Valiant-class submarine

A Valiant-class submarine
Class overview
Builders	Vickers Armstrong
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	HMS Dreadnought
Succeeded by	Churchill class
In commission	18 July 1966 – 12 August 1994
Completed	2
Retired	2
General characteristics
Type	Nuclear submarine
Displacement	4,400 long tons (4,500 t) surfaced 4,900 long tons (5,000 t) submerged
Length	285 ft (87 m)
Beam	33 ft 3 in (10.13 m)
Draught	27 ft (8.2 m)
Propulsion	1 × Rolls-Royce pressurised water reactor 2 × steam turbines 1 shaft
Speed	20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h) surfaced 29 knots (33 mph; 54 km/h) submerged
Range	Unlimited, except by food supplies
Complement	103
Armament	Originally : 6 × 21 in (533 mm) bow torpedo tubes 32 × Mark VIII and Tigerfish torpedoes or 64 × Mk.5 and Mk.6 mines Later  : 26 × torpedoes 6 × UGM-84B Harpoon Anti-ship missiles or Stonefish and Sea Urchin mines

The Valiant class were a class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines in service with the Royal Navy from the mid-1960s until 1994. They were the first fully British nuclear fleet submarine; the earlier HMS Dreadnought used an American nuclear reactor. There were only two boats in the class, the first, Valiant (the nameship) commissioned in 1966 three years after Dreadnought, and Warspite the following year. Both were built by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness.