HMS Triumph (S93) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Nuclear submarine

A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor . The performance advantages of nuclear submarines over "conventional" submarines are considerable: nuclear propulsion, being completely independent of air, frees the submarine from the need to surface frequently, as is necessary for...

of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

and was the seventh and final boat of her class.

Triumph was laid down in 1987 by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited and launched in February 1991 by Mrs. Ann Hamilton, wife of the then Armed Forces Minister Archie Hamilton

Archie Hamilton, Baron Hamilton of Epsom

Archibald Gavin Hamilton, Baron Hamilton of Epsom, PC is a British Conservative Party politician.-Background and education:...

. She was commissioned in October that same year.

Operational history

Triumph sailed to Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

in 1993, travelling 41,000 miles submerged without support—the longest solo deployment so far by a Royal Navy nuclear submarine. In that same year, author Tom Clancy

Tom Clancy

Thomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and...

published a book called Submarine: a Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship

Submarine (book)

Submarine: A Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship is a non-fiction book written by Tom Clancy and defense systems analyst John D. Gresham...

which was centered around Triumph and USS Miami

USS Miami (SSN-755)

USS Miami is a United States Navy attack submarine of the Los Angeles class. She is the third ship of the U.S Navy to be named after Miami, Florida. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 28 November 1983 and...

.

After the 9/11 attacks in the USA, Triumph, along with her sister-ship Trafalgar

HMS Trafalgar (S107)

HMS Trafalgar is a decommissioned of the Royal Navy. Unlike the rest of the Trafalgar-class boats that followed, she was not launched with a pump jet propulsion system, but with a conventional 7-bladed propeller...

, formed part of a task group in 2001 as part of the American-led invasion of Afghanistan

War in Afghanistan (2001–present)

The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...

, Britain's contribution being known as Operation Veritas

Operation Veritas

Operation Veritas was the codename used for British military operations against the Taliban government of Afghanistan in 2001. British forces played a supporting role to the American Operation Enduring Freedom. In addition, the British contribution was an important part of the overall forces deployed...

.

During Operation Veritas, Triumph launched Tomahawk missiles at targets inside Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

. When Triumph returned home after operations had ended, the boat flew the Jolly Roger

Jolly Roger

The Jolly Roger is any of various flags flown to identify a ship's crew as pirates. The flag most commonly identified as the Jolly Roger today is the skull and crossbones, a flag consisting of a human skull above two long bones set in an x-mark arrangement on a black field. This design was used by...

, the traditional way of showing a successful patrol.

In December 2001, Triumph experienced an accident when the boat was grounded off the Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

coast while under the command of trainee officers; fortunately, she suffered only superficial damage.

Triumph was also featured in the TV programme "How to Command a Nuclear Submarine" in 2011 in which trainee commanding officers are shown on the Navy's "Perisher Course

Submarine Command Course

The Submarine Command Course , previously known as the Commanding Officers Qualifying Course , and informally known as the Perisher because of its low success rate, is a training course for naval officers preparing to take command of a submarine.Created by the Royal Navy during World War I, the...

Libya Operations

In March 2011, she participated in Operation Ellamy

Operation Ellamy

Operation Ellamy was the codename for the United Kingdom participation in the 2011 military intervention in Libya. The operation was part of an international coalition aimed at enforcing a Libyan no-fly zone in accordance with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 which stipulated...

, firing Tomahawk cruise missiles on 19 March, 20 March and again on 24 March at Libyan air defence targets. Triumph returned to Devonport

HMNB Devonport

Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...

on 3 April 2011 flying a Jolly Roger

Jolly Roger

adorned with six small tomahawk axes to indicate the missiles fired by the submarine in the operation.

Eleven weeks later on 20 June upon her return to Devonport, in the interim having deployed for a second deployment in the Mediterranean and relieving HMS Turbulent

HMS Turbulent (S87)

HMS Turbulent is a of the Royal Navy built by Vickers Shipbuilding, Barrow-in-Furness.Turbulent is scheduled to be decommissioned at the end of 2011.-Operational history:...

, she once again flew the Jolly Roger adorned with tomahawks, indicating that further cruise missile strikes had taken place in Libya as part of the ongoing operations there. Analysts believe that in total more than 15 cruise missiles were fired by the submarine during the operations.

Home port and affiliations

Triumph is part of the Devonport Flotilla based at Devonport.

She is currently affiliated with:

Blackpool Borough Council
Newton Abbot Town Council
The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment
Sussex University Royal Naval Unit
Worshipful Company of Upholders
TS Exmouth Sea Cadet Unit
TS Amazon Sea Cadet Unit
1322 (Newton Abbot) Squadron Air Training Corps
The Royal Naval Association (Newton Abbot Branch)
The Royal British Legion (Newton Abbot Branch)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.