HMS ''Vengeance'' is the fourth and final of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
.
''Vengeance'' carries the
Trident ballistic missile, the
UK's nuclear deterrent.
''Vengeance'' was built at
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of B ...
by
Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd
Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, Ltd (VSEL) was a shipbuilding company based at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria in northwest England that built warships, civilian ships, submarines and armaments. The company was historically the Naval Construct ...
, later
BAE Systems Submarine Solutions, was
launched in September 1998, and
commissioned in November 1999.
Before she was commissioned, the British Government stated that once the ''Vanguard'' submarines became fully operational, they would only carry 200 warheads.
''Vengeance'' carries unopened "last instructions" (
letters of last resort
The letters of last resort are four identically-worded handwritten letters from the prime minister of the United Kingdom to the commanding officers of the four British ballistic missile submarines. They contain orders on what action to take if ...
) of the current
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
that are to be used in the event of a national catastrophe or a
nuclear strike
Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear w ...
; this letter is identical to the letters carried on board the other three submarines of the ''Vanguard'' class.
Operational history
On 31 March 2011, while on a training exercise ''Vengeance'' suffered a blockage in her
propulsor causing a reduction in propulsion. The boat returned to
Faslane naval base on the surface under her own power. According to the
MOD the problems were not nuclear related.
In 2012, ''Vengeance'' started a 40 month refit at
HMNB Devonport near
Plymouth which refueled her reactor and renewed her machinery and electronics. During that period her sister ship ''Vigilant'' took her place in the patrol rotations. She sailed from Devonport on 4 December 2015, her place in refit being taken by ''Vanguard''.
''Vengeance'' then went through trials from January 2016 to June 2016 and fired an unarmed
D5 missile during her
Demonstration and Shakedown Operation (DASO) which allowed her to return to the fleet. Whilst the firing of the missile was a success, the missile itself suffered a failure during flight and the test was terminated.
Affiliations
*
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys)
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, and the senior Scottish regiment. The regiment, through the Royal Scots Greys, is the oldest surviving Cavalry Regiment of the Line in the British ...
*
Worshipful Company of Salters
*
Bury St Edmunds
See also
*
List of submarines of the Royal Navy
*
List of submarine classes of the Royal Navy
*
Nuclear weapons and the United Kingdom
*
Royal Navy Submarine Service
The Royal Navy Submarine Service is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. It is sometimes known as the Silent Service, as submarines are generally required to operate undetected.
The service operates six fleet submarines ( SSNs) ...
*
Submarine-launched ballistic missile
*
Trident nuclear programme
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vengeance (S31)
Vanguard-class submarines
Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness
1998 ships
Submarines of the United Kingdom