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On 16 April 2003, {{HMS|Turbulent|S87|2}} was the first Royal Navy vessel to return home from the invasion against Iraq, [[Operation Telic]]. She arrived in Plymouth flying the [[Jolly Roger]] after having launched Tomahawk cruise missiles.
On 16 April 2003, {{HMS|Turbulent|S87|2}} was the first Royal Navy vessel to return home from the invasion against Iraq, [[Operation Telic]]. She arrived in Plymouth flying the [[Jolly Roger]] after having launched Tomahawk cruise missiles.


In March 2011, {{HMS|Triumph|S93|2}} participated in [[Operation Ellamy]], firing Tomahawk cruise missiles on 19 March<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/20/air-strikes-clear-skies|title=Air strikes clear the skies but leave endgame uncertain |accessdate=21 March 2010 |author=Nick Hopkins|date=20 March 2011|publisher=The Guardian |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1368028/Cruise-strike-hits-Gaddafi-We-stand-let-dictator-murder-people.html?ito=feeds-newsxml | location=London | work=Daily Mail | title=RAF strikes against Gaddafi's forces branded 'a success' as bombed out tanks and cars litter the roads near Benghazi | date=21 March 2011}}</ref> and again on 20 March<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.navynews.co.uk/news/1121-missiles-target-libyan-air-defences.aspx|title=Missiles target Libyan air defences |accessdate=23 March 2010 |date=21 March 2011|publisher=[[Navy News]]}}{{dead link|date=August 2011}}</ref><ref>[http://www.navynews.co.uk/news/1123-royal-navy-blockade-forces-gaddafis-gunboats-off-the-ocean.aspx]{{dead link|date=August 2011}}</ref> at Libyan air defence targets. The [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|MOD]] also confirmed that on 24 March a further series of missiles were fired into Libya by a ''Trafalgar''-class submarine at air defence targets around the city of [[Sebha]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12845016 | work=BBC News | title=Libya action: More UK missiles target defences | date=24 March 2011}}</ref> The boat involved this attack was again later revealed to be ''Triumph''.<ref>[http://www.navynews.co.uk/news/1140-top-bombing-pulverises-gaddafis-ammo-bunkers.aspx]{{dead link|date=August 2011}}</ref> The boat returned to Devonport on the 3 April 2011 flying a [[Jolly Roger#By submarines|Jolly Roger]] adorned with six small Tomahawk axes to indicate the missiles fired by the submarine in the operation.<ref>[http://www.navynews.co.uk/news/1142-home-in-triumph-submariners-mark-successful-libyan-mission.aspx]{{dead link|date=August 2011}}</ref>
In March 2011, {{HMS|Triumph|S93|2}} participated in [[Operation Ellamy]], firing Tomahawk cruise missiles on 19 March<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/20/air-strikes-clear-skies|title=Air strikes clear the skies but leave endgame uncertain |accessdate=21 March 2010 |author=Nick Hopkins|date=20 March 2011|publisher=The Guardian |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1368028/Cruise-strike-hits-Gaddafi-We-stand-let-dictator-murder-people.html?ito=feeds-newsxml | location=London | work=Daily Mail | title=RAF strikes against Gaddafi's forces branded 'a success' as bombed out tanks and cars litter the roads near Benghazi | date=21 March 2011}}</ref> and again on 20 March<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.navynews.co.uk/news/1121-missiles-target-libyan-air-defences.aspx|title=Missiles target Libyan air defences |accessdate=23 March 2010 |date=21 March 2011|publisher=[[Navy News]]}}{{dead link|date=August 2011}}</ref><ref>[http://www.navynews.co.uk/news/1123-royal-navy-blockade-forces-gaddafis-gunboats-off-the-ocean.aspx]{{dead link|date=August 2011}}</ref> at Libyan air defence targets. The [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|MOD]] also confirmed that on 24 March a further series of missiles were fired into Libya by a ''Trafalgar''-class submarine at air defence targets around the city of [[Sabha]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12845016 | work=BBC News | title=Libya action: More UK missiles target defences | date=24 March 2011}}</ref> The boat involved this attack was again later revealed to be ''Triumph''.<ref>[http://www.navynews.co.uk/news/1140-top-bombing-pulverises-gaddafis-ammo-bunkers.aspx]{{dead link|date=August 2011}}</ref> The boat returned to Devonport on the 3 April 2011 flying a [[Jolly Roger#By submarines|Jolly Roger]] adorned with six small Tomahawk axes to indicate the missiles fired by the submarine in the operation.<ref>[http://www.navynews.co.uk/news/1142-home-in-triumph-submariners-mark-successful-libyan-mission.aspx]{{dead link|date=August 2011}}</ref>


