would at the same time refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 1st April.
§ 69. Captain Kerbyasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty how many months were spent in refitting Her Majesty's Submarine "Tactician" during the years 1954, 1955, 1956, and 1957; and what was the total cost of these refits.
§ Mr. AllanIn the financial years 1953–54 to 1957–58 inclusive,, the total period during which Her Majesty's Submarine "Tactician" was in hand for refit was about 20 months. The cost of these refits was approximately £465,000.
§ 70. Captain Kerbyasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether, in view of the fact that the new submarine construction programme has been timed to enable new submarines to come into service as old submarines approach the end of their useful lives, he will define the useful life of a submarine; and if he will make a statement on his proposal that one nuclear submarine and eight Porpoise-class submarines should replace the present submarine fleet of 15 "A"-class submarines, 22 "T"-class submarines, and 15 "S"-class submarines, all of which are over 10 years old, and the majority of which were built during the war.
§ Mr. AllanThe useful life of a submarine varies as between one boat and another, depending on the severity of the demands made on her and on expenditure on her maintenance. I cannot usefully quote an average period. I have no knowledge of the proposal mentioned in the second part of the Question.