National Museum's submarine HMS Alliance stars in Hollywood's Transformers V: The Last Knight

Cold War submarine HMS Alliance got a dusting of Hollywood magic when it was used as a location for Paramount Picture's Transformers V: The Last Knight. The film is on general release from today (Friday 23rd June) and eagle-eyed fans will see HMS Alliance making an appearance.

The National Museum of the Royal Navy's Gosport-based submarine welcomed A-list stars Sir Anthony Hopkins and Mark Wahlberg to the Royal Navy Submarine Museum last year to film director Michael Bay's popular sequel of the highly successful film franchise.

Supercars Bumblebee and Hotrod , "Autobots" which transform into earth-saving robots, made a special appearance as they sped up to the submarine in a race against time. Further scenes were filmed on board the boat over three days.

The filming caused quite a stir in the town as fans congregated at the gate to catch glimpses of the stars and cars. As many as 300 fans were at the gate when news got out that filming was taking place.

Professor Dominic Tweddle, Director General of the National Museum commented: "Staff and volunteers were incredibly excited to be part of the filming but were sworn to secrecy.

"Film tourism is a brilliant way to broaden our appeal to the family market. The film crew have been incredibly creative and respectful in their treatment of Alliance. Whilst we can't promise that our visitors will see any famous faces, we can promise they will have a great day out!"

For details on how to visit the Royal Navy Submarine Museum as part of the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard all attraction ticket which includes HMS Victory and the Mary Rose Museum, please visit www.historicdockyard.co.uk.

Here are a list of interesting facts, relating back to when HMS Alliance was in service:

• HMS Alliance held the world record for longest dive by a submarine - staying immersed for 30 days. This took place in the autumn of 1947, as she was deployed to obtain information about the living conditions on a submarine during an extended snort patrol. Diving off the Canary Islands, the Alliance travelled over 3,000 miles, from the Canaries to Cape Verde, then down to the Equator and then northwards where she surfaced in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
• HMS Alliance did not see active service during wartime - with a crew of up to 69 men (ratings), she was used to carry out active service patrols - one of many during the Indonesian confrontation during the mid-1960s, where she was used to land Marine Commando units on special operations.
• Singer Lita Roza - author of the 1953 hit record 'How much is that doggie in the window?'', was adopted as the Alliance's pin-up mascot following her visit to the submarine for a publicity stunt in 1953. Her hit single made her the first British solo singerr to top the UK singles chart.
• HMS Alliance was used to test international camouflage paint schemes, while operating in the Far East during the 1965 confrontation - submarines have always been vulnerable to being spotted from the air while submerged. Various types of camouflage and different paint schemes have been tried over the years to reduce visibility from the air. Whilst on patrol, Alliance was used to trial a new paint scheme; when realising that its grey and black patches were still visible to overflying helicopters, the crew were back out with their paintbrushes reverting to an overall black colouring.
• HMS Alliance was used during the making of the feature film 'Morning Departure', a British naval drama film about life aboard a sunken submarine - released in 1950, the film starred John Mills. Using the Alliance's bridge in one of its scenes, Mills became a firm supporter of HMS Alliance visiting her on many occasions.