| Built By: | Vickers (Barrow) |
| Build Group: | SSN 5 |
| 14-05-2018 | During a visit to the Barrow yard the Secretary of State for Defence, The Right Honourable Gavin Williamson awarded a £1.5bn contract for delivery of the seventh Astute class submarine and announced it would be named Agincourt. |
| 26-01-2025 | The RN announced the name HMS Achilles has been approved by The King with no mention of the previously announced name Agincourt. It is unclear why the name change has been made but most speculate that it is to avoid offending the French. The battle of Agincourt in 1415 saw a much smaller English and Welsh army defeat the French army with the innovative use of longbows. |
|
||
| Official | ||
| Admiralty Approved | 20th Jul, 1931 | |
| Motto | Foriter in re. (Bravely in action.) | |
| Symbology | Achilles is the hero of Homer's 'Iliad'. | |
| Design Notes | The head of Achilles, helmeted in gold on a red background. | |
| Length | 280 ft |
| Displacement | 5,300 tonnes, submerged |
| 7000 to 7400 tonnes, surfaced | |
| Beam | 37 ft 1 inch |
| Draught | 32 ft 10 inch |
| Propulsion | 1 x Rolls Royce PWR2 nuclear reactor |
| MTU 600kw Deisel Generators | |
| 2 x GEC steam turbines | |
| 2 x Paxman diesel alternators 2,800 shp | |
| 1 x motor for emergency drive | |
| 1 x auxiliary retractable prop | |
| Speed | Up to 32 knots, submerged |
| Test Depth | Over 300m |
| Electronic warfare | 2 x SSE Mk8 launchers for Type 2066 and Type 2071 torpedo decoys |
| Armament | 6 x 21 inch torpedo tubes with stowage for up to 38 weapons |
| Tomahawk Block IV cruise missiles | |
| Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes | |
| Complement | 98 (109 capacity) |
| Class: | 1966 - 1994: Valiant Class |
| 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. | |
A candid, visceral, and incredibly entertaining account of what it's like to live in one of the most extreme environments in the world.
Imagine a world without natural light, where you can barely stand up straight for fear of knocking your head, where you have no idea of where in the world you are or what time of day it is, where you sleep in a coffin-sized bunk and sometimes eat a full roast for breakfast.
Now imagine sharing that world with 140 other sweaty bodies, crammed into a 430ft x 33ft steel tube, 300ft underwater, for up to 90 days at a time, with no possibility of escape. And to top it off, a sizeable chunk of your living space is taken up by the most formidably destructive nuclear weapons history has ever known. This is the world of the submariner. This is life under pressure.
As a restless and adventurous 18-year-old, Richard Humphreys joined the submarine service in 1985 and went on to serve aboard the nuclear deterrent for five years at the end of the Cold War. Nothing could have prepared him for life beneath the waves. Aside from the claustrophobia and disorientation, there were the prolonged periods of boredom, the constant dread of discovery by the Soviets, and the smorgasbord of rank odours that only a group of poorly-washed and flatulent submariners can unleash.
But even in this most pressurised of environments, the consolations were unique: where else could you sit peacefully for hours listening to whale song.
Based on first-hand experience, Under Pressure is the candid, visceral and incredibly entertaining account of what it's like to live, work, sleep, eat and stay sane in one of the most extreme man-made environments on the planet.
20 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.
|
|
||
| Official | ||
| Admiralty Approved | 20th Jul, 1931 | |
| Motto | Foriter in re. (Bravely in action.) | |
| Symbology | Achilles is the hero of Homer's 'Iliad'. | |
| Design Notes | The head of Achilles, helmeted in gold on a red background. | |
| Length | 280 ft |
| Displacement | 5,300 tonnes, submerged |
| 7000 to 7400 tonnes, surfaced | |
| Beam | 37 ft 1 inch |
| Draught | 32 ft 10 inch |
| Propulsion | 1 x Rolls Royce PWR2 nuclear reactor |
| MTU 600kw Deisel Generators | |
| 2 x GEC steam turbines | |
| 2 x Paxman diesel alternators 2,800 shp | |
| 1 x motor for emergency drive | |
| 1 x auxiliary retractable prop | |
| Speed | Up to 32 knots, submerged |
| Test Depth | Over 300m |
| Electronic warfare | 2 x SSE Mk8 launchers for Type 2066 and Type 2071 torpedo decoys |
| Armament | 6 x 21 inch torpedo tubes with stowage for up to 38 weapons |
| Tomahawk Block IV cruise missiles | |
| Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes | |
| Complement | 98 (109 capacity) |
| Class: | 1966 - 1994: Valiant Class |
| 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. | |
A candid, visceral, and incredibly entertaining account of what it's like to live in one of the most extreme environments in the world.
Imagine a world without natural light, where you can barely stand up straight for fear of knocking your head, where you have no idea of where in the world you are or what time of day it is, where you sleep in a coffin-sized bunk and sometimes eat a full roast for breakfast.
Now imagine sharing that world with 140 other sweaty bodies, crammed into a 430ft x 33ft steel tube, 300ft underwater, for up to 90 days at a time, with no possibility of escape. And to top it off, a sizeable chunk of your living space is taken up by the most formidably destructive nuclear weapons history has ever known. This is the world of the submariner. This is life under pressure.
As a restless and adventurous 18-year-old, Richard Humphreys joined the submarine service in 1985 and went on to serve aboard the nuclear deterrent for five years at the end of the Cold War. Nothing could have prepared him for life beneath the waves. Aside from the claustrophobia and disorientation, there were the prolonged periods of boredom, the constant dread of discovery by the Soviets, and the smorgasbord of rank odours that only a group of poorly-washed and flatulent submariners can unleash.
But even in this most pressurised of environments, the consolations were unique: where else could you sit peacefully for hours listening to whale song.
Based on first-hand experience, Under Pressure is the candid, visceral and incredibly entertaining account of what it's like to live, work, sleep, eat and stay sane in one of the most extreme man-made environments on the planet.
20 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.
This form is for you to comment on, or add additional information to this page. Any questions will be deleted. If you wish to ask a question contact the Branch or the Webmaster using the Contact Us page or ask your question on our Facebook Page