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Fleet Submarines
HMS Triumph

HMS Triumph

HMS Triumph is the latest and most capable Trafalgar-Class submarine. HMS Triumph is the last of seven Trafalgar-class submarines, and in March 2011 was prominent in Operation Ellamy in Libya, firing the first shots of Britain’s involvement in the shape of cruise missile strikes from the Mediterranean. She is the tenth RN warship (and the second submarine) to bear that name, the first being a 58-gun galleon launched in 1562.

 

She was launched by VSEL in Barrow in 1991 and is based in Devonport. The Fleet Submarine can stay at sea unsupported for up to three months, and is very versatile, able to fill a variety of roles from tactical strike to fleet protection to intelligence gathering.

She is equipped with both cruise missiles and Spearfish torpedoes, giving her a far-reaching offensive capability.

She has a typical complement of 120–130 personnel, of which up to 20 will be officers.

COMMANDING OFFICER

Rob Dunn

Cdr Rob Dunn RN
RANK:
Commander
JOINED:
1984
SPECIALISATION:
Warfare
PREVIOUS UNITS:
HMS Smiter, HMS Turbulent
Military experience

Commander Rob Dunn was educated at the Royal Hospital School and Lawrence Sheriff School Rugby. Initially he joined the Police Force before eventually following the family tradition by joining the Royal Navy in 1984.

A submariner, like his grandfather, he has served in an assortment of surface ships and submarines including diesel electric, nuclear powered fast attack and strategic ballistic missile submarines conducting several exciting operational and deterrent patrols. As a Lieutenant he commanded HMS Smiter and Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities Royal Naval Unit.

On completion of the Submarine Command Course in 1999, he became the Second-in-Command of HMS Turbulent during which time the submarine completed a strenuous operational programme gaining CINCFLEET's Commendation for operations; and for the last 5 months onboard he assumed command. There followed an appointment as the Military Assistant to the Chief of Staff of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Belgium. In 2003 he attended the Advanced Command and Staff Course, gaining an MA in Defence Studies.

On promotion to Commander in 2004 he took up an appointment in the UK's Permanent Joint Headquarters where he was the lead planner for EU and NATO operations including the Balkans as well as being the maritime specialist for UK operations in the Gulf region. He returned to his specialization in 2007 when he commanded the Royal Navy Submarine School. After a brief secondment to Navy Command Headquarters for a far-reaching manpower study, he then completed another demanding submarine operational deployment as the command advisor. Commander Dunn assumed command of HMS Triumph in August 2009 to bring her back into service after an extensive period of refit.


LATEST NEWS

 

TOP STORIES

Brigadier General Khalifa bin Abdulla Al Khalifa
Commander of the Royal Bahrain Naval Force visits HMS Triumph
24 May 2012

Brigadier General Khalifa bin Abdulla Al Khalifa – Commander of...

Military personnel involved in Operation Ellamy parade in London
Sailors cheered in London as MPs thank them for their deeds in Libya
25 April 2012

Four dozen sailors joined their RAF and Army comrades on...

The Crown Prince of Bahrain visits RN vessels
The Crown Prince of Bahrain visits HMS Triumph and RFA Diligence
30 December 2011

The Crown Prince of Bahrain, HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad...

The Wessexes visit RN and RFA personnel in Bahrain
Sailors in Bahrain enjoy Royal visit
29 December 2011

The Earl and Countess of Wessex visited Royal Navy and...

view all news

ABOUT THE UNIT

KEY STATISTICS


Pennant

S93

Displacement (Dived)

5,298Tonnes

Displacement (Surfaced)

4,740Tonnes

Complement

130Personnel

Length

85.4Metres

Beam

9.8Metres

Draught

9.5Metres

Top Speed

32Knots

Number of Officers

18

Launch Date

16/02/91

Commissioned Date

12/10/91

TAKE A LOOK

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UNITS IN TIME


HMS Triumph HISTORY

TRACK THE HISTORY OF SHIPS NAMED HMS Triumph
  • The First HMS Triumph

    The first Triumph was laid down in Deptford in 1561 and was launched in October 1562. A 68-gun galleon, with a nominal burden of 1,000 tons, she was claimed to be the largest ship built in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. This first Triumph served to great effect as the flagship of Vice-Admiral Martin Frobisher during the Battle of the Spanish Armada in 1588. She was rebuilt in 1595-96, and served until 1618, when she was broken up.

  • The Second HMS Triumph

    Like her predecessor, the second Triumph was built in Deptford and launched in 1623. While she was initially a 44-gun Great Ship (better known as a Second Rate), she underwent numerous refits which saw her increase in size. This HMS Triumph was the most decorated of all her namesakes; she figured prominently in the Anglo-Dutch wars and was awarded ten battle honours during her distinguished 65-year service. She was finally sold in 1688 with an extra deck and a total of 72 guns.

