Churchill-class submarine
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Churchill-class submarine HMS Conqueror
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Churchill class |
| Builders: | Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd |
| Operators: |
 Royal Navy
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| Preceded by: | Valiant class |
| Succeeded by: | Swiftsure class |
| In service: | 1970s - 1990s |
| Completed: | 3 |
| Retired: | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Submarine |
| Displacement: | 4,900 tonnes |
| Length: | 86.9 m (285 ft) |
| Beam: | 10.1 m (33 ft) |
| Draught: | 8.2 m (27 ft) |
| Propulsion: | One nuclear reactor, one shaft |
| Speed: | 28 knots (52 km/h) submerged |
| Range: | Unlimited, except by food supplies |
| Complement: | 103 |
| Armament: |
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The three Improved Valiant-class submarines, sometimes known as the Churchill class, were nuclear-powered fleet submarines which served with the Royal Navy from the 1970s until the early 1990s. The Churchill class was based on the older Valiant class, but featured many internal improvements.
The lead vessel was named after the former Prime Minister and First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill. HMS Conqueror was the most famous of the class, sinking the Argentinian cruiser ARA General Belgrano during the 1982 Falklands War. As of 2016[update], this is the only instance of a nuclear-powered submarine of any nation sinking an enemy ship by torpedo.
The Churchills carried a crew of 103 and had a full load displacement of 4,900 tons whilst dived. They were 86.9 metres (285 ft 1 in) long, had a beam of 10.1 metres (33 ft 2 in) and a draught of 8.2 metres (26 ft 11 in). Their single pressurized water-cooled reactor supplied steam to two English Electric geared turbines, producing a total of 20,000 shaft horsepower (15,000 kW) for the single shaft and resulting in a maximum of 28 knots (52 km/h) submerged. Like all nuclear-powered submarines the Churchill class could remain submerged almost indefinitely, with supplies of food being the only limiting factor. One Kelvin Type 1006 surface-search radar was fitted. The ships were built with a Type 2001 sonar array, but this was replaced in the late 1970s with a Type 2020 array and a Type 2026 towed array. Weapons included Mark 8 torpedoes, Mark 24 Tigerfish torpedoes, and Sub-Harpoon anti-ship missiles. Six 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes fired from the bow.
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