Summary
HMS Repulse (S23) was a Resolution-class ballistic missile submarine of the Royal Navy.
 HMS Repulse in the Firth of Clyde circa 1979
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Repulse |
| Ordered | May 1963 |
| Builder | Vickers Shipbuilding Ltd, Barrow-in-Furness |
| Laid down | 12 March 1965 |
| Launched | 4 November 1967 |
| Commissioned | 28 September 1968 |
| Decommissioned | 28 August 1996 |
| Status | Stored at Rosyth, awaiting disposal |
| Badge |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Resolution-class ballistic missile submarine |
| Displacement | surfaced 7,500 tons; submerged 8,400 tons. |
| Length | 425 ft (130 m) |
| Beam | 33 ft (10 m) |
| Draught | 30 ft 1 in (9.17 m) |
| Propulsion | 1 × Vickers/Rolls-Royce PWR.1 pressurised-water nuclear reactor, 27,500 shp (20,500 kW); Propeller. |
| Speed | surface - 20 kn (37 km/h); submerged - 25 kn (46 km/h) |
| Range | Unlimited except by food supplies |
| Complement | 143 per crew (two crews port and starboard) |
History edit
HMS Repulse was one of two Resolution-class ballistic missile submarines ordered from Vickers-Armstrongs on 8 May 1963, with a further two ordered from Cammell Laird the same day. Repulse was laid down at Vickers Armstrongs' Barrow-in-Furness shipyard on 12 March 1965 and was launched on 4 November 1967,[1] She was launched by Lady Joan Zuckerman who was the wife of the Chief Scientific Advisor.[2] Repulse ran aground in the Walney Channel during the launch, although she was undamaged and successfully floated off on the next high tide.[3] She commissioned on 28 September 1968.[4] While she was planned to be the third of her class, delays with the build of HMS Renown at Cammell Laird's Birkenhead shipyard meant that Repulse overtook Renown and was commissioned second of class.[5] She was the last of her class remaining in service with the navy, decommissioning in 1996.
Appearances in media edit
HMS Repulse was joined by a BBC film crew for a deployment in 1984. The crew documented the effect of the 8 week long deployment on both the crew, and family members on land. The program was broadcast on February 1985, as part of a 6 film series documenting the Royal Navy Submarine Service.[6]
Citations edit
References edit
- Blackman, Raymond V.B. Jane's Fighting Ships 1971–72. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co., Ltd. ISBN 0-354-00096-9.
- Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen, eds. (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
- Hennessey, Peter; Jinks, James (2016). The Silent Deep: The Royal Navy Submarine Service since 1945. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-241-95948-0.
External links edit
- Submariners Association Barrow-in-Furness Branch