Trafalgar-class submarine

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The Trafalgar class was a class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines (SSNs) in service with the Royal Navy, and the successor to the Template:Sclass. Like the majority of Royal Navy nuclear submarines, all seven boats were constructed at Barrow-in-Furness shipyard, Cumbria. The class made up part of the Royal Navy's nuclear-powered ‘hunter-killer’ submarine force. The Trafalgar class was replaced by the larger and more capable Template:Sclass, of which five are commissioned.

The name Trafalgar refers to the Battle of Trafalgar fought between the Royal Navy and the combined fleets of France and Spain in 1805.

Development

The Trafalgar class were designed in the early 1970s during the Cold War as a refinement of the preceding Swiftsure class. Including Template:HMS, the Trafalgar class are the fifth class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines to enter service with the Royal Navy. The first of the class, HMS Trafalgar, was ordered on 7 April 1977 and completed in 1983. The last, HMS Triumph, was ordered on 3 January 1986 and completed in 1991. All seven boats of the class were built and completed by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering at the Barrow-in-Furness shipyard.

In 1982, Jane's Fighting Ships recorded: "Estimated cost of fourth submarine £175 million including equipment and weapon system when fitted." In 1986, Jane's Fighting Ships recorded that the average cost for this class was £200 million at 1984–85 prices.<ref name="Ref_f">Jane's Fighting Ships, 1986–87.</ref>

Potential export

In 1987, the Canadian White Paper on Defence recommended the purchase of 10 to 12 Template:Sclass- or Trafalgar-class submarines under technology transfer,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> with the choice of the type of submarine due to be confirmed before summer 1988.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The goal was to build up a three-ocean navy and to assert Canadian sovereignty over Arctic waters.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The purchase was abandoned in April 1989 due to a growing budget deficit.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Operational service

The submarines of the class have seen service in a wide range of locations, most notably firing Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles in anger at targets during conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. Three of the Trafalgar-class boats have been involved in such operations. In 2001 Trafalgar took part in Operation Veritas, the attack on Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces following the September 11 attacks in the United States, becoming the first Royal Navy submarine to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles against Afghanistan.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Unreliable source?</ref> During April 2003, HMS Turbulent returned home flying the Jolly Roger after having launched thirty Tomahawk cruise missiles during the invasion of Iraq.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As part of the 2011 military intervention in Libya, HMS Triumph fired her Tomahawk cruise missiles on three occasions; first on 19 March,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> then again on 20 March,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and finally on 24 March.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Her primary targets were Libyan air-defence installations around the city of Sabha.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Triumph returned to Devonport on 3 April 2011 flying a Jolly Roger adorned with six small Tomahawk axes to indicate the missiles fired by the submarine in the operation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1993 Triumph sailed to Australia, covering a distance of Template:Convert whilst submerged and without any forward support. As of 2011, this still remained the longest solo deployment by any British nuclear submarine.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Service problems

In 1998, Trenchant experienced a steam leak, forcing the crew to shut down the nuclear reactor. In 2000 a leak in the PWR1 reactor primary cooling circuit was discovered on Tireless, forcing her to proceed to Gibraltar on diesel power.<ref name=large-2005>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name=large-2005 />

In 2013 the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator reported that the reactor systems were suffering increasing technical problems due to ageing, requiring effective management. An example was that Tireless had had a small radioactive coolant leak for eight days in February 2013.<ref name=guardian-20130804>Template:Cite news</ref>

Characteristics

File:Royal Navy Submarine HMS Turbulent with a Merlin Helicopter from HMS St Albans MOD 45153520.jpg

Turbulent with a Merlin helicopter from Type 23 frigate HMS St Albans, during an anti-submarine exercise in the Gulf of Oman, 2011.

As a refinement of the preceding Swiftsure class, the design of the Trafalgar class bears some similarity, including its internal layout and the Rolls-Royce PWR1 Core 3. However some improvements over the Swiftsure class include its reduced acoustic signature, which is due to the hull being covered in anechoic tiles which are designed to absorb sound rather than reflect it, making the boats quieter and more difficult to detect with active sonar. A pumpjet propulsion system is also used from boat 2 onward, rather than a conventional propeller.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Trafalgar class are Template:Convert long,<ref name="Steve Bush 2014"/> have a beam of Template:Convert,<ref name="Steve Bush 2014"/> a draught of Template:Convert<ref name="Steve Bush 2014"/> and a dived displacement of Template:Convert.<ref name="Steve Bush 2014"/> Each boat has a complement of 130.<ref name="Steve Bush 2014"/> Like all Royal Navy submarines, the Trafalgar class have strengthened fins and retractable hydroplanes, allowing them to surface through thick ice.

Four boats of the class — Torbay, Trenchant, Talent and Triumph — have been fitted with the Sonar 2076 system. Beginning in 2014, the last four boats of the class underwent a communications package upgrade.<ref name="Steve Bush 2014"/>

The Trafalgar class is equipped with five Template:Convert torpedo tubes with accommodation for a mixture of up to 30 weapons:<ref name="Steve Bush 2014"/>

Tomahawk Block IV cruise missiles
Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes

The Tomahawk missiles are capable of hitting a target to within a few metres, to a range of Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ostensibly, the submarines use the same steering column as was used in the Wellington bombers of the Second World War.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Boats of the class

Initially, the last five boats of the Trafalgar class were to be replaced by the 'Future Fleet Submarine' programme, however this was effectively cancelled in 2001. The Template:Sclass are replacing the Trafalgar class.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Name	Pennant No.	Builder	Laid down<ref name=Janes96p758>Template:Cite book</ref>	Launched<ref name=Janes96p758/>	Commissioned<ref name=Janes96p758/>	Decommissioned	Status
Template:HMS	S107	Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, Barrow-in-Furness	25 April 1979	1 July 1981	27 May 1983	4 December 2009<ref name="Ref_2009">Template:Cite web</ref>	Awaiting disposal
Template:HMS	S87		8 May 1980	1 December 1982	28 April 1984	14 July 2012	Awaiting disposal
Template:HMS	S88		6 June 1981	17 March 1984	5 October 1985	19 June 2014<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Awaiting disposal
Template:HMS	S90		3 December 1982	8 March 1985	7 February 1987	14 July 2017<ref name="SM0722">Template:Cite web</ref>	Awaiting disposal
Template:HMS	S91		28 October 1985	3 November 1986	14 January 1989	20 May 2022<ref name=SM0722/>	Awaiting disposal
Template:HMS	S92		13 May 1986	15 April 1988	12 May 1990	20 May 2022<ref name=SM0722/>	Awaiting disposal
Template:HMS	S93		2 February 1987	16 February 1991	12 October 1991		Awaiting decommissioning <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In fiction

In June 2019, ITV commissioned a six-part thriller to be set aboard a fictional Trafalgar-class submarine, HMS Tenacity.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, production on the series was paused in 2020, before being dropped all together by November 2021.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>