RN Submarines; Astute Class (Nuclear) 2010

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HMS Audacious first entry into Devonport this morning postponed due to fog.

(Seen south of Plymouth Breakwater this morning via Rfa Nostalgia)
She will be the first Astute class submarine to have maintenance period and be dry docked in Devonport.
https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/ ... 16/photo/1

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Royal Navy submarine, HMS Audacious, completes historic Mediterranean mission

https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... deployment

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Tweet from: Dr Phil Weir naval historian

Notable point from today's Commons Defence session with Adm Tony Radakin at 16:35:45 that one of the Royal Navy's Astute Class submarines is likely to be away from the Fleet for some time owing to lack of nuclear-capable dry dock space at HMNB Devonport.
See - https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Ind ... bb4b05b714

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'Running Wild': How Bear Grylls wrangled a nuclear sub for Benedict Cumberbatch's awesome exit

Bear Grylls is already on TV's survivalist A-list. But the British adventurer, 49, deserves more credit for his impressive mission send-offs for Hollywood stars.

At the end of Sunday's "Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge" (NatGeo 9 p.m. ET/PT) Grylls surprises Benedict Cumberbatch with a mission extraction aboard a British Royal Navy nuclear submarine that surfaced off Scotland's Isle of Skye. It was positively James Bond-like.

Grylls, a former special forces soldier, acted cool telling the stunned Cumberbatch, "I did call in a favor with the British Royal Navy."

Continues at - https://eu.usatoday.com/story/entertain ... 408349007/

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Sir Humphrey ~ "A very powerful article noting that every Royal Navy nuclear attack submarine is currently in port.

The force works extremely hard, and it is summer leave period, but it is definitely unusual to see all SSN hulls in port at the same time."

Why are no Royal Navy attack submarines at sea?

Through open-source observations, it is clear that none of the Royal Navy’s six commissioned SSNs are at sea at the time of writing. As part of normal maintenance cycles several boats could be expected to be in harbour but it is unusual for the entire force to be alongside.


HMS Triumph recently returned to Devonport following a patrol lasting more than 3 months, most likely in the Eastern Mediterranean. Previously HMS Audacious spent 403 days away from the UK, mostly in the same region (crew were rotated during the deployment), arriving at Devonport in March 2023. The patrols were likely demanding, extremely helpful to the NATO cause and the crews should be congratulated. Unfortunately, as Admiral Radakin admitted to the Defence Select Committee on 5th July, Audacious is now stuck alongside at Devonport pending maintenance because a suitable dry dock is not available.

It is difficult to account for the exact status of the other 4 boats as this kind of information is not in the public domain but HMS Astute, Ambush, Artful and Anson have all been observed together in Faslane this week. After spending more than 500 days out of action following participation in CSG21, HMS Astute briefly put to sea in July. The newest boat, HMS Anson arrived at Faslane for the first time in February and it might be expected she would be operational with sea trials and workup complete but neither she nor HMS Artful appear to have been active for several months. HMS Ambush has been inactive for more than a year.
Continues at - https://www.navylookout.com/why-are-no- ... es-at-sea/

[Note links to othe submarine related articles at foot.]

[Pelican]

Sir Humphrey ~ "A very powerful article noting that every Royal Navy nuclear attack submarine is currently in port.

The force works extremely hard, and it is summer leave period, but it is definitely unusual to see all SSN hulls in port at the same time."

Why are no Royal Navy attack submarines at sea?

Through open-source observations, it is clear that none of the Royal Navy’s six commissioned SSNs are at sea at the time of writing. As part of normal maintenance cycles several boats could be expected to be in harbour but it is unusual for the entire force to be alongside.


HMS Triumph recently returned to Devonport following a patrol lasting more than 3 months, most likely in the Eastern Mediterranean. Previously HMS Audacious spent 403 days away from the UK, mostly in the same region (crew were rotated during the deployment), arriving at Devonport in March 2023. The patrols were likely demanding, extremely helpful to the NATO cause and the crews should be congratulated. Unfortunately, as Admiral Radakin admitted to the Defence Select Committee on 5th July, Audacious is now stuck alongside at Devonport pending maintenance because a suitable dry dock is not available.

It is difficult to account for the exact status of the other 4 boats as this kind of information is not in the public domain but HMS Astute, Ambush, Artful and Anson have all been observed together in Faslane this week. After spending more than 500 days out of action following participation in CSG21, HMS Astute briefly put to sea in July. The newest boat, HMS Anson arrived at Faslane for the first time in February and it might be expected she would be operational with sea trials and workup complete but neither she nor HMS Artful appear to have been active for several months. HMS Ambush has been inactive for more than a year.
Continues at - https://www.navylookout.com/why-are-no- ... es-at-sea/

[Note links to othe submarine related articles at foot.]

Pinstripedline article on why this is not a cause for concern and why long term availability matters more than short term 'surges' to impress Internet Admirals.
See - https://thinpinstripedline.blogspot.com ... t-sea.html

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HMS Audacious alongside in Devonport since April awaiting maintenance pending available dry dock.

See - https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/ ... 3960119520

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Divers and engineers recognised after complex repair to HMS Audacious

Royal Navy divers and submariners were commended for their ingenuity for overcoming engineering challenges that kept a hunter-killer submarine on vital national tasking for an extra six months.

Marine engineers and Charlie Squadron of the Diving and Threat Exploitation Group made complex underwater repairs – that usually need a dry dock – to HMS Audacious during the boat’s historic 11-month patrol of the Mediterranean.

For their skill and effort working inside partially flooded ballast tanks – the critical source of buoyancy keeping the submarine afloat – they received the prestigious Churchill Medal Award from The Institution of Engineering and Technology.

The Churchill Medal Award is the most prestigious award for engineering and innovation in the Armed Forces and MOD and is awarded every year on behalf of the Joint Professional Engineering Institutions.

The advanced hunter-killer submarine was on operations away from her base on the Clyde two days short of a year, making it the longest ever deployment of any of the Astute-class submarines.

Defects are commonplace during any deployment, but 3,000 miles from home and on rigorous national tasking – in response to Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine – there was an extra burden on the engineering department.

The scale and intricacy of the repair had only ever previously been attempted in a dry dock in the UK but, given the importance of Audacious’ mission in the Med, it was unacceptable for the boat to be unavailable.

The team developed highly sophisticated ways of working, allowing divers and the boat’s engineers to enter the cramped main ballast tanks and make repairs on the mechanism that sits just above the waterline, has no natural ventilation or lighting and has a maximum of one metre headroom.

It took the team 19 days to complete the repair, with Audacious able to continue her deployment in the Med for another six months because of their work.

Continues, including photos, at:
https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... B-L3Ol-SEM

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Navy Lookout

A dismal state of affairs ...

HMS Audacious (Only commissioned in Sept 2021) continues her long wait for a dry dock in Devonport.

See - https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/ ... 1885542430

[Pelican]

Agamemnon uses the forge as new submarine bonds with the steel city

There’s a formal bond between Britain’s newest nuclear submarine and the steel city of Sheffield.
HMS Agamemnon – No.6 of seven Astute-class hunter-killer boats built for the Royal Navy Submarine Service – has shaken hands with Sheffield Forgemasters, which traces its history back to before Nelson, signing a Bond of Friendship.

The South Yorkshire firm, which was nationalised two years ago, is a heavy engineering specialist, designing and manufacturing high-integrity forgings and castings for the world’s most complex engineering challenges… including Astute-class submarines (which have been compared with the Space Shuttle in terms of complexity).

Continues at - https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... steel-city