HMS Warspite (S103)

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

HMS Warspite
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Warspite
Ordered	12 December 1962
Builder	Vickers-Armstrongs
Laid down	10 December 1963
Launched	25 September 1965
Commissioned	18 April 1967
Decommissioned	1991
Fate	In storage, awaiting disposal
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Template:Sclass-
Displacement	4,200 long tons (4,300 t) surfaced 4,900 long tons (5,000 t) submerged
Length	285 ft (87 m)
Beam	33 ft 3 in (10.13 m)
Draught	27 ft (8.2 m)
Propulsion	1 × Rolls-Royce pressurised water reactor 2 × English Electric steam turbines, 15,000 hp (11 MW) 1 × Paxman diesel-electric generator 1 shaft
Speed	20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h) surfaced 28 knots (32 mph; 52 km/h) submerged
Range	Unlimited, except by food supplies
Complement	116
Armament	6 × 21 inch (533 mm) bow torpedo tubes 24 torpedoes Later equipped with: RNSH UGM-84 Harpoon (RN version of underwater launched cruise missile) Tigerfish torpedoes Main Sonar system 2001

The latest HMS Warspite was the third of Britain's nuclear-powered submarines, and the second (and final) of the Template:Sclass-. Entering service in 1967 and collided with a Soviet submarine in 1968. Following a mechanical failure associated with the submarine's nuclear reactor in 1991, the boat was laid up at HMNB Devonport and awaits disposal.

Operational history

The second Valiant-class submarine, to be called Warspite was ordered from Vickers-Armstrong's Barrow shipyard on 12 December 1962, and was laid down on 10 December 1963. She was launched on 25 September 1965 by Mary Wilson, the wife of the then British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, and entered service on 18 April 1967.

In October 1968 whilst following a Soviet boat identified as an Echo II-class submarine, Warspite collided with the stern and propellers of that boat. Warspite suffered damage to her fin but after surfacing to inspect damage was able to submerge and return home, and later sail to Barrow for proper repairs. In 1976, Warspite was alongside in Liverpool, when she suffered an engine room fire, one of the most serious incidents the Royal Navy's nuclear submarines has encountered.

Warspite underwent a two-year refit, which was nearing completion just as the Falklands War with Argentina started. After the war ended she carried out a record breaking patrol around the Falkland Islands and the Argentine coast.

She was also part of a BBC television documentory called Submarine.

The submarine was decommissioned due to mechanical failure associated with the reactor in 1991. Mainly operated out of HMNB Clyde, at Faslane (the former Clyde Submarine Base) with the Third Submarine Squadron. Her hull and reactor are currently laid up afloat at Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth until facilities are available for the long term storage of her radioactive components.

Notable commanders of this vessel include Sandy Woodward. Woodward went on to command the Falklands Conflict battle group, became Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command and rose to the rank of admiral.

Warspite (left) and Conqueror (centre) with Valiant (at rear) at Devonport Navy Days, 26 August 2006.

Commanding officers

From	To	Captain
1968	1969	Cdre John Hanbury Hervey CB OBE RN
1980	1984	Cdre Jonathan Gervaise Fitzpatrick Cooke OBE RN

Publications

Ballantyne, Iain (2014). Hunter Killers: The Dramatic Untold Story of the Royal Navy's Most Secret Service. London: Orion. ISBN 978-1-4091-3901-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• Blackman, Raymond V.B. Jane's Fighting Ships 1971–72. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co., Ltd. ISBN 0-354-00096-9.
• Hennesey, Peter; Jinks, James (2016). The Silent Deep: The Royal Navy Submarine Service since 1945. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-241-95948-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen, eds. (1995). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.