HMS Trafalgar S107. Trafalgar Class Hunter Killer Submarine

The Trafalgar class submarine is a class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines (SSNs) in service with the Royal Navy since 1983. Designed in the early 1970s during the Cold War as a refinement of the preceding Swiftsure class, the Trafalgar class are the fifth class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines to enter service with the Royal Navy.

Trafalgar has a seven bladed propeller, but the following six use a pump-jet propulsion system, being a high pitch, low resolution propeller that is a much quieter, but heavier, unit. The hull is covered with anechoic tiles which are designed to absorb sound rather than reflect it, making the boat more difficult to detect with active sonar.

The first of the class, Trafalgar, was ordered on 7 April 1977 and was completed in 1983. The last, HMS Triumph, was ordered on 3 January 1986 and was completed in 1991. All seven boats of the class were built and completed by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering at the Barrow-in-Furness shipyard.

The Trafalgar Class has 5 x 21 inch (533mm) forward torpedo tubes that can launch Tomahawk Block IV cruise missiles and Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes, with stowage for up to 30 weapons.

Trafalgar is 85.4m long, a beam (width at water line) of 9.8m and a draught (depth of vessel from waterline to lowest point of hull) of 9.5m. Submerged, it can reach 30 knots (34.52 mph) and twenty knots (23 mph) on the surface and has a crew complement of 130.

In 1993 HMS Triumph sailed to from the UK to Australia, covering 41,000 miles (66,000 km) whilst submerged and without any forward support. As of 2011, this is still the longest solo deployment by any British nuclear submarine.

The Trafalgar Class is being replaced by the Astute Class, with only one Trafalgar Class (HMS Triumph) left in service in 2022. The first Astute Class, HMS Astute (S119) was launched on June 18th,2007 being commissioned on August 27th, 2010.