HMS Vengeance (S31)

HMS Vengeance returning to HMNB Clyde in 2007
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Vengeance
Laid down1 February 1993
Launched19 September 1998
Commissioned27 November 1999
In service12 February 2001
HomeportHMNB Clyde
MottoSafe by my strength
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeVanguard-class submarine
Displacement15,900 tonnes, submerged
Length149.9 m (491 ft 10 in)
Beam12.8 m (42 ft 0 in)
Draught12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Propulsion
SpeedIn excess of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph), submerged
RangeOnly limited by food and maintenance requirements.
Complement135
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

HMS Vengeance is the fourth and final Vanguard-class submarine of the Royal Navy.[1] Vengeance carries the Trident ballistic missile, the UK's nuclear deterrent.[2][3]

Vengeance was built at Barrow-in-Furness by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd, later BAE Systems Submarine Solutions, was launched in September 1998, and commissioned in November 1999.[4]

Before she was commissioned, the British Government stated that once the Vanguard submarines became fully operational, they would only carry 200 warheads.[citation needed]

Vengeance carries unopened "last instructions" (letters of last resort) of the current British prime minister that are to be used in the event of a national catastrophe or a nuclear strike; this letter is identical to the letters carried on board the other three submarines of the Vanguard class.[5]

  1. ^ Saunders, Stephen (2004). Jane's Fighting Ships, 2004–2005. Jane's Information Group Limited. p. 794. ISBN 0-7106-2623-1.
  2. ^ "Vanguard class submarine". Royal Navy. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  3. ^ "HMS Vengeance nuclear sub returns home after power loss". BBC News. 3 April 2011. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  4. ^ "The Current British Arsenal". The Nuclear Weapon Archive - A Guide to Nuclear Weapons. 30 April 2001. Retrieved 23 February 2007.
  5. ^ Hennessy, Peter (2007). Cabinets and the Bomb. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-726422-5. Reviewed on "Start the Week". BBC Radio 4. 5 November 2007. Archived from the original on 20 December 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2017.