=== Service problems ===
=== Service problems ===

Revision as of 19:12, 9 September 2011

Tireless at the North Pole, 2006.
Class overview
BuildersVickers Shipbuilding and Engineering
Operators Royal Navy
Preceded bySwiftsure class
Succeeded byAstute class
In service1983–
Completed7
Active6
Retired1 (Trafalgar)
General characteristics [1]
Displacement4,740 long tons surfaced; 5,208 long tons dived
Length85.4 m (280 ft)
Beam9.8 m (32 ft)
Draught9.5 m (31 ft)
Installed power15,000 shp (11 MW)
Propulsion
Speed32 knots (59 km/h) dived
RangeUnlimited, except by food supplies and maintenance requirements
Complementlist error: <br /> list (help)
18 officers
112 enlisted
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Ferranti/Gresham Dowty DCB/DCG or BAE Systems SMCS data system
  • Type 2072 hull-mounted flank array passive sonar
  • Plessey Type 2020 or Marconi/Plessey Type 2074 hull-mounted active and passive search and attack sonar
  • Ferranti Type 2046 or TUS 2076 towed array passive search sonar
  • Thomson Sintra Type 2019 PARIS or Thorn EMI 2082 passive intercept and ranging sonar
  • Marconi Type 2077 short range active classification sonar
  • Kelvin Hughes Type 1007 I band navigation radar
  • Pilkington Optronics CK34 search periscope
  • Pilkington Optronics CH84/CM010 attack periscope
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • 2 × SSE Mk8 launchers for Type 2066 and Type 2071 torpedo decoys
  • RESM Racal UAP passive intercept
  • CESM Outfit CXA
  • SAWCS decoys carried from 2002
ArmamentTemplate:Trafalgar class submarine armament

The Trafalgar class is a class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines (SSN) in service with the Royal Navy. They are a direct follow on from the Swiftsure class and were, until the introduction of the Astute class, the Royal Navy's most advanced nuclear fleet submarines.

Seven boats were built and commissioned, six remaining in service, Trafalgar having decommissioned in 2009.

Torbay, Trenchant, Talent, and Triumph have been fitted with the Sonar 2076 system, which the Royal Navy describes as the most advanced sonar in service with any navy in the world.[3][4][5][6]

Description

The Trafalgar class is a refinement of the Swiftsure class and designed six years later than its predecessor. The design included a new reactor core and Type 2020 sonar. Internal layout is almost identical to the Swiftsure, and it is only 2.5 metres longer. The Trafalgar class have strengthened fins and retractable hydroplanes, allowing them to surface through thick ice. The hull is also covered in anechoic tiles which are designed to absorb sound rather than reflect it, making the boats more difficult to detect with active sonar.

The first Trafalgar-class submarine was ordered on 7 April 1977 and completed in 1983. Turbulent was ordered on 28 July 1978; Tireless on 5 July 1979; Torbay on 26 June 1981; Trenchant on 22 March 1983; Talent on 10 September 1984; and finally Triumph on 3 July 1986.

In 1993 Triumph sailed to Australia, covering a distance of 41,000 miles whilst submerged and without any forward support. This marked the longest solo deployment by any British nuclear submarine.

The Trafalgar class was to be replaced by the Future Attack Submarine, however this project was effectively cancelled in 2001 and replaced by the Maritime Underwater Future Capability. The Astute class will eventually replace the Trafalgar class as well as the now-retired Swiftsure. As of 2008 it is planned that the last Trafalgar-class submarines will remain in service until 2022.[7] The name Trafalgar refers to the Battle of Trafalgar fought between the Royal Navy and the combined fleets of France and Spain.