  • The Third HMS Triumph

    Also a Second Rate Ship, the third HMS Triumph was built with 90 guns and launched at Chatham Dockyard. She was renamed HMS Prince in 1714 and then remained in service for most of the century before being broken up in 1773. It was during this time and under this new name that she saw her only major action, participating in the Battle of Lagos in 1759.

  • The Fourth HMS Triumph

    The fourth Triumph was a Spanish 18-gun sloop Triunfo, captured on November 23 1739 at Puerto Bello. She foundered in 1740 less than a year after her capture.

  • The Fifth HMS Triumph

    The fifth HMS Triumph’s was built in Woolwich in 1764 and spent 49 years of her 86 year commission at sea. She was the second of the Valiant Class – a new class of ship for the Royal Navy having been based on a captured French Frigate. They were longer and more heavily armed than other 74 gun Third Rate Class ships of the time. This design proved itself in the two main battles in which she participated – Camperdown and Cape Finisterre.

  • The Sixth HMS Triumph

    In 1860 a new ship was laid down in 1860 in Pembroke Dock that was to be named HMS Triumph. However, when Prince Albert died in December 1861 it was renamed HMS Prince Consort in memorial. The name was used again nine years later as the second of the two Swiftsure-class battleships, built by Palmers on the Tyne, was named HMS Triumph. Built with retractable propellers for better performance undfer saiil – and this small class was renowned for its sailing qualities – these ships were designed and built specifically to serve as flagships on distant stations, primarily with the Pacific Squadron. HMS Triumph served in this post between 1877 to 1882 and again from 1885 to 1888. Following this foreign service she acted as a reserve vessel until being disarmed and removed of all machinery to act as a training vessel under the name of HMS Tenedos. She was later to act as a hulk, and take the names Indus IV and Algiers, before she was sold for breaking at Sunderland in 1921.

  • The Seventh HMS Triumph

    This ship was one of two British-built battleships ordered by Chile in 1902 as the Libertad in preparation for a potential war with Argentina. When the Argentine threat did not materialise they put them up for sale in order to ease a financial crisis. To prevent the Russians buying them they were bought by the Royal Navy and the second of the class was named HMS Triumph. Having been designed for a different Navy this Triumph was lightly armed and armoured compared to standard Royal Naval warships of the time. Purchased solely to deny her acquisition by other navies, the seventh Triumph – an 11,800-ton ‘lightweight’ battleship – did not match Admiralty standards in many ways and could not form part of the line of battle. Furthermore, like all pre-dreadnoughts, she was made obsolete by the revolutionary new design of HMS Dreadnought in 1906. She nonetheless had a useful and eventful career, playing an active role in British operations on foreign stations during the First World War until her loss as part of the Dardanelles Campaign in 1915. She was one of the first battleships to enter the Turkish Straits in February and served with distinction until her loss at Gaba Tepe on May 25 1915 when she was torpedoed by enemy submarine U-21.

  • The Eighth HMS Triumph

    One of 53 T-class submarines built for service during World War 2, the eighth HMS Triumph initially served in the North Sea before hitting a German mine on Boxing Day 1939 just nine months after being commissioned. Under protection from fighter aircraft and escorted by several destroyers, HMS Triumph managed to limp home and by September 1940 was repaired and ready for action in the Mediterranean and as part of the Malta Convoys. In this time she sank or damaged 22 enemy vessels including the Italian submarine Salpa, dispatched by a torpedo after a long surface gun duel. She was also heavily utilised in the deployment of Special Forces and covert operations and successfully carried out this role in December 1941 when she landed agents in Greece. This was the last known whereabouts of HMS Triumph and it is believed she struck a mine in January 1942, sinking with the loss of all hands.

  • The Ninth HMS Triumph

    The ninth HMS Triumph was a 13,350-ton Colossus-class aircraft carrier, built by Hawthorn Leslie and launched on November 2 1944, though she commissioned shortly after hostilities ended. The Collossus-class emerged as an expedient solution to a critical shortage of combat aircraft carriers, a need which became apparent after the loss of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse to Japanese air attack during the Fall of Singapore. Based on an existing carrier design, the Colossus-class was reduced in size and intended to be available within two years. In 1950 she was en route to Japan when hostilities broke out in Korea. In the early part of the war she was the only Royal Naval carrier in the Far East and played a key role; she flew hundreds of combat air patrols to great effect. She was finally relieved by one of her sister ships, HMS Theseus, in September 1950. Following her Korean service she acted as a cadet training ship, as a trials platform for a new type of flight deck and a heavy repair shipbefore being scrapped in Spain in 1981.

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The engineering branch includes weapons  marine and air engineering. Marine Engineers manage the repair and maintenance of the ships electrical and mechanical systems alongside and at sea.  Later in your career you will become involved in the procurement and building...
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Marine Engineering Grad Entry

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