HMS Vanguard (S28)

For other ships of the same name, see HMS Vanguard.
HMS Vanguard arrives back at HM Naval Base Clyde, Faslane, Scotland following a patrol
Career (UK)
Name: HMS Vanguard
Ordered: 30 May 1986
Builder: Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd, Barrow-in-Furness
Laid down: 3 September 1986[1]
Launched: 4 March 1992[1]
Commissioned: 14 August 1993[1]
Homeport: HMNB Clyde, Argyll, Scotland
Status: In active service, as of 2015
Badge:
General characteristics [1]
Class and type:Vanguard-class submarine
Displacement:15,900 tonnes, submerged[2]
Length:149.9 m (491 ft 10 in)
Beam:12.8 m (42 ft 0 in)
Draught:12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Propulsion:
  • 1 × Rolls-Royce PWR2 nuclear reactor
  • 2 × GEC turbines; 27,500 shp (20.5 MW)
  • 1 × shaft, pump jet propulsor
  • 2 × auxiliary retractable propulsion motors
  • 2 × WH Allen turbo generators (6 MW)
  • 2 × Paxman diesel alternators; 2,700 shp (2.0 MW)
Speed:In excess of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph), submerged
Range:Only limited by food and maintenance requirements.
Complement:135
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • BAE Systems SMCS
  • Kelvin Hughes Type 1007 I-band navigation radar
  • Thales Underwater Systems Type 2054 composite sonar suite comprising: 
    • Marconi/Ferranti Type 2046 towed array sonar 
    • Type 2043 hull-mounted active and passive search sonar 
    • Type 2082 passive intercept and ranging sonar
  • Pilkington Optronics CK51 search periscope
  • Pilkington Optronics CH91 attack periscope
Electronic warfare
and decoys:
  • Two SSE Mk10 launchers for Type 2066 and Type 2071 torpedo decoys
  • RESM Racal UAP passive intercept
Armament:4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes for:

16 ballistic missile tubes for:

The eleventh HMS Vanguard of the Royal Navy is the lead boat of her class of Trident ballistic missile-armed submarines. The submarine is based at Faslane, HMNB Clyde, Argyll, Scotland.

Vanguard was built at Barrow-in-Furness by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd (now BAE Systems Submarine Solutions), was launched on 4 March 1992, and commissioned on 14 August 1993.

She has two crews, "Port" and "Starboard".[3]

Operational history

The submarine's first commanding officer was Captain David Russell.

In February 2002, Vanguard began a two-year refit at HMNB Devonport. The refit was completed in June 2004 and in October 2005, Vanguard completed her return to service trials (Demonstration and Shakedown Operations) with the firing of an unarmed Trident missile. During this refit, Vanguard was illegally boarded by a pair of anti-nuclear protestors.[4]

On 4 February 2009, Vanguard collided with the French submarine Triomphant in the Atlantic.[5] She returned to Faslane in Scotland, under her own power arriving on 14 February 2009.[6]

In January 2012 radiation was detected in the PWR2 test reactor's coolant water, caused by a microscopic breach in fuel cladding. This discovery led to Vanguard being scheduled to be refuelled in its next "deep maintenance period", due to last 3.5 years from 2015, and contingency measures being applied to other Vanguard and Astute class submarines, at a cost of £270 million. This was not revealed to the public until 2014.[7][8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Jane's Fighting Ships, 2004-2005. Jane's Information Group Limited. p. 794. ISBN 0-7106-2623-1.
  2. ↑ Royal Navy Vanguard class submarine, royalnavy.mod.uk
  3. ↑ http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/linkedfiles/referencelibrary/ref_library_docs/20110603bridgecard03jun11.pdf
  4. ↑ BBC News, 13 March 2003
  5. ↑ Williams, Rachel (16 February 2009). "Nuclear submarines collide in Atlantic". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  6. ↑ "Nuclear subs collide in Atlantic". BBC News. 16 February 2009. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  7. ↑ "Nuclear submarine to get new core after test reactor problem". BBC. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  8. ↑ David Maddox (8 March 2014). "MoD accused of Dounreay radiation leak cover-up". The Scotsman. Retrieved 8 March 2014.

External links