HMS Triumph (S93)
{{short description|Trafalgar-class nuclear-powered attack submarine of the Royal Navy}}
{{Other ships|HMS Triumph}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=Royal Navy Submarine HMS Triumph Silhouetted in the Middle East MOD 45153739.jpg |Ship caption=HMS Triumph in the Middle East, 2012 }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=United Kingdom |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}} |Ship name=Triumph |Ship namesake= |Ship ordered=3 July 1986 |Ship awarded= |Ship builder=Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, Barrow-in-Furness |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number= |Ship way number= |Ship laid down=2 February 1987 |Ship launched=16 February 1991 |Ship sponsor=Mrs. Ann Hamilton |Ship christened= |Ship completed= |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned=2 October 1991 |Ship recommissioned= |Ship decommissioned=Projected early 2025 |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship homeport=HMNB Devonport, Plymouth |Ship identification=Pennant number: S93 |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honours= |Ship captured= |Ship status=Out of service; awaiting decommissioning |Ship notes= |Ship badge=100px }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Ship class={{sclass|Trafalgar|submarine|1}} |Ship displacement=
|Ship length={{convert|85.4|m|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|9.8|m|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship draught={{convert|9.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship power= |Ship propulsion=
|Ship speed=Over {{convert|30|kn|km/h|lk=in}}, submerged |Ship test depth= |Ship sensors= |Ship EW=
|Ship armament=
|Ship notes= }} |
HMS Triumph is a {{sclass|Trafalgar|submarine|0}} nuclear submarine of the Royal Navy and was the seventh and final boat of her class. She is the nineteenth nuclear-powered hunter-killer submarine built for the Royal Navy. Triumph is the tenth vessel, and the second submarine, to bear the name. The first HMS Triumph was a 68-gun galleon built in 1561.
Triumph was laid down in 1987 by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited.{{cite web |url=http://www.hmforces.co.uk/education/articles/1457-hms-triumph-trafalgar-class |title=HMS Triumph: Trafalgar Class |url-status=dead |website=hmforces.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120215441/http://www.hmforces.co.uk/education/articles/1457-hms-triumph-trafalgar-class |archive-date=20 January 2012}} The boat was launched in February 1991 by Mrs. Ann Hamilton, wife of the then Armed Forces Minister Archie Hamilton. She was commissioned in October that same year.
Triumph was to be decommissioned in early 2025, being the last boat of her class in service.
Operational history
Triumph sailed to Australia in 1993, travelling {{convert|41000|mi|km|adj=off}} submerged without support—the longest solo deployment so far by a Royal Navy nuclear submarine.{{cite press release |title=HMS Triumph returns from Libya operations |url=http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/HmsTriumphReturnsFromLibyaOperations.htm |publisher=Ministry of Defence |date=4 April 2011 |access-date=31 December 2022}} In that same year, author Tom Clancy published a book called Submarine: a Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship which was centred around Triumph and {{USS|Miami|SSN-755|6}}.
=War in Afghanistan=
After the 9/11 attacks in the United States, Triumph, along with her sister ship {{HMS|Trafalgar|S107|2}}, formed part of a task group in 2001 as part of the American-led invasion of Afghanistan, Britain's contribution being known as Operation Veritas. During Operation Veritas, Triumph launched Tomahawk missiles at targets inside Afghanistan. When Triumph returned home after operations had ended, the boat flew the Jolly Roger, the traditional way of denoting live weapons had been fired.{{cite web|title=Home and away over Christmas|url=http://www.navynews.co.uk/articles/2001/0112/0001122402.asp|work=Navy News|date=24 December 2001|access-date=30 March 2011|archive-date=2 April 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030402154213/http://navynews.co.uk/articles/2001/0112/0001122402.asp|url-status=dead}}
On 19 November 2000, Triumph ran aground travelling at {{convert|22|kn}} and at a depth of {{convert|200|m}} 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/0E0CFE6E-9E93-4324-BA53-34924ED4780B/0/boi_hms_triumph_grounding.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805063350/http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/0E0CFE6E-9E93-4324-BA53-34924ED4780B/0/boi_hms_triumph_grounding.pdf |archive-date=5 August 2009 |title=Board of Inquiry: Instructions |publisher=Flag Officer Submarines, Middlesex |date=21 November 2000 |access-date=31 December 2022}}
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 new command and control system. The boat rejoined the fleet in June 2010 and will be the last of the Trafalgar-class submarines to be decommissioned.
