| Built By: | Vickers (Barrow) |
| Build Group: | SSN 4 |
| Fate: | Cracks were found in the reactor in 1992 and was decommissioned the same year. Swiftsure is currently in dry dock at Rosyth, in Scotland, where it is being carefully dismantled. An estimated 90% of her total weight will be repurposed, with some of the high-quality steel used to create components for future Royal Navy submarines. Swiftsure is set to be first of the UK's decommissioned nuclear submarines to be fully dismantled by the end of 2026. |
Launched by Lady Pollock Contractors Sea Trials September - October 1972
Swiftsure became famous for her mission to acquire the acoustic signature of the Soviet aircraft carrier Kiev. Upon locating a new unique acoustic sound that indicated the Kiev's presence, hid underneath her for several hours, with her raised periscope just 10 feet under the aircraft carrier's hull, allowing the crew of Swiftsure to take photographs and record the aircraft carrier's acoustic signature.
Undertook a refit 1979-1982
Cracks were found in the reactor in 1992 and was decommissioned the same year. She is undergoing disposal at Rosyth.
| 03-11-1967 | Ordered from Vickers, Barrow |
| 15-04-1969 | Laid Down |
| 07-09-1971 | Launched |
| 17-04-1973 | Completed |
| 02-05-1973 | Left Barrow Shipyard |
|
||
| Official | ||
| Admiralty Approved | 28th Feb, 1944 | |
| Symbology | An Elizabethan composite word for 'swift pursuer'. | |
| Design Notes | A gold heraldic tyger rampant, winged, armed and langued red on a background of blue. | |
| Additional Notes | The design is copied from an earlier ship's figurehead of 1573. | |
| Length overall | 272 ft |
| Beam | 32 ft 3 inch |
| Displacement | 3500 tons (surface) |
| 4500 tons (submerged) | |
| Diving Depth | In excess of 1000 ft |
| Speed | In excess of 25 knots (surface) |
| 30 knots (submerged) | |
| No. of shafts | 1 |
| Armament | 5 21 inch bow tubes |
| Complement | 12 Officers and 85 Ratings |
The 'Orzel' (Eagle) and the 'Wulk' (Wolf) joined the five-nation (Britain, Poland, France, Holland and Norway) underwater fleet based on HMS Ambrose at Dundee's Stannergate from 1939 - 45. Both had escaped from the Baltic despite the German blockade of the Skagerrak and the Kattegat.
Otto Kretschmer was only in combat from September 1939 until March 1941 but was Germany's highest-scoring U-boat commander sinking 47 ships totalling 274,333 tons. This definitive work details his personal story and the political backdrop from his earliest days.
Aged 17 he spent 8 months studying literature at Exeter University where he learned to speak English fluently. The following year, on 1 April 1930, he enlisted as an officer candidate in the Weimar Republic's small navy.
After completing his officer training and time on the training ship Niobe he served aboard the light cruiser Emden. In December 1934 he was transferred to the light cruiser K ln, then in January 1936 made the move to the fledgling U-boat service.
His first operational posting was to the 2nd U-Flotilla s Type VII U35 where he almost being drowned during training in the Baltic Sea! During the Spanish Civil War, he was involved in several patrols as part of the international non-intervention force. He was finally given command of U23, a post which he held until April 1940.
He had already sunk 8 ships including the destroyer HMS Daring east of Pentland Firth on 18 February 1940. He demonstrated a cool approach to combat: his mantra one torpedo for one ship proved that the best way for his boat to succeed against a convoy was to remain surfaced as much as possible, penetrating the convoy and using the boats high speed and small silhouette to avoid retaliation.
His nickname Silent Otto referred to his ability to remain undetected and his reluctance to provide the regular radio reports required by Donitz: he had guessed that the Allies had broken German codes. Alongside his military skill was a character that remained rooted in the traditions of the Prussian military. While other U-boat commanders and crew returned from patrol with beards and a relaxed demeanour, U99 always returned with all men clean-shaven and paraded on deck.
