 HMSTriumph in the Middle East, 2012 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Triumph |
| Ordered | 3 July 1986 |
| Builder | Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering,Barrow-in-Furness |
| Laid down | 2 February 1987 |
| Launched | 16 February 1991 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. Ann Hamilton |
| Commissioned | 2 October 1991 |
| Decommissioned | 18 July 2025 |
| Homeport | HMNB Devonport,Plymouth |
| Identification | Pennant number: S93 |
| Status | Out of service |
| Badge |  |
| General characteristics[1] | |
| Class & type | Trafalgar-class submarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 85.4 m (280 ft)[2] |
| Beam | 9.8 m (32 ft)[2] |
| Draught | 9.5 m (31 ft)[2] |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | Over 30knots (56 km/h), submerged[2] |
| Range | Unlimited[2] |
| Complement | 130[2] |
| Electronic warfare & decoys |
|
| Armament | |
HMSTriumph was aTrafalgar-classnuclear submarine of theRoyal Navy and was the seventh and final boat of her class. She was the nineteenth nuclear-poweredhunter-killer submarine built for the Royal Navy.Triumph was the tenth vessel, and the second submarine, to bear the name. The first HMSTriumph was a 68-gun galleon built in 1561.
Triumph waslaid down in 1987 byVickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited.[4] The boat waslaunched in February 1991 by Mrs. Ann Hamilton, wife of the then Armed Forces MinisterArchie Hamilton.[4] She wascommissioned in October that same year.
After returning to her base at Devonport for the final time in late 2024,Triumph wasdecommissioned in July 2025, being the last boat of her class in service.[5]
Triumph sailed to Australia in 1993, travelling 41,000 miles (66,000 km) submerged without support—the longest solo deployment so far by a Royal Navy nuclear submarine.[6] In that same year, authorTom Clancy published a book calledSubmarine: a Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship which was centred aroundTriumph andUSS Miami.
After the9/11 attacks in the United States,Triumph, along with her sister shipTrafalgar, formed part of a task group in 2001 as part of the American-ledinvasion of Afghanistan, Britain's contribution being known asOperation Veritas.[6] During Operation Veritas,Triumph launchedTomahawk missiles at targets insideAfghanistan. WhenTriumph returned home after operations had ended, the boat flew theJolly Roger, the traditional way of denoting live weapons had been fired.[7]
On 19 November 2000,Triumph ran aground travelling at 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) and at a depth of 200 metres (660 ft) while off the western Scottish coast. The boat surfaced in a safe and controlled fashion. She was under the command of trainee officers and an investigation attributed the grounding to poor navigation.Triumph suffered only superficial damage.[8]
In 2005,Triumph began a £300 million nuclear refuel and refitting period which also saw the installation of an updated 2076 bow, flank and towed array sonar and a newcommand and control system. The boat rejoined the fleet in June 2010 and will be the last of theTrafalgar-class submarines to be decommissioned.
Triumph was also featured in the TV programmeHow to Command a Nuclear Submarine in 2011 in which trainee commanding officers are shown on the Navy's "Perisher Course".
In March 2011, she participated inOperation Ellamy, firing Tomahawk cruise missiles on 19 March, 20 March and again on 24 March at Libyan air defence targets from theMediterranean Sea. One of these strikes hit a command and control centre inColonel Gaddafi's presidential compound.[4]Triumph returned toDevonport on 3 April 2011 flying a Jolly Roger adorned with six small tomahawk axes to indicate the missiles fired by the submarine in the operation.[9][10][11][12][13]
Eleven weeks later on 20 June upon her return to Devonport, in the interim having deployed for a second deployment in the Mediterranean and relievingHMS Turbulent, she once again flew the Jolly Roger adorned with tomahawks, indicating that further cruise missile strikes had taken place in Libya as part of the ongoing operations there.[14] Analysts believe that in total more than 15 cruise missiles were fired by the submarine during the operations.[15]
In November 2011,Triumph sailed from her home port in Devonport for a seven-month deployment that saw her away from the UK until summer 2012. The deployment saw her operate in a wide range of locations including the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, theArabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.[16]
In May 2013, her refit was reported complete and she returned to operational duties[17] which continued to 2018.
Following the Integrated Review of 2020, her service was extended by 18 months, to continue until 2025.[18][19]
In December 2022, the submarine was reported to have returned to sea for post-refit trials, following a four-year refit to extend her service life to about 2024/25.[20] In January 2023, the submarine was reported to have deployed to theClyde naval base, probably for operational sea training.[21]
As of late 2024, the submarine remained active operating out of the Devonport naval base.[22] In December 2024, the submarine departed Faslane for the final time sailing to Devonport for her planned decommissioning in the new year.[23]
Triumph was part of the Devonport Flotilla based at Devonport.
She is currently affiliated with:
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