SAILORS have made British naval history during an exercise at a base near Fareham this week.

Southwick Park in Southwick played host to sailors from HMS Southampton, Westminster and Edinburgh as they took part in a major global computerised war games exercise for the first time ever.

The three-day round-the-clock operation, which finished yesterday, saw warfare teams interacting with warships from the USA in a simulated battle against a fictional enemy.

Technology allowed the sailors to have constant contact with the operational base in Norfolk, Virginia during Exercise Brimstone.

Captain Jack Tarr, chief of staff at the Maritime Warfare School, said: "It's a first. It's unique because all the players are doing this from their home territory. We have sailors interacting with their US counterparts during the day and then going home for tea.

"This is a real window into the future for us and the way we do collective training.

"The best place to train for fighting in ships is ships, but with this we go to our ships with far greater confidence."

The training command unit at the base, formerly HMS Dryad, houses simulators for a type 23 frigate, type 42 destroyer and a control centre.

They have been running 24 hours a day for the first time in 20 years.

Members of starboard watch from HMS Westminster came under fire from a submarine yesterday on the third day of their mission.

Chief Paul Johnson, based aboard the frigate in Portsmouth, said: "At one point we were under attack from the air and from a submarine.

"If I shut my eyes and opened them again, I could be in the Adriatic, where I served a few years ago. This is about as real as it gets."