In the Bowmanville POW camp he organised a 2-way radio link to the German Naval High Command and planned a mass breakout with a U-boat rendezvous arranged. He was also instrumental in the Battle of Bowmanville that lasted for 3 days in October 1942. His antics behind the wire became the inspiration for the 1970 film The McKenzie Break.
Postwar he answered the call for volunteers upon the establishment of the Bundesmarine. He retired from the rank of Flotillenadmiral in 1970. He suffered a fall celebrating his 50th wedding anniversary aboard a boat and died two days later at the age of 86.
11 pages added or updated in the last 3 month
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Please Note: Donations made using this option go directly to the site owner and not to the Submariners Association.
Thankyou for your support.
|
|
||
| Official | ||
| Admiralty Approved | 28th Feb, 1944 | |
| Symbology | An Elizabethan composite word for 'swift pursuer'. | |
| Design Notes | A gold heraldic tyger rampant, winged, armed and langued red on a background of blue. | |
| Additional Notes | The design is copied from an earlier ship's figurehead of 1573. | |
| Length overall | 272 ft |
| Beam | 32 ft 3 inch |
| Displacement | 3500 tons (surface) |
| 4500 tons (submerged) | |
| Diving Depth | In excess of 1000 ft |
| Speed | In excess of 25 knots (surface) |
| 30 knots (submerged) | |
| No. of shafts | 1 |
| Armament | 5 21 inch bow tubes |
| Complement | 12 Officers and 85 Ratings |
The 'Orzel' (Eagle) and the 'Wulk' (Wolf) joined the five-nation (Britain, Poland, France, Holland and Norway) underwater fleet based on HMS Ambrose at Dundee's Stannergate from 1939 - 45. Both had escaped from the Baltic despite the German blockade of the Skagerrak and the Kattegat.
Otto Kretschmer was only in combat from September 1939 until March 1941 but was Germany's highest-scoring U-boat commander sinking 47 ships totalling 274,333 tons. This definitive work details his personal story and the political backdrop from his earliest days.
Aged 17 he spent 8 months studying literature at Exeter University where he learned to speak English fluently. The following year, on 1 April 1930, he enlisted as an officer candidate in the Weimar Republic's small navy.
After completing his officer training and time on the training ship Niobe he served aboard the light cruiser Emden. In December 1934 he was transferred to the light cruiser K ln, then in January 1936 made the move to the fledgling U-boat service.
His first operational posting was to the 2nd U-Flotilla s Type VII U35 where he almost being drowned during training in the Baltic Sea! During the Spanish Civil War, he was involved in several patrols as part of the international non-intervention force. He was finally given command of U23, a post which he held until April 1940.
He had already sunk 8 ships including the destroyer HMS Daring east of Pentland Firth on 18 February 1940. He demonstrated a cool approach to combat: his mantra one torpedo for one ship proved that the best way for his boat to succeed against a convoy was to remain surfaced as much as possible, penetrating the convoy and using the boats high speed and small silhouette to avoid retaliation.
His nickname Silent Otto referred to his ability to remain undetected and his reluctance to provide the regular radio reports required by Donitz: he had guessed that the Allies had broken German codes. Alongside his military skill was a character that remained rooted in the traditions of the Prussian military. While other U-boat commanders and crew returned from patrol with beards and a relaxed demeanour, U99 always returned with all men clean-shaven and paraded on deck.
In the Bowmanville POW camp he organised a 2-way radio link to the German Naval High Command and planned a mass breakout with a U-boat rendezvous arranged. He was also instrumental in the Battle of Bowmanville that lasted for 3 days in October 1942. His antics behind the wire became the inspiration for the 1970 film The McKenzie Break.
Postwar he answered the call for volunteers upon the establishment of the Bundesmarine. He retired from the rank of Flotillenadmiral in 1970. He suffered a fall celebrating his 50th wedding anniversary aboard a boat and died two days later at the age of 86.
11 pages added or updated in the last 3 month
Please help to maintain this site by reporting any Errors, Broken Links, Information or Site Issues on this page using this button
If you find this site useful, please consider supporting my work with a small Donation.
Please Note: Donations made using this option go directly to the site owner and not to the Submariners Association.
Thankyou for your support.
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