HMS Triumph’s Final Port Call

December 12, 2024, marked the end of an era of the proud history of the British Royal Navy’s submarine service. As noted by The Lochside Press:

HMS Triumph, the last of the Royal Navy’s Trafalgar-Class attack submarines, sailed for the final time from Faslane this week…HMS Triumph sailed into Plymouth Sound today, to her home port of HM Naval Base Devonport…It was the final voyage by the nuclear-powered submarine and Triumph flew her decommissioning pennant as she was escorted by tugboats and vessels from the naval base…Commander Aaron Williams, HMS Triumph’s Commanding Officer, said: ‘As HMS Triumph prepares to decommission, we reflect on her legacy with immense pride…The submarine has served not just as a vessel, but as a symbol of commitment, courage, and camaraderie…And while this chapter of HMS Triumph’s story ends, her spirit will endure in the memories of all who served aboard her, and in the gratitude of the nation she helped protect.’

As my fellow naval history buffs are well aware, the word “Trafalgar” stirs much pride in the hearts of Royal Navy sailors past & present, as the Battle of Trafalgar is not only one of Great Britain’s greatest naval victories but indeed one of the most strategically decisive naval battles of all time. So, we at The National Interest reckon this is as good a time as any to tell the story of the submarine class that bore the Trafalgar name.

Trafalgar-Class Submarine Early History and Specifications

The Trafalgar-class boats were designed as successors to the Swiftsure class and designated as “hunter-killers” within the Royal Navy’s nuclear submarine force. The lead ship of the class was (appropriately enough) the HMS Trafalgar (Pennant No. S107), which was laid down on April 15, 1979, launched on July 1, 1981, and commissioned on May 27, 1983. She was followed by six more ships in the class: HMS Turbulent (1984), HMS Tireless (1985), HMS Torbay (1987), HMS Trenchant (1989), HMS Talent (1990), and HMS Triumph (1991).

Built by Vickers Shipbuilding & Engineering Ltd., Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, UK, the Trafalgar subs had the following technical specifications: a surface displacement of 4800 tons, a hull length of 85.4 meters, and a maximum speed of thirty-two knots. 

Operational History and Combat Performance

Three warships of this mighty class have fired their TLAMs at targets in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. Indeed, HMS Trafalgar, in particular, made history as the first Royal Navy sub to launch Tomahawks against Taliban and al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan, doing so as part of Operation Veritas in 2001.

Regarding HMS Triumph specifically, she played a key role in the 2011 military intervention in Libya, firing her missiles at Muammar Qaddafi’s forces on three different occasions: March 19, March 20, and March 24, with her primary targets being the Libyan air defense installations around the city of Sabha.

Triumph also made history in a peacetime operation in 1993, whereupon she conducted a 41,000-mile (66,000 kilometers) submerged transit to Australia, the longest unsupported solo passage of any nuclear submarine.

Where Are They Now?

Out with the old, in with the news: the Trafalgars are being replaced by the Astute-class undersea warships. Alas, there are no known plans to preserve any of the Trafalgar-class subs for posterity as museum ships. The first six ships of the class are a 3 Basin in Davenport, idly waiting the requisite decades for their reactors to fully cool before finally being dismantled.

HMS Triumph will eventually be sent to 3 Basin as well. In the meantime, officially remain in service with the Royal Navy until the official decommissioning ceremony, due to be held sometime this month. After that pomp and circumstance is concluded, the proud old vessel will be staffed by a skeleton crew for several more years as on-board systems are shut down and removed. Name plates will be removed from the submarine, at which point she will lose her HMS designation.

Fair winds and following seas, Trafalgar class. You served your King, Queen, and Country well.

About the Author: Christian D. Orr, Defense Expert  

Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor for the National Security Journal (NSJ). He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch, The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS). If you’d like to pick his brain further, you can oftentimes find him at the Old Virginia Tobacco Company (OVTC) lounge in Manassas, Virginia, partaking of fine stogies and good quality human camaraderie.

Image: Kev Gregory / Shutterstock.com.