HMS Superb (S109): First British Submarine Under the Polar Ice

Built at Barrow

HMS Superb was built by Vickers Shipbuilding Group at Barrow-in-Furness, launched on 30 November 1974 and entered active service on 13 November 1976, a Swiftsure-class fleet submarine that would go on to compile a truly distinguished record over more than three decades.

Breaking New Ground Under the Ice

Superb achieved a historic first when she became the first British submarine to visit the Arctic Ocean and sail beneath the polar ice caps, a demanding piece of navigation that pushed both boat and crew to their limits in some of the most unforgiving conditions any Royal Navy vessel could face.

From the Falklands to Afghanistan

During the Falklands War, Superb's departure from Gibraltar generated considerable press speculation about a deployment south to enforce the maritime exclusion zone, though in the event it was her sister boat HMS Spartan that made that journey.

In 2001, Superb operated in the Indian Ocean in support of Operation Veritas, the British contribution to the War in Afghanistan, continuing a long tradition of the class quietly supporting operations far from home waters.

Striking an Uncharted Pinnacle

On 26 May 2008, Superb struck an underwater pinnacle in the Red Sea, roughly 80 miles south of the Suez Canal. The crew were unharmed and the submarine remained watertight, but sonar damage left her unable to resubmerge, and she required temporary repairs at the NATO facility in Crete before returning to UK waters by 28 June 2008.

The Royal Navy decommissioned her on 26 September 2008, ahead of schedule, and nearly two years later her commanding officer and two other officers received reprimands for failing to detect the hazard in time.