HMS Triumph (S93): The Last Trafalgar-Class Boat Standing

The Build: Barrow

HMS Triumph was built by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, laid down in 1987, launched in February 1991 by Mrs Ann Hamilton, wife of the then Armed Forces Minister Archie Hamilton, and commissioned in October 1991, the final boat of the seven-strong Trafalgar class.

A Record-Breaking Voyage

In 1993, Triumph achieved a genuine record, sailing 41,000 miles submerged and entirely without support to Australia, the longest solo deployment ever undertaken by a Royal Navy nuclear submarine at that time, a formidable test of both boat and crew.

Two Wars, Two Sets of Tomahawks

Following the September 11 attacks, Triumph took part in Operation Veritas in 2001, launching Tomahawk missiles against targets in Afghanistan and returning home flying the Jolly Roger.

A decade later, during Operation Ellamy in 2011, she fired Tomahawk cruise missiles at Libyan air defence targets on 19, 20 and 24 March, with analysts estimating she launched more than fifteen missiles across the campaign, a submarine called upon twice within a single decade to strike targets ashore.

Outlasting Her Sisters

Triumph underwent a £300 million nuclear refuel and refit between 2005 and 2010, and a further four-year refit after that, keeping her at sea long after several of her sister boats had already been retired.

She returned to her base at Devonport for the final time in late 2024 and was decommissioned on 18 July 2025, the very last of the six Trafalgar-class submarines to leave service, closing out a class that had served the Royal Navy for well over four decades.