Triumph was also featured in the TV programme How to Command a Nuclear Submarine in 2011 in which trainee commanding officers are shown on the Navy's "Perisher Course".
=Libya operations=
In March 2011, she participated in Operation Ellamy, firing Tomahawk cruise missiles on 19 March, 20 March and again on 24 March at Libyan air defence targets from the Mediterranean Sea. One of these strikes hit a command and control centre in Colonel Gaddafi's presidential compound. Triumph returned to Devonport 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.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/mar/20/air-strikes-clear-skies|title=Air strikes clear the skies but leave endgame uncertain |first=Nick |last=Hopkins|date=20 March 2011|work=The Guardian|access-date=31 December 2022}}{{cite web|url=http://www.navynews.co.uk/news/1121-missiles-target-libyan-air-defences.aspx |title=Missiles target Libyan air defences |access-date=23 March 2010 |date=21 March 2011 |work=Navy News |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110324151148/http://www.navynews.co.uk/news/1121-missiles-target-libyan-air-defences.aspx |archive-date=24 March 2011 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.navynews.co.uk/news/1123-royal-navy-blockade-forces-gaddafis-gunboats-off-the-ocean.aspx |title=Reporting from the Fleet |work=Navy News |access-date=7 October 2013 |archive-date=26 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110326061530/http://www.navynews.co.uk/news/1123-royal-navy-blockade-forces-gaddafis-gunboats-off-the-ocean.aspx |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.navynews.co.uk/news/1140-top-bombing-pulverises-gaddafis-ammo-bunkers.aspx |title=Top bombing pulverises Gaddafi's ammo bunkers |work=Navy News |access-date=7 October 2013 |archive-date=4 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110404111430/http://www.navynews.co.uk/news/1140-top-bombing-pulverises-gaddafis-ammo-bunkers.aspx |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=http://www.navynews.co.uk/news/1142-home-in-triumph-submariners-mark-successful-libyan-mission.aspx |work=Navy News |access-date=7 October 2013 |title=Home in Triumph – submariners mark successful Libyan mission |archive-date=7 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110407115123/http://www.navynews.co.uk/news/1142-home-in-triumph-submariners-mark-successful-libyan-mission.aspx |url-status=dead}}
Eleven weeks later on 20 June upon her return to Devonport, in the interim having deployed for a second deployment in the Mediterranean and relieving {{HMS|Turbulent|S87|6}}, 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.navynews.co.uk/news/1256-home-in-triumph-again-submarine-returns-from-hammering-gaddafis-forces.aspx |title=Reporting from the Fleet |publisher=Navy News |access-date=7 October 2013 }}{{dead link|date=October 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Analysts believe that in total more than 15 cruise missiles were fired by the submarine during the operations.{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13905914 | work=BBC News | title=No end in sight as RAF marks 100 days over Libya | date=4 October 2011 |access-date=31 December 2022}}
=2011/2012 deployment=
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, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.{{cite web |url=http://www.navynews.co.uk/archive/news/item/2571 |title=Reporting from the Fleet |work=Navy News |date=10 November 2011 |access-date=7 October 2013 |archive-date=8 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808223141/https://navynews.co.uk/archive/news/item/2571 |url-status=dead }}
=2013=
In May 2013, her refit was reported complete and she returned to operational duties{{cite web |url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/The-Fleet/Submarines/Fleet-Submarines/Trafalgar-Class/HMS-Triumph/Diary/130521-Triumph-returns-to-op-duties |title=130521-Triumph returns to op duties |publisher=Royal Navy |date=21 May 2013 |access-date=7 October 2013 |archive-date=7 August 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130807214355/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/The-Fleet/Submarines/Fleet-Submarines/Trafalgar-Class/HMS-Triumph/Diary/130521-Triumph-returns-to-op-duties |url-status=dead }} which continued to 2018.
