SHOULD anyone, by some chance, have a decommissioned warship in their Hampshire back garden, Haynes, the well known publishers of maintenance handbooks of Cortinas, Minis and Morris Minors, has produced a guide on how to look after a submarine.

Working in conjunction with the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport, the recently published book is full of hints and practical advice for anyone who has a HMS Alliance class submarine tucked away in their garage.

Following the same tried and tested layout and content of the normal Haynes manuals, the book is packed full of photographs, and cut-away diagrams of engines and batteries. The work gives a fascinating account of the construction and history of HMS Alliance.

As the centrepiece of the museum, the boat, which was built in 1945, stands testament to the courageous men who fought in similar boats during WWII.

Haynes chose Alliance as a subject for their manual as she epitomises the peak of British submarine development.

Alliance is the first British submarine to have been conserved and forms the nucleus of the collections maintained at the museum.

Royal Navy Submarine, 1945 to 1973 (Aclass – HMS Alliance) by Peter Goodwin, published by Haynes Publishing, £22.99.