Trafalgar Class Nuclear Fleet Submarine

The Trafalgar Class was originally designed for Cold War operations in the Mediterranean and North Atlantic. Their design was a follow on from the successful Swiftsure Class but incorporated many improvements, making them both faster and quieter than any previous British nuclear submarine. A class of eight boats was originally envisaged but seven were ordered on an incremental basis from Vickers Shipbuilding & Engineering Ltd (VSEL) - the first unit, Trafalgar, was ordered on April 7th 1977, followed by Turbulent on July 28th 1978. Tireless was ordered on July 5th 1979, Torbay was ordered on June 26th 1981, Trenchant on March 22nd 1983, Talent on September 10th 1984 and lastly the order for the seventh and final boat, Triumph, was placed on July 3rd 1986.

The principle role of these "hunter-killer" vessels is to attack ships and other submarines. In this capacity they could support and protect a convoy or taskforce, as demonstrated by earlier classes of fleet submarine during the Falklands Campaign. Additionally fleet submarines can be used in a surveillance role and the Trafalgar class are fitted with cameras and thermal imaging periscopes for this kind of operation. Since the class is being fitted with Tomahawk cruise missiles they will be capable of a land attack role.

Trafalgar Class submarines displace 5,208 tonnes submerged and measure 85.4 metres in length and 9.8 metres in beam. They are powered by a single pressurised water cooled reactor, can travel at a speed of 32 knots and dive to more than 985 feet. They have a complement of 97 men, including 12 officers and with three decks they are more spacious than previous submarines. Five 21-inch torpedo tubes are located at the bow. These can fire the Spearfish and Tigerfish torpedoes, sub harpoon missiles and tomahawk cruise missiles or deploy mines.

The hull of each submarine is covered by anechoic tiles which can absorb sonar. Further noise reduction is achieved through the pump jet propulsion. This is a multi blade rotor turned by a jet of water and is quieter than a conventional propeller. The lead ship - Trafalgar - was completed in 1983, before the pump jet propulsion system was ready. Whilst the other six boats are fitted with this machinery, Trafalgar has a seven bladed propeller instead. Like previous British nuclear submarines they have a ‘teardrop hull’. The fin has been strengthened and the hydroplanes can be retracted to allow the submarine to surface through ice.

The seven boats form the Second Submarine Squadron at Devonport. To the surprise of many, the 1998 Strategic Defence Review (SDR) announced that all seven Trafalgar Class submarines would be equipped with Tomahawk Cruise Missiles by 2006. Previously it had been thought that only half the class would have received this powerful land attack missile. Triumph was the first to undergo the necessary upgrade, followed by Trafalgar.

Despite being sophisticated vessels they have experienced a number of serious technical problem in recent years. In 1998 Trenchant experienced a steam leak which forced her crew to shut down her reactor. In 2000 cracks were discovered in Tireless reactor cooling pipes, forcing her to limp to Gibraltar on her backup diesel engines. In fact, the state of the entire class was brought into question in August 2000 when it was revealed only one of the seven boats was fully operational. Whilst Tireless remained at Gibraltar awaiting repairs Turbulent, Torbay, Talent and Trenchant were at Devonport in refit or repair. Trafalgar was undergoing post refit sea trials leaving only one- Triumph- fully operational.

Submarine	Pennant Number	Builder	Laid Down	Launched	Commissioned
Trafalgar	S107	Vickers	April 15th 1979	July 1st 1981	May 27th 1983
Turbulent	S110	Vickers	May 8th 1980	December 1st 1982	April 28th1984
Tireless	S117	Vickers	June 6th 1981	March 17th 1984	October 5th 1985
Torbay	S118	Vickers	December 3rd 1982	March 8th 1985	February 7th 1987
Trenchant	S91	Vickers	October 28th 1985	November 3rd 1986	January 14th 1989
Talent	S92	Vickers	May 13th 1986	April 15th 1988	May 12th 1990
Triumph	S93	Vickers	February 2nd 1987	February 16th 1991	October 12th 1991

Submarine	History
Turbulent	H.M.S Turbulent was launched by Lady Deborah Cassidi. Turbulent was patrolling the Adriatic region during Operation Allied Force.
Tireless	In May 2000 Tireless was forced to abandon a Mediterranean exercise when 2-mm crack was detected in one of her coolant pipes. She was forbidden from entering an Italian port and subsequently put into Gibraltar for repairs. During this period her crew were accommodated in a local hotel, which tabloids revealed cost the British tax payer £7,500 a night. The stores ship Fort Rosalie was ordered to Gibraltar to oversee repairs and accommodate the crew. But repairs were delayed by local groups opposed to having a nuclear submarine repaired at Gibraltar
Torbay	Launched by Lady Ann Herbet. Torbay has been said to have acted as a decoy for the Trident submarine Vanguard when she embarked on her first operational patrol in 1994.
Trenchant	Launched by Lady Hunt with Vice Admiral Sir Arthur Hezlet KBE CB DSO, commander of the wartime Trenchant, in attendence. Whilst submerged in the Clyde area on November 22 1990, Trenchant snagged the fishing gear of the MV Antares, which sank as a result. In 1998 Trenchant's crew had to shut down the boat's reactor whilst at Lisbon, Portugal because of a steam leak. In the summer of 1999 Trenchant was painted in a blue camouflage scheme in order to take part in visual signature trials. The results of these were passed on to the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA). In the few cases in which a submarine is spotted it is usually visually, rather than on radar. In recent years submarines have spent more time operating in shallow, clear waters, such as the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf, than in the Cold War when they operted in the deep and dark Atlantic. Furthermore they spend more time nearer the surface (launching tomahawk or on reconnaissance missions) than in the past when their main task was to roam the ocean depths hunting other submarines. These patches of blue and cyan paint were therefore designed to break up the outline of the submarine, especially from the air, making it harder to spot.
Talent	Launched by HRH Princess Anne. This was the last 'dynamic launch' at Barrow until Wave Knight in 2000, as with the construction of a covered construction hall and shiplift it was thought all ships and submarines would be lowered into the water.
Triumph	Launched by Mrs. Ann Hamilton, wife of Armed forces minister Archie Hamilton. Sailed to Australia in 1993 travelling 41,000 miles submerged without any forward support - the longest ever solo deployment by a Nuclear Submarine.

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