HMS Repulse (S23)
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| 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: |
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| 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) |
HMS Repulse (S23) was a Resolution-class ballistic missile submarine of the Royal Navy.
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 commissioned on 28 September 1968.[2] She was the last of her class remaining in service with the navy, decommissioning in 1996.
Repulse was the third Polaris Missile submarine of the Resolution class to be planned; HMS Renown was the second. Due to delays with Renown's build at Cammell Laird's Birkenhead shipyard, the Barrow-in-Furness Vickers built Repulse overtook Renown and was commissioned second of class. Repulse famously ran aground on launch, much to the delight of the CND protesters and was subsequently "blacked" by the shipyard unions. She survived all of these setbacks to become the longest-serving Polaris submarine.
References
- 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, USA: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
External links
- Peter Hitchens in the UK Daily Mail reminisces about a trip in HMS Repulse
- Submariners Association Barrow-in-Furness Branch