The Warwick Submarine team (consisting of six fourth-year engineering students) won the ‘Smooth Operator’ award for its human-powered submarine at the International Submarine Races (ISR-15) held recently in Maryland, USA.

Godiva (designed and built by Helen Boyle, Sarah Kemp, Rebecca Seal, Ash Leonard, Giles Collee and Lewis Robbins) was raced around an underwater course and achieved a speed of 2.88 knots — the best yet for the Warwick team, which has entered the event six times.

The team had access to the latest research from the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) and the School of Engineering at the University of Warwick, as well as help from its sponsorship partners, which included Babcock, Stratasysand 3M.

Nigel Denton from WMG helped the students on the team to become qualified divers — a requirement for all participants.

The pilot lies prone in the submarine and propels it by pedalling.

To steer the submarine, the pilot manipulates levers that control dive-planes for pitch (up and down) and yaw (left and right).

An emergency buoy is released and comes to the surface if the pilot lets go of the spring-loaded ‘dead man’s switch’, while a light attached to the hull helps the support team to locate the submarine in low-light conditions.

The ‘Smooth Operator’ award recognises the team that was best organised in terms of race preparation, efficiency of operation (including on-the-startline pilot ‘lock-and-load’ drill), problem-solving, effecting running repairs and overall reliability.

Ian Tuersley from WMG, who has been the Warwick Submarine project director for the past seven years, said: “The ‘Smooth Operator’ award is testament to the hard work that the team have put in all year — not just to the engineering aspects of the project but also to such necessities as gathering the support of sponsors and the
logistics of simply attending the competition with a viable racing submarine.

“I am immensely proud of all that they have achieved.”