HMS Splendid (S106)
HMS Splendid pictured off HMNB Clyde in March 1995
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| History | |
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 United Kingdom
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| Name: | HMS Splendid (ex Severn) |
| Operator: | Royal Navy |
| Ordered: | 26 May 1976 |
| Builder: | Vickers |
| Laid down: | 23 November 1977 |
| Launched: | 5 October 1979 |
| Commissioned: | 21 March 1981 |
| Decommissioned: | 2004 |
| Motto: | Splendidly Audacious |
| Status: | Awaiting Disposal |
| Badge: |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Swiftsure-class submarine |
| Displacement: | 4,900 tonnes (dived) |
| Length: | 82.9 m (272 ft 0 in) |
| Beam: | 9.8 m (32 ft 2 in) |
| Draught: | 8.5 m (27 ft 11 in) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | In excess of 20 knots (37 km/h), dived |
| Complement: | 116 officers and men |
| Armament: |
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HMS Splendid was a Royal Navy nuclear-powered fleet submarine of the Swiftsure class. From her launch in 1979 she took part in many conflicts involving British forces around the globe and was decommissioned in 2004.
HMS Splendid was ordered on 26 May 1976 as the sixth and last submarine of the Swiftsure class. The submarine was laid down at Vickers Shipbuilding Groups Barrow-in-Furness shipyard on 23 November 1977 and was launched on 5 October 1979 by Lady Eberle, wife of Admiral Sir James Eberle, then Commander-in-Chief Fleet.Splendid commissioned on 21 March 1981 under the command of Commander R. C. Lane-Nott.
Her first major conflict came in 1982 during the Falklands War when Argentinian forces invaded the British-held Falkland Islands. Splendid was one of the first submarines to reach the islands, arriving mid-April, after sailing from Faslane. Unlike HMS Conqueror, Splendid did not directly engage Argentinian forces, however she shadowed the Argentine aircraft carrier 25 de Mayo, with Splendid running within a mile outside of the Argentinian territorial line, 12 miles (19 km) off its Atlantic coast. The captain of Splendid made the bold and disputable claim, that running on the edge of the exclusion zone around the Falklands, declared by the UK government, he had the right in international law and approval from the British PM, to fire at 25 de Mayo, a couple of miles away within Argentine waters, and would have fired MK 8 torpedoes at 25 de Mayo, if he had confirmed his precise position. But just at the moment, he lost sight through the periscope of the carrier and was not immediately able to regain contact. The Naval Commander of the task force, Admiral Sandy Woodward, does not appear to be entirely clear, that Splendid had the right to fire, but says he established, against his prior view, that Splendid had orders to engage and approval of the PM.Splendid did however provide valuable reconnaissance to the British Task Force on Argentine aircraft movements. Splendid's presence along with Conqueror effectively restricted the freedom of action of the Argentine Navy, which spent most of the war confined to port.
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Wikipedia