 HMS Churchill (S46) nuclear submarine at sea
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Churchill |
| Namesake | Winston Churchill |
| Ordered | 21 October 1965 |
| Laid down | 30 June 1967 |
| Launched | 20 December 1968 |
| Commissioned | 15 July 1970 |
| Decommissioned | 28 February 1991 |
| Fate | Awaiting disposal |
| Badge |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Churchill-class submarine |
| Displacement | 4,900 tonnes (4,823 long tons) submerged |
| Length | 86.9 m (285 ft 1 in) |
| Beam | 10.1 m (33 ft 2 in) |
| Draught | 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in) |
| Propulsion | 1 Rolls-Royce PWR nuclear reactor, 1 shaft |
| Speed | 28 knots (32 mph; 52 km/h) submerged |
| Complement | 103 |
| Armament |
|
HMS Churchill was the first of three Churchill-class submarine nuclear fleet submarines that served with the Royal Navy.
Construction
Churchill, the Royal Navy's fourth nuclear-powered fleet submarine was ordered on 21 October 1965, and was laid down at Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited (VSEL)'s Barrow-in-Furness shipyard on 30 June 1967. The submarine was launched by Mary Soames, Winston Churchill's youngest daughter, on 20 December 1968 and commissioned on 15 July 1970.[1][2]
Propulsion
Churchill was chosen to trial the first full-size submarine pump jet propulsion. Trials of a high-speed unit were followed by further trials with a low-speed unit, and these were successful enough for the same propulsion to be fitted in the rest of the class.[3] Later British submarine classes also featured the pump jet, although first-of-class vessels Swiftsure and Trafalgar were fitted with propellers at build.
Citations
- ^ Blackman 1971, p. 336.
- ^ Hillbeck, Ian W. (1997). "Boat Database: Churchill (S46)". Submariner's Associated: Barrow-in-Furness Branch. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- ^ Bud, Robert; Gummett, Philip (2002). Cold war, hot science: applied research in Britain's defence laboratories, 1945-1990. NMSI Trading Ltd. p. 166. ISBN 978-1-900747-47-9.
References
- Blackman, Raymond V. B., ed. (1971). Jane's Fighting Ships 1971–72. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co., Ltd. ISBN 0-354-00096-9.
External links
- http://www.hmschurchill.co.uk Archived 17 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- Film of Churchill's launch- Imperial War Museum
This page was last edited on 7 November 2023, at 20:58