Crew member stood atop HMS Vengeance as it travelled up Gare Loch BySteven Godden and Calum WatsonBBC ScotlandA Royal Navy submarine carrying Trident nuclear missiles has returned to its Scottish base after a record-breaking 217 days spent submerged on patrol. The 140-strong crew of HMS Vengeance have spent the tour in almost total isolation beneath the surface after setting out from Faslane, near Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute, on 12 April.Defence Secretary Wes Streeting was at HM Naval Base Clyde to welcome them home after the longest deployment at sea for a British vessel.The typical patrol length for the UK's Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarines has more than doubled in recent years, with six-month durations now routine due to a shortage of seaworthy vessels.Crew members could be seen standing on HMS Vengeance as it travelled up Gare Loch earlier, accompanied by some smaller Naval support vessels and tug boats.The vessel was encrusted in marine growth and some of its sound-absorbing tiles were missing.HMS Vengeance was expected back at Faslane last weekend, but that was reported to have been delayed, external when the submarine replacing it on patrol had to return to base to fix a technical fault.
The head of the navy, First Sea Lord Gen Sir Gwyn Jenkins, praised the dedication of submariners in keeping Nato safe at a conference last week in Oslo, but said the UK must do better at maintaining the fleet.Streeting said it "doesn't sit lightly" with him that crews were being asked to serve longer than intended.He said: "It makes me feel even more indebted to the crew for the service they've given to the country, for the commitment they show, the dedications, the professionalism, the expertise."I think the whole country can be extraordinarily proud of our submariners and of our nuclear deterrent."Since 1969 the UK has always had at least one ballistic missile-armed submarine patrolling at sea in order to provide a "nuclear deterrent". The logic is that if Britain was under nuclear attack, it could launch a retaliatory strike on the aggressor, a concept known as mutually-assured destruction.
The four 492ft (150m) long Vanguard-class submarines can carry up to 16 Trident missiles, each capable of delivering multiple warheads which are several times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. The isolated life of the submarinerIn order to avoid detection the submarines remain submerged and in radio silence throughout the patrol because a transmission could give away their position.But they can ascend to shallower depths and receive encoded messages via a floating wire antenna or communications buoy.
Crews have little contact with the loved ones apart from the "Familygram" - a 120-word message that arrives weekly, and they are not permitted to reply. Messages are vetted and bad news from home can be withheld if it might jeopardise the operational effectiveness of a crew member.Depending on the sea state they may be able to listen to radio bulletins.
Most of the crew work in shifts of six hours on, six hours off and sleep in narrow bunks, sometimes nine to a cabin.Submariners returning from long patrols are said to find the outside world smells strange or even overwhelming because they have become so used to filtered air. Their distance perception could also be affected by living in such a confined space for so long and they are advised not to drive for a few days while they adjust.
Press AssociationImage caption, HMS Vanguard, seen here at Faslane, is thought to have set the previous Navy record for the longest patrol when it returned in April after 205 days at seaThe Vanguard-class boats were commissioned in the 1990s with an expected service life of 25 years but are now expected to serve for up to 40 years before the first Dreadnought-class submarines start replacing them in the early 2030s. Streeting said that program was "on track" and that it was important to get those vessels out "as soon as possible".Patrols used to typically last three months but in recent years this has stretched to six or more because at least one of the boats has been out of action for refit or repairs.
A major overhaul of HMS Vanguard at Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth dragged on for seven years before it returned to service in 2022. HMS Victorious is currently in dry dock undergoing a £560m "deep maintenance" that began in 2023, leaving only Vengeance, Vigilant and Vanguard operational.The previous record for a Royal Navy continuous undersea patrol is reported to have been set by Vanguard in April when it returned to Faslane after 205 days away.
The patrol lengths of Russian or Chinese submarines are not known, but most navies are believed to send their vessels out for far shorter durations.