A Trafalgar class submarine was one of a series of seven nuclear-powered boats in service with the British Royal Navy between 1981 and 2009. They were all developed and built by Vickers Ship Building firm at the shipyards in Barrow-in-Furness. The first submarine of the class to be laid down was HMS Trafalgar (S107), which was launched on July 1, 1981. She would be commissioned in 1983. The other boats were the HMS Turbulent (1984), Tireless (1985), Torbay (1987), Trenchant (1988), Talent (1989), and HMS Triumph (1991). All seven boats were armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles and with wire-guided, homing Tigerfish torpedoes.
Technical Description
The Trafalgar class submarine was a medium-size fleet boat (attack submarine), with a crew of 130 sailors and officers. It was built with a single hull made of steel, with a low magnetic signature, and it was powered by one Rolls-Royce pressurized-water nuclear reactor, with two steam turbines and two generators. This class was fitted with anechoic tiles on the outer surface of hull to deaden the sound waves of enemy active sonars, sharply reducing the return signal and also to insulate the submarine inner vibrations produced by machinery. You must remember that noise is the main source of submarine detection. Thus, this class was much quieter than their predecessors, the submarines of the Swiftsure class.
Specifications
Type: nuclear attack submarine
Displacement: 5,208 tons (submerged); 4,700 (surfaced)
Length: 85.4 m (280 feet)
Beam: 9.8 m (32 feet)
Draft: 9.5 m (31 feet)
Propulsion: one Rolls-Royce PWR1 nuclear reactor; two GEC geared steam turbines; two Westing House Allen turbo generators; two diesel generators, with a total 18,000 SHP generation.
Maximum Speed: 30 knots (56 km/h) submerged.
Range: unlimited; food supplies holds out 85 days.
Compliment: 130 men
Weapons: five 533-mm (21-inch) torpedo tubes, with 30 torpedoes; Tomahawk Block IV cruise missiles.
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| Above: the launch of HMS Trafalgar (S107). The angular metal cover on her bows is a security measure to conceal the torpedoes exits. |
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The Trafalgar Class Submarine HMS Trenchant (S91) sailing in the North Atlantic in the late 1980s.
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