87. St. Catherines, Loch Fyne. (NN 121 075)

There is a control centre for an underwater noise range in Loch Fyne in St. Catherines. However, the precise operational arrangement of the facility is unknown. The Inter-Agency Committee on Marine Science and Technology lists it as being a Defence Evaluation And Research Agency (DERA) site, but this agency was split in 2001 to form QinetiQ and DSTL, and neither organisation registers St. Catherines as a location. The range itself is approximately 5km by 1km with a depth of 140m, and is configured with hydrophones covering each target aspect, DGPS and acoustic tracking and communications. It is able to accommodate surface vessels up to 20kts and submerged vessels up to 14kts. Dutch diesel-electric patrol submarines are regular visitors to the Loch Fyne range.

The picture below is of the Dutch Walrus class submarine Dolfijn on Loch Fyne.