Churchill-class submarine

HMS Conqueror
Churchill-class submarine HMS Conqueror
Class overview
NameChurchill class
BuildersVickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd
Operators Royal Navy
Preceded byValiant class
Succeeded bySwiftsure class
In service1970–1992
Completed3
Retired3
Preserved1
General characteristics
TypeSubmarine
Displacement4,900 tonnes
Length86.9 m (285 ft)
Beam10.1 m (33 ft)
Draught8.2 m (27 ft)
PropulsionOne nuclear reactor, one shaft
Speed28 knots (52 km/h) submerged
RangeUnlimited, except by food supplies
Complement103
Armament

The three Churchill class,[1] sometimes known as the Repeat Valiant-class submarines were nuclear-powered fleet submarines which served with the Royal Navy from the 1970s until the early 1990s. The Churchill class was based on the older Valiant class, but featured many internal improvements.

The lead vessel was named after the former Prime Minister and First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill. HMS Conqueror was the most famous of the class, sinking the Argentinian cruiser ARA General Belgrano during the 1982 Falklands War. As of 2022, this is the only instance of a nuclear-powered submarine of any nation sinking an enemy ship by torpedo.

  1. ^ Hool, Jack, and Nutter, Keith, Damned Un-English Machines, a history of Barrow-built submarines, pub Tempus, 2003, ISBN 0-7524-2781-4 page 177.