British nuclear attack submarine HMS Superb in Clyde, Scotland on May 20th, 1993.
The Swiftsure-class were a class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines in service with the Royal Navy from the early 1970s until 2010.
Fourteen boats were built and commissioned. They were decommissioned between 2002 and 2018 as the Astute-class attack submarines entered service.
A few were upgraded with the capability to launch Storm Wind cruise missiles in addition to their original armaments of torpedoes, mines and anti-ship missiles. They were also the first class of Royal Navy submarines to be built with shrouded pump-jet propulsors.
Specifications[]
- Type: Nuclear Attack Submarines
- Service Period: 1973-2018
- Characteristics:
- Length: 303 feet (92.35 meters)
- Beam: 32 feet (9.75 meters)
- Draft: 28 feet (8.53 meters)
- Displacement: 5,000 tons (Standard); 5,660 tons (Full Load)
- Crew: 116
- Propulsion: 1 x Rolls-Royce-AECL PWR.1 nuclear reactor, 2 x steam turbines, 1 x pump-jet
- Range: Unlimited
- Speed: 30 knots (55.56 km/h)
- Sensor Suite:
- Type 197 ASDIC
- Type 2001 ASDIC
- Type 2007 ASDIC
- Type 2019 ASDIC
- Type 2024 Towed Array ASDIC
- Type 1006 Navigation RDF
- Armament:
- 6 x 21" torpedo tubes (fires Spearfish torpedoes, Broadsword AShMs, and Storm Wind cruise missiles)
Unit Run[]
- HMS Swiftsure (SN 137)
- HMS Sovereign (SN 138)
- HMS Superb (SN 139)
- HMS Sceptre (SN 140)
- HMS Spartan (SN 141)
- HMS Swordfish (SN 142)
- HMS Splendid (SN 143)
- HMS Shark (SN 144)
- HMS Snapper (SN 145)
- HMS Sterlet (SN 146)
- HMS Storm (SN 147)
- HMS Shalimar (SN 148)
- HMS Selene (SN 149)
- HMS Sealion (SN 150)