HMS Swiftsure (S126)

HMS Swiftsure (S126) History

The HMS Swiftsure (S126) served with the Royal Navy (RN) in the final stages of the Cold War (1947-1991). It is a nuclear-powered attack craft and the lead ship of the six-strong Swiftsure class. All of them have since been retired and retired. Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering was responsible for her construction, which began on June 6, 1969 and ended when the ship was launched on September 7, 1971.

The ship was officially commissioned on April 17, 1973 and remained in service until 1992.

Compared to the previous Churchill, Dreadnought and Valiant classes, the Swiftsure class has an improved hull, allowing the new vessel to have greater depth of reach while maintaining speed and control. Unlike these predecessors, the Swiftsure stage also uses a pipeline pump to jet the propeller unit, providing greater efficiency and smoother operation.

The HMS Swiftsure is built to a standard of 4,850 tons (5,400 tons surfaced, 5,400 tons underwater), with an overall length of 272 feet, a beam of 32.1 feet, and a draft of up to 27.10 feet. Nuclear power plants have essentially unlimited range, with speeds of up to 20 knots on the surface and 28 knots underwater.

There are 116 people on board, scheduled in shifts. Weapons include 5 x 21" (533 mm) torpedo tubes for launching the "Spearfish" series of torpedoes.

Once in service, the HMS Swiftsure proved her worth as a quiet, efficient submarine. Her systems allow her to carefully monitor enemy movements, and she excels in this role.

Her weapon was never used in anger, and she participated in the 1977 operation to acquire the acoustic signature of the then Soviet Navy's premier aircraft carrier, Kyiv (which she successfully carried out). She then entered the conversion phase in April 1980 (delayed since January 1979) and was not commissioned until 1983. From there, a second scheduled overhaul was planned in 1992, but it was decided to retire the ship instead - possibly due to cracks in the reactor unit or, more commonly, hull damage encountered in previous dive attempts .

In either case, HMS Swiftsure's high seas career must have been interrupted. The rest of the class continued their sailing careers into the 2000s, and the fourth ship in the class, the HMS Sceptre, was the last to retire in December 2010.

The Trafalgar class replaces the Swiftsure class as the same underwater character of the RN.

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