Construction programme

Pennant
number 		Name Hull builder Ordered Laid down Launched Accepted
into service 		Commissioned Estimated
building cost[8]
S107 Trafalgar Vickers Shipbuilding & Engineering, Barrow-in-Furness.[9] 7 April 1977 [9] 25 April 1979 [9] 1 July 1981 [9] 13 July 1983 [10] 27 May 1983 [9] £
S87 Turbulent Vickers Shipbuilding & Engineering[9] 28 July 1978 [9] 8 May 1980 [9] 1 December 1982 [9] 30 July 1984 [11] 28 April 1984 [9] £160,000,000 [11]
S88 Tireless Vickers Shipbuilding & Engineering[9] 5 July 1979 [9] 6 June 1981 [9] 17 March 1984 [9] 30 October 1985 [11] 5 October 1985 [9] £
S90 Torbay Vickers Shipbuilding & Engineering[9] 26 June 1981 [9] 3 December 1982 [9] 8 March 1985 [9] 2 March 1987 [11] 7 February 1987 [9] £
S91 Trenchant Vickers Shipbuilding & Engineering[9] 22 March 1983 [9] 28 October 1985 [9] 3 November 1986 [9] 7 February 1989 [11] 14 January 1989 [9] £
S92 Talent Vickers Shipbuilding & Engineering[9] 10 September 1984 [9][11] 13 May 1986 [9] 15 April 1988 [9] 12 May 1990 [9] £
S93 Triumph Vickers Shipbuilding & Engineering[9] 3 January 1986 [9][11] 2 February 1987 [9] 16 February 1991 [9] 12 October 1991 [9] £

In 1982, Jane's Fighting Ships recorded: "Estimated cost of fourth submarine £175 million including equipment and weapon system when fitted."[12] In 1986, Jane's recorded that the average cost for this class was £200 million at 1984-5 prices.[13]

Potential Export

In 1987, the Canadian White Paper on Defence recommended the Canadian Armed Forces purchase 10 to 12 Rubis- or Trafalgar-class submarines under a technology transfer programme.[14] The choice of submarine type was due to be confirmed before Summer 1988.[15] The stated goal was to deploy a three-ocean navy to assert Canadian sovereignty over Arctic waters.[16] The plan was abandoned in April 1989 and the Canadian Forces eventually acquired the Royal Navy's diesel-electric Upholder-class submarines.

Operational history

The entire class is based at HMNB Devonport, which is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England.[1]

Combat history

Triumph

In 2001 Trafalgar took part in Operation Veritas, the attack on Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces following the 9/11 attacks in the United States, becoming the first Royal Navy submarine to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles against Afghanistan.[17]

On 16 April 2003, Turbulent was the first Royal Navy vessel to return home from the invasion against Iraq, Operation Telic. She arrived in Plymouth flying the Jolly Roger after having launched Tomahawk cruise missiles.

In March 2011, Triumph participated in Operation Ellamy, firing Tomahawk cruise missiles on 19 March[18][19] and again on 20 March[20][21] at Libyan air defence targets. The MOD also confirmed that on 24 March a further series of missiles were fired into Libya by a Trafalgar-class submarine at air defence targets around the city of Sabha.[22] The boat involved this attack was again later revealed to be Triumph.[23] The boat returned to Devonport on the 3 April 2011 flying a Jolly Roger adorned with six small Tomahawk axes to indicate the missiles fired by the submarine in the operation.[24]

Service problems

The Trafalgar class have suffered from a number of technical difficulties. In 1998, Trenchant experienced a steam leak, forcing the crew to shut down the nuclear reactor. In 2000, a leak in the reactor primary cooling circuit was discovered on Tireless, forcing her to proceed to Gibraltar on diesel power.[25] The fault was found to be due to thermal fatigue cracks, requiring the other Trafalgar-class boats, and some of the remaining Swiftsure-class boats, to be urgently inspected and if necessary modified.[25] In August 2000 it was revealed that with Tireless still at Gibraltar, Torbay, Turbulent, Trenchant and Talent were at Devonport for refit or repair and with Trafalgar undergoing sea trials, only one boat, Triumph, was fully operational. By 2005, refits had reportedly corrected these problems.

In 2002, Trafalgar ran aground off Skye during Operation Cockfight.[26]

Trafalgar berthed at Southampton's 38 berth, a NATO nuclear Z berth

In 2007, a small explosion aboard Tireless resulted in the death of two sailors and injury of another. The accident took place while the submarine was submerged under the Arctic icecap during a joint British-American exercise. An oxygen candle in the forward section of the submarine was thought to be responsible for the accident.[27]

Decommissioning

The first of the submarines to be taken out of active service was Trafalgar, which was decommissioned on 4 December 2009.[28]

Boat Planned retirement date
as of 2005:[29] 		Actual retirement date
Trafalgar 2008 4 December 2009[30]
Turbulent 2011
Tireless 2013
Torbay 2015
Trenchant 2017
Talent 2019
Triumph 2022

