(October 2001)
Submarines Launch Missile Strikes
Three Royal Navy submarines have participated in the US led strikes against Osama bin Laden and the Taliban regime.
An unspecified number of Tomahawk Cruise Missiles were launched from HMS Trafalgar and HMS Triumph on the night of October 7th. They were aimed at a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan. Further missiles were fired on the night of October 12th.
Triumph and Trafalgar were guarded by a third submarine - HMS Superb - which was also involved in intercepting Taliban communications.
The three British submarines were positioned in the Gulf of Oman, somewhere off the Iranian coast. HMS Trafalgar and HMS Superb were already in the region as part of Exercise Saif Sareea, while HMS Triumph sailed from Devonport sometime after the attacks on Washington and New York.
The Tomahawk Cruise Missile was first used by the United States during the Gulf War. The first Royal Navy Tomahawks were fired by HMS Splendid during trials in November 1998, and then in anger during the Kosovo campaign in 1999.