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HMS Dreadnought (S101)
Encyclopedia
The seventh HMS Dreadnought was the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's first nuclear-powered submarine, built by Vickers Armstrongs at Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
. Launched by Queen Elizabeth II on Trafalgar Day
Trafalgar Day
Trafalgar Day is the celebration of the victory won by the Royal Navy, commanded by Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson over the combined French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. The formation of the Navy League in 1894 gave added impetus to the movement to recognise...
1960 and commissioned into service with the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
in April 1963, she continued in service until 1980. The submarine was powered by a S5W reactor
S5W reactor
The S5W reactor is a nuclear reactor used by the United States Navy to provide electricity generation and propulsion on warships. The S5W designation stands for:* S = Submarine platform* 5 = Fifth generation core designed by the contractor...
, a design made available as a direct result of the 1958 US–UK Mutual Defence Agreement.
Design and construction
The Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
had been researching designs for nuclear propulsion
Nuclear marine propulsion
Nuclear marine propulsion is propulsion of a ship by a nuclear reactor. Naval nuclear propulsion is propulsion that specifically refers to naval warships...
plants since 1946, but this work was suspended indefinitely in October 1952 In 1955 the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
completed , the world's first nuclear-powered submarine. During subsequent exercises with the Royal Navy, Nautilus demonstrated the advantages of the nuclear submarine against British anti-submarine forces, which had developed extensive anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
techniques during the Second Battle of the Atlantic
Second Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, running from 1939 to the defeat of Germany in 1945. At its core was the Allied naval blockade of Germany, announced the day after the declaration of war, and Germany's subsequent counter-blockade. It was at its...
. The Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
appreciated the utility of such vessels and under the drive of the First Sea Lord
First Sea Lord
The First Sea Lord is the professional head of the Royal Navy and the whole Naval Service; it was formerly known as First Naval Lord. He also holds the title of Chief of Naval Staff, and is known by the abbreviations 1SL/CNS...
, Admiral The Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS , was a British statesman and naval officer, and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
and the Flag Officer Submarines, Sir Wilfred Woods, plans were formed to build nuclear-powered submarines.
Although the plan was to build all-British nuclear submarines, much time would be saved by accepting the American technological lead and taking advantage of US nuclear technology. The excellent relations between Admiral Mountbatten and US Navy Chief of Naval Operations Arleigh Burke
Arleigh Burke
Admiral Arleigh Albert '31-knot' Burke was an admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself during World War II and the Korean War, and who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations.-Early life and naval career:Burke was born in Boulder,...
, expedited obtaining that help. This was despite Rear Admiral Hyman Rickover, in charge of the American naval nuclear power program, being set against any transfer of technology; indeed, Rickover prevented Mountbatten inspecting USS Nautilus. It was not until a visit to Britain in 1956 that Rickover changed his mind and withdrew his objections. Although Rickover wished to supply the third generation S3W reactor
S3W reactor
The S3W reactor is a naval reactor used by the United States Navy to provide electricity generation and propulsion on warships. The S3W designation stands for:* S = Submarine platform* 3 = Third generation core designed by the contractor...
of the Skate class
Skate class submarine
The Skate-class submarines were the United States Navy's first production run of nuclear powered submarines. They were an evolution of the Tang class in everything but their propulsion plants, which were based on the experimental . The four Skate class boats re-introduced stern torpedo tubes...
, Mountbatten exerted his influence and the entire machinery system for an American , with its fifth generation S5W reactor
S5W reactor
The S5W reactor is a nuclear reactor used by the United States Navy to provide electricity generation and propulsion on warships. The S5W designation stands for:* S = Submarine platform* 5 = Fifth generation core designed by the contractor...
, was obtained. This was known as the "American Sector" (see 1958 US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement
1958 US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement
The 1958 US–UK Mutual Defence Agreement is a bilateral treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom on nuclear weapons cooperation.It was signed after the UK successfully tested its first hydrogen bomb during Operation Grapple. While the U.S...
