HMS Vanguard (S28)

The eleventh HMS Vanguard of the Royal Navy is the lead boat of her class of Trident ballistic missile-armed submarines.[1][2] The submarine is based at Faslane, HMNB Clyde, Argyll, Scotland.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Vanguard.

HMS Vanguard at Faslane
History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Vanguard
Ordered: 30 May 1986
Builder: Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd, Barrow-in-Furness
Laid down: 3 September 1986
Launched: 4 March 1992
Commissioned: 14 August 1993
Homeport: HMNB Clyde, Argyll, Scotland
Status: Undergoing refit
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type: Vanguard-class submarine
Displacement: 15,900 tonnes, submerged
Length: 149.9 m (491 ft 10 in)
Beam: 12.8 m (42 ft 0 in)
Draught: 12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Propulsion:
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:
Electronic warfare
& decoys:
  • Two SSE Mk10 launchers for Type 2066 and Type 2071 torpedo decoys
  • RESM Racal UAP passive intercept
Armament:

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

Operational history

The submarine's first commanding officer was Captain David Russell and the senior engineer officer, during build, was Commander James Grant OBE.

HMS Vanguard arriving back at HM Naval Base Clyde, Faslane, Scotland following a patrol

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 boarded by a pair of anti-nuclear protesters who spent half an hour on board before being challenged. They were charged with damaging a fence which they cut to access the submarine.[3]

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

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.[6][7]

See also

References
  1. "Vanguard class submarine". Royal Navy.
  2. Jane's Fighting Ships, 2004-2005. Jane's Information Group Limited. p. 794. ISBN 0-7106-2623-1.
  3. "Trident pair deny criminal damage". BBC News. 13 March 2003.
  4. Williams, Rachel (16 February 2009). "Nuclear submarines collide in Atlantic". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
  5. "Nuclear subs collide in Atlantic". BBC News. 16 February 2009. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  6. "Nuclear submarine to get new core after test reactor problem". BBC News. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  7. Maddox, David (8 March 2014). "MoD accused of Dounreay radiation leak cover-up". The Scotsman. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
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