HMS Victorious (S29)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Victorious.

HMS Victorious is the second Vanguard-class submarine of the Royal Navy.^[2] Victorious carries the Trident ballistic missile,^[3] the UK's nuclear deterrent.

Victorious near Faslane, Scotland in April 2013.
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Victorious
Laid down	3 December 1987
Launched	29 September 1993
Commissioned	7 January 1995
Homeport	HMNB Clyde
Status	In refit
Badge
General characteristics
Class & type	Vanguard-class submarine
Displacement	15,900 tonnes, submerged
Length	149.9 m (491 ft 10 in)
Beam	12.8 m (42 ft 0 in)
Draught	12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Propulsion	1 × Rolls-Royce PWR2 nuclear reactor, 2 × GEC turbines; 27,500 shp (20.5 MW) 1 × shaft, pump jet propulsor 2 × auxiliary retractable propulsion motors 2 × Allen turbo generators (6 MW) 2 × Paxman diesel alternators; 2,700 shp (2.0 MW)
Speed	In excess of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph), submerged
Range	Only limited by food and maintenance requirements.
Complement	135
Sensors & processing systems	BAE Systems SMCS Kelvin Hughes Type 1007 I-band navigation radar Thales Underwater Systems Type 2054 composite sonar suite comprising:  Marconi/Ferranti Type 2046 towed array sonar  Type 2043 hull-mounted active and passive search sonar  Type 2082 passive intercept and ranging sonar Pilkington Optronics CK51 search periscope Pilkington Optronics CH91 attack periscope
Electronic warfare & decoys	Two SSE Mk10 launchers for Type 2066 and Type 2071 torpedo decoys RESM Racal UAP passive intercept
Armament	4 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes for: Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes 16 × ballistic missile tubes for: Lockheed Trident II D5 SLBMs with up to 12 MIRVed Holbrook Mk-4A (100 ktTNT) nuclear warheads each[1]

Victorious was built at Barrow-in-Furness by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd, later BAE Systems Submarine Solutions, was launched in September 1993, and commissioned in January 1995.^[3]

Operational history

In November 2000, while travelling on the surface, Victorious grounded on Skelmorlie Bank in the upper Firth of Clyde in Scotland.^[4]

She became the second of the class to refit, during which time she was fitted with a Core H reactor ensuring that the boat will not need to refuel again until the end of its service life.^[5] In 2008, she underwent sea trials before resuming patrols in 2009.^[6]

In 2013, Victorious completed the UK's 100th deterrent patrol by a Vanguard-class submarine.^[7]

In 2022, Victorious was forced to surface in the North Atlantic after a fire broke out in an electrical module. A Royal Navy spokesperson said the submarine was not actively deployed on a continuous at-sea deterrent (CASD) patrol, but was instead en route to the United States for a series of exercises. Victorious subsequently returned to her homebase in Faslane, Scotland.^[8]

Affiliations

• The Highlanders, 4th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland

See also

• Letters of last resort
• List of submarines of the Royal Navy
• List of submarine classes of the Royal Navy
• Nuclear weapons and the United Kingdom
• Royal Navy Submarine Service
• Submarine-launched ballistic missile
• Trident nuclear programme