). The hull and combat systems of Dreadnought were of British design and construction, although British access to the Electric Boat Company influenced the hull form and construction practices.
Dreadnought was laid down on 12 June 1959, and launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
by Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
on Trafalgar Day
Trafalgar Day
Trafalgar Day is the celebration of the victory won by the Royal Navy, commanded by Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson over the combined French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. The formation of the Navy League in 1894 gave added impetus to the movement to recognise...
, 21 October 1960. The reactor was embarked in 1962 and Dreadnought made her first dive, in Ramsden Dock, on 10 January 1963. She commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
on 17 April 1963.
During Dreadnought's construction, Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce Marine Power Operations Ltd
Rolls-Royce Marine Power Operations Limited, a subsidiary of Rolls-Royce plc, operates three nuclear licensed sites, two of which are at Raynesway in Derby, UK....
, in collaboration with the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is a UK government research organisation responsible for the development of nuclear fusion power. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and was formerly chaired by Lady Barbara Judge CBE...
at the Admiralty Research Station, HMS Vulcan, at Dounreay
Dounreay
Dounreay is the site of several nuclear research establishments located on the north coast of Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland...
, developed a completely new British nuclear propulsion system. On 31 August 1960, the UK's second nuclear-powered submarine was ordered from Vickers Armstrong
Vickers Armstrong
Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927...
and, fitted with Rolls-Royce's PWR1
Rolls-Royce PWR
The Rolls-Royce pressurised water reactor series has powered British nuclear submarines since the Valiant class, commissioned in 1966. The first British nuclear submarine, HMS Dreadnought, was powered by a Westinghouse S5W reactor.- PWR1 :...
nuclear plant, was the first all-British nuclear submarine.
Construction programme
| Pennant Pennant number In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers... |
Name | (a) Hull builder (b) Main machinery manufacturers |
Ordered | Laid down | Launched | Accepted into service |
Commissioned | Estimated building cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S101 | Dreadnought | (a) Vickers Ltd, Shipbuilding Group, Barrow-in-Furness (b) Westinghouse Electric Corporation, USA. |
12 June 1959 | 21 October 1960 | April 1963 | 17 April 1963 | £18,400,000 | |
Service
In the mid-1960s, Dreadnought's visits included trips to Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, and Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
. She was at Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
in 1965, 1966, and 1967, and on 19 September 1967, she left Rosyth, Scotland for Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
on a sustained high-speed run. The round trip finished as 4,640 miles surfaced and 26,545 miles submerged.
During her career, Dreadnought performed many varied missions. On 24 June 1967, she was ordered to sink the wrecked and drifting German ship Essberger Chemist. Three torpedoes hit along the length of the target, but the gunners of finished the job by piercing the tanks which were just keeping Essberger Chemist afloat.
Apart from minor hull-cracking problems, Dreadnought proved to be a reliable vessel, popular with her crews. On 10 September 1970, she completed a major refit at Rosyth, Scotland, in the course of which her nuclear core was refuelled and her ballast tank valves were changed to reduce noise.
On 3 March 1971, Dreadnought became the first British submarine to surface at the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
. In 1973 she took part in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
's first annual Group Deployment, when a group of warships and auxiliaries would undertake a long deployment to maintain fighting efficiency and "show the flag" around the world.
Together with the frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
s and , Dreadnought took part in Operation Journeyman
Operation Journeyman
Operation Journeyman was a Royal Navy operation in which a naval taskforce was sent to the Falkland Islands in November 1977 to prevent an Argentine invasion....
, a deployment to the South Atlantic in 1977 (prior to the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
) to deter possible Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
aggression against the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
.
Fate
Due to machinery damage and the limited refit facilities then available for SSNs, Dreadnought was withdrawn from service in 1980.Dreadnought is now at Rosyth Naval Dockyard, laid up indefinitely while her radioactive contamination decays. Her nuclear fuel has been removed and she has been stripped of useful equipment.