See also

List of submarines of the Royal Navy

References

Notes
  1. ^ All boats have a pump jet propulsor with the exception of Trafalgar which was fitted with a 7-bladed conventional propeller.[2]
Footnotes
  1. ^ a b Jane's Fighting Ships, 2004-2005. Jane's Information Group Limited. p. 796. ISBN 0-7106-2623-1.
  2. ^ Graham, Ian, Attack Submarine, Gloucester Publishing, Oct 1989, page 12. ISBN 978-0531171561
  3. ^ Royal Navy website[dead link‍]
  4. ^ Navy News and Events: Trenchant Sails After Busy Maintenance Period[dead link‍]
  5. ^ Royal Navy News and Events: Upgraded Attack Submarine Rejoins the Fleet[dead link‍]
  6. ^ Royal Navy News and Events: Minister Visits Multi-Million Pound Submarine Overhaul And Upgrade Programme[dead link‍]
  7. ^ "Trafalgar class submarines" (Document). Hansard. 17 November 2008 : Column 154W. {{cite document}}: Unknown parameter |accessdate= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |url= ignored (help)
  8. ^ "Unit cost, i.e. excluding cost of certain items (e.g. aircraft, First Outfits)." Text from Defences Estimates
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai Sharpe, Richard, Jane's Fighting Ships, 1996-97, pub 1996, Jane's Information Group, ISBN 0-7106-1355-5 page 758.
  10. ^ Hansard HC Deb 23 October 1989 vol 158 cc357-8W Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking him to list the Royal Navy vessels built in each of the past 15 years, showing the cost of each and the yards in which they were constructed, 23 October 1983. The second part of this may be found at Hansard HC Deb 23 October 1989 vol 158 cc358-61W.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Hansard HC Deb 23 October 1989 vol 158 cc358-61W Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking him to list the Royal Navy vessels built in each of the past 15 years, showing the cost of each and the yards in which they were constructed, 23 October 1983. The first part of this may be found at Hansard HC Deb 23 October 1989 vol 158 cc357-8W.
  12. ^ Moore, John, Jane's Fighting Ships, 1982-83, pub Jane's Publishing Company, 1982, ISBN 0-7106-0742-3 page 546.
  13. ^ Jane's Fighting Ships, 1986-87.
  14. ^ Challenge and Commitment: A Defence Policy for Canada (PDF). Ottawa: Department of National Defence (Canada). 1987. p. 89. ISBN 978-0660125091. Retrieved 10 June 2010. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
  15. ^ Defence Update 1988-89 (PDF). Ottawa: Department of National Defence (Canada). 1989. ISBN 0-662-55733-6. Retrieved 10 June 2010. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  16. ^ Keith Spicer (10 September 2007). "Canada's Arctic claims". Ottawa Citizen.
  17. ^ Trafalgar Returns
  18. ^ Nick Hopkins (20 March 2011). "Air strikes clear the skies but leave endgame uncertain". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  19. ^ "RAF strikes against Gaddafi's forces branded 'a success' as bombed out tanks and cars litter the roads near Benghazi". Daily Mail. London. 21 March 2011.
  20. ^ "Missiles target Libyan air defences". Navy News. 21 March 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2010.[dead link‍]
  21. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  22. ^ "Libya action: More UK missiles target defences". BBC News. 24 March 2011.
  23. ^ [2][dead link‍]
  24. ^ [3][dead link‍]
  25. ^ a b John H. Large (2005). "Forensic Assessments of the Nuclear Propulsion Plants of the Submarines HMS Tireless and RF Northern Fleet Kursk" (Document). Institution of Mechanical Engineers seminar: Forensic Investigation of Power Plant Failures. {{cite document}}: Unknown parameter |accessdate= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |format= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |url= ignored (help)
  26. ^ Dawar, Anil (23 May 2008). "Submarine's £5m repair bill blamed on tracing paper". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  27. ^ "Oxygen device sparked sub blast". BBC News. 22 March 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  28. ^ "HMS Trafalgar pulls down flag and retires from sea". Northwest Evening Mail. 5 December 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  29. ^ Hansard HL Deb 14 March 2005 vol 670 c116WA quoted in House of Commons Defence Committee - Fourth Report, 12 Dec 2006
  30. ^ BBC News Submarine's final sailing to base
Bibliography
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