HMS Vanguard (S28): Carrying Britain's Nuclear Deterrent Since 1993

The Build: Barrow

HMS Vanguard was built by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering at Barrow-in-Furness, ordered on 30 May 1986, laid down on 3 September 1986, launched on 4 March 1992 and commissioned on 14 August 1993, with Diana, Princess of Wales serving as her sponsor at both ceremonies.

She is the lead boat of the four-strong Vanguard class, the submarines that have carried Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent continuously since the programme began, operating out of HMNB Clyde in Argyll.

A Collision in the Atlantic

On 4 February 2009, Vanguard collided with the French ballistic missile submarine Le Triomphant in the mid-Atlantic, an almost unimaginable near-miss between two of the world's most secretive vessels.

The collision occurred at slow speed and caused no injuries, though both submarines sustained damage to their outer structures, a startling reminder of just how vast and empty the ocean can still occasionally feel too small.

A Long Reactor Refit

A microscopic breach in her reactor's fuel cladding, discovered in January 2012 but not publicly disclosed until 2014, required Vanguard to undergo a refuelling during a maintenance period beginning in 2015 that stretched to roughly three and a half years, and further concerns emerged in 2023 when the Royal Navy investigated allegations that contractors had used adhesive rather than proper replacement to repair broken bolts in her reactor chamber, a serious matter given the safety-critical nature of the systems involved.

Back at Sea

Following nearly seven years of refit, Vanguard returned to active service in July 2022, was formally rededicated on 16 August 2022, and departed for sea operations again on 9 May 2023, continuing her role as the founding member of a submarine class that has quietly kept at least one boat continuously at sea, armed with Trident, for well over three decades.