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Swiftsure (S 126)

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.
Swiftsure
Swiftsure
Swiftsure (S 126)
Swiftsure (S 126)
Swiftsure (S 126)
Swiftsure (S 126)

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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.

Events

 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
Official
SSN 4 Specification
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
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Sealion (S 07)

Class: 1956 - 1988: Porpoise Class
Built By: Cammell Laird (Mersey)
Build Group: P2
Fate:
Sold to Oceanic UK Ltd of Blyth. she left Chatham under tow March 26th 1990 to be broken up.
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Since the beginning of the Royal Navy Submarine Service in 1901, 173 submarines have been lost and in many circumstances with their entire crew. War inevitably takes a heavy toll:

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