Valiant (S 102)
| Built By: | Vickers (Barrow) |
| Build Group: | SSN 2 |
| Fate: | Laid Up in Devonport Valiant, was decommissioned at Devonport in 1994 due to cracks being discovered in the primary to secondary cooling system. |
Commanders
| 1966: | Commander P G M Herbert |
| 1982: | Commander T Le Marchand |
Valiant Launch
HMS Valiant was affectionately known as the Skimmer Killer and was ordered from Vickers at Barrow on August 31 in 1960. Launched by Mrs Peter Thorneycroft she was commissioned into Royal Navy service on July 18 in 1966 at an estimated cost of 25.3m pound.
The new boat made a promising start and in April 1967 set a record submerged passage for a British submarine on the 12 000-mile (19,312 km) homeward voyage from Singapore which took 28 days, this was a record underwater voyage for any British submarine at the time.
On her outward journey she had only surfaced once at Mauritius.
HMS Valiant received a number of refits, including the capability to use the Harpoon missile.
Her first commission was completed in 1970 and she was refitted at Chatham Dockyard.
Her second commission commenced on the 12th May 1972 in the 2nd Squadron at Devonport.
Prior to the end of her second commission whe was part of the 1977 Fleet Review, her second refit was also at Chatham Dockyard.
The third commission commenced in 1980 and she later took part in the Falklands Conflict in 1982.
Valiants third refit took place at Rosyth Dockyard in Scotland and she recommissioned in 1989.
She was in service longer than any other of the early nuclear boats.
During a return journey from the States in 1994 she devloped engine problems and she was paid off in August of 1994.
She was laid up at Devonport, it is/was intended that once her reactor core is/was removed that she should be raised out of the water and placed on public display.
The boat's success had served as the template for the Resolution class ballistic submarine and subsequent Churchill class fleet submarines.
Related Pages
HMS Valiant's crew were pioneers of the nuclear age, playing a deadly game of cat and mouse with the Russians beneath the ice of the Arctic Ocean. Melvyn Whymark, from Clacton, was one of the men who served aboard her.
Events
| 22-01-1962 | Laid Down |
| 03-12-1963 | Launched |
| 18-07-1966 | Completed |
Comments
Comment by: Barlow, Albert on April 26, 2017
Conflicting route in the above which way did Valiant sail the 12,000 mines underwater. Top piece one way, later the opposite direction.
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