Royal Navy Submarines

The Royal Navy Submarine Service is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. It is sometimes known as the Silent Service (Motto “we come unseen”). The Royal Navy’s Submarine Service began in 1901 with the launch of the first modern submarine HMS Holland 1. This modern submarine is credited to John Phillip Holland, and became a reality near the end of the 19th century. Holland was the first person to combine an electric motor, an electric battery, and an internal combustion engine in a completely modern submarine. Up until this time, the Royal Navy had made it clear that submarine development was not a priority. With this technological advancement, however, the Admiralty could not ignore submarines any longer. The Royal Navy ordered five Hollands to test them. The Admiralty had previously considered submarine warfare to be underhanded and “un-English.” But watching the Hollands sink four warships in a test exercise convinced the Admiralty of their effectiveness. Submarines were developed starting with the Hollands and continuing through A to D classes. The final D-class submarines had decking and deck guns.

Late in World War I, the Royal Navy introduced the large K-class submarines. In order to be fast enough to operate alongside the battlefleet, they used steam propulsion while surfaced. At the start of World War II, the Royal Navy had 60 submarines with another nine under construction. In the Mediterranean (during the Siege of Malta), British U-class submarines began operations against Italy as early as January 1941. Larger submarines began operations in 1940, but after 50% losses per mission, they were withdrawn. Until U-class vessels could be made available in numbers, British T-class submarines were used. The submarine force was cut back after the end of the war.

The first British nuclear-powered submarine Dreadnought was launched in 1960, based around a U.S.-built nuclear reactor. The Resolution class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) were introduced and were later replaced by the Vanguard class submarines and the Trident missile system from 1994. HMS Conqueror made history in 1982 during the Falklands War when she became the first nuclear-powered submarine to sink a surface ship, the General Belgrano.

At the end of the Cold War in 1989 the fleet consists of 30 submarines, which were grouped into four squadrons (First, Second, Third, and Tenth (SSBN)) at three bases. During Operation Veritas, the attack on Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces following the September 11 attacks in the United States,Trafalgar was the first Royal Navy submarine to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles against targets in Afghanistan.

Today The Submarine Service consists of two classes of Fleet submarines and one class of Ballistic Missile submarines. There are seven fleet submarines on active duty – five Trafalgar class submarines and two Astute class submarines. They are all nuclear submarines and are classified as SSNs. The Fleet submarines are sometimes referred to as attack or hunter-killer vessels.

Pre-First World War

In the early 20th century, many Royal Navy admirals dismissed submarines as worthless and dishonorable compared to traditional surface ships. Submariners were often looked down upon by their surface fleet counterparts. However, some forward-thinking leaders, like Admiral Sir John Fisher, recognized submarines’ potential as powerful weapons. Despite resistance, Britain began building submarines before World War I.

Early submariners, including Lieutenant Forster D. Arnold-Forster, were sometimes motivated more by opportunity and pay than enthusiasm. The submariners proved their value through exercises demonstrating their ability to stealthily attack battleships. Service in these early submarines was dangerous, with a high casualty rate due to accidents and mishaps. By 1914, 90 ratings and 18 officers had died in submarine service.

Winston Churchill later praised submariners for their devotion and bravery in facing such perilous conditions.

First World War

t the outbreak of World War I, battleship admirals underestimated submarines, seeing them as limited to defensive roles near home ports due to their small size, limited range, and weak firepower. However, British submarines quickly proved their worth with daring operations in areas like the Baltic and the Dardanelles, disrupting enemy trade and warships. Lieutenant Norman Holbrook famously earned the Victoria Cross for sinking a Turkish battleship with his aging submarine B11, despite harsh and toxic conditions onboard.

Like the Germans with their U-boats in the Atlantic, the British used submarines to try to break the stalemate on the Western Front but fell short of the strategic breakthrough they hoped for. Nevertheless, by war’s end, submarines had made such a significant impact that they sparked widespread fear and calls in the 1920s to ban them entirely, largely due to the Germans’ aggressive unrestricted submarine warfare.

Inter War Years

During the interwar years, British submarines and their crews continued their work despite the dangers. The First World War had already seen heavy losses, with 58 submarines lost and over 1,100 personnel killed. The peacetime period still involved significant risks, including 13 submarines lost to accidents and more than 500 deaths among submariners and shipyard workers.

This era also saw advances in submarine technology, including experimental designs like the steam-powered K-Class, which were hazardous if not properly managed, and the innovative HMS M2, which carried a small floatplane in a hangar. Tragically, HMS M2 was lost in 1932 off the Dorset coast, likely due to flooding, resulting in the loss of all 60 crew members.

Second World War

During World War II, British submariners earned more Victoria Crosses and made significant sacrifices
across the Atlantic, European waters, Indian Ocean, and Pacific. Rear Admiral Max Horton, a famed WWI submarine captain, led the service to renewed success after early heavy losses. British submarines played a
crucial role in the Mediterranean, disrupting enemy efforts to capture North Africa and the Suez Canal.

Notable heroes included Lieutenant Commander Malcolm David Wanklyn of HMS Upholder, who sank more enemy shipping than any other Allied submarine captain before his boat was lost in 1942, and Commander John
Wallace Linton of HMS Turbulent, who destroyed enemy shipping and even trains before being lost to a mine in 1943. Overall, 88 British submarines and over 3,100 men were lost during the war.

S (Safari) class

T (Tempest) class

U (Umpire) class – 1939 batch (12)

P611 class

The Oruç Reis-class submarines were ordered by the Turkish Navy from the British company Vickers in 1939. They were similar to the British S-class submarines, but slightly smaller. The four boats were requisitioned by the Royal Navy on the outbreak of World War II and fought in the British fleet as the P611 class.

United States R class

The R-class submarines were a class of United States Navy coastal-defense submarines active from 1918 until 1945.A total of 27 were build, three (R-3, R-17, and R-19) were transferred to the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy as HMS P.511, HMS P.512, and HMS P.514 in 1941-1942.

U (Uproar) class

V (Vampire) class

To mid 1950’s

Amphion class

Explorer class

Stickleback class

Foreign built

Late 1950’s till present

Starting the 20th century as small, vulnerable vessels, submarines evolved dramatically during the Cold War into powerful nuclear-armed hunters and strategic deterrents. The UK’s first nuclear submarine, HMS Dreadnought, marked this transformation, while diesel-electric subs still performed vital close-range roles. The Royal Navy’s nuclear ballistic missile submarines provided a key deterrent from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s.

Although the Cold War never turned “hot,” submariners faced sacrifices, including long separations and accidents that claimed hundreds of lives. The only combat use of a nuclear submarine was HMS Conqueror’s sinking of the Argentine cruiser Belgrano during the Falklands War.

Post-Cold War, submarines adapted to new roles, using cruise missiles like the Tomahawk for precision strikes against terrorist and rogue state targets, and continuing covert surveillance and anti-piracy missions. Russian submarine activity has increased recently, prompting continued development of advanced nuclear and conventional submarines worldwide.

The UK, along with allies through the AUKUS alliance, is building new classes of submarines, including the massive Dreadnought-class nuclear deterrent subs, continuing the legacy begun over a century ago with small, early boats like HMS Holland I. Throughout, the human commitment to the secretive and hazardous submarine service remains vital.

Porpoise class

Oberon class

HMS Dreadnought

Valiant and Resolution class

Churchill class

Swiftsure class

Trafalgar class

Upholder class

Vanguard class

Astute class

Dreadnought class

References:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_submarines_of_the_Royal_Navy