=Final commission=
Following the Integrated Review of 2020, her service was extended by 18 months, to continue until 2025.{{cite web |url=https://www.navylookout.com/first-ex-royal-navy-nuclear-submarine-to-be-disposed-of-enters-final-dismantling-phase/ |title=First ex-Royal Navy nuclear submarine to be disposed of enters final dismantling phase |author= |date=15 October 2024 |website=Navy Lookout |publisher= |access-date=15 October 2024 |quote=}}{{cite web |url=https://www.navylookout.com/the-defence-command-paper-and-the-future-of-the-royal-navy/ |title= The Defence Command Paper and the future of the Royal Navy|author= |date=22 March 2021 |website=Navy Lookout |publisher= |access-date=25 March 2021 |quote=}}
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.{{cite tweet |author=Navy Lookout |user=NavyLookout |number=1601945824119889920 |date=11 December 2022 |title=HMS Triumph has returned to sea after more than 4 years in refit at Devonport |access-date=13 December 2022}} In January 2023, the submarine was reported to have deployed to the Clyde naval base, probably for operational sea training.{{Cite tweet |author= |author-link= |user=NavyLookout |number=1618913042330255361 |date= |title=HMS Triumph arrives in Faslane this morning - following refit and work up, she is likely due to undergo Operational Sea Training |access-date=2023-01-28 |link= |quote= |ref=}}
As of late 2024, the submarine remained active operating out of the Devonport naval base.{{Cite tweet |author= |author-link= |user=NavyLookout |number=1854081053012484227 |date=6 November 2024 |title=@NavyLookout HMS Triumph outbound from Devonport this morning after 10 weeks alongside. |access-date=2024-10-06 |link= |quote= |ref=}} In December 2024, the submarine departed Faslane for the final time sailing to Devonport for her planned decommissioning early in the new year.{{cite web |url=https://www.navylookout.com/royal-navys-last-trafalgar-class-submarine-sails-for-the-final-time/ |title=Royal Navy’s last Trafalgar-class submarine sails for the final time |author= |date=10 December 2024 |website=Navy Lookout |publisher= |access-date=10 December 2024 |quote=}}
Home port and affiliations
Triumph is part of the Devonport Flotilla based at Devonport.
She is currently affiliated with:
- Blackpool Borough Council{{cite web|url=http://royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/submarine-service/fleet-submarines-ssn/trafalgar-class/hms-triumph/affiliations/index.htm|title=HMS Triumph – affiliations|publisher=Royal Navy website|access-date=25 May 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722182446/http://royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/submarine-service/fleet-submarines-ssn/trafalgar-class/hms-triumph/affiliations/index.htm|archive-date=22 July 2011|df=dmy-all}}
- Newton Abbot Town Council
- The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment
- Sussex University Royal Naval Unit
- Worshipful Company of Upholders
- TS Exmouth Sea Cadet Unit
- TS Amazon Sea Cadet Unit
- 1322 (Newton Abbot) Squadron Air Training Corps
- The Royal Naval Association (Newton Abbot Branch)
- The Royal British Legion (Newton Abbot Branch)
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
{{Commons category|HMS Triumph (S93)}}
- [http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/the-fighting-arms/submarine-service/fleet-submarines/trafalgar-class/hms-triumph Royal Navy HMS Triumph] (royalnavy.mod.uk)
{{Trafalgar class submarine}}
{{Royal Navy ships}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Triumph (S93)}}
Category:Trafalgar-class submarines