Work starts on fifth Astute-class submarine HMS Anson

Work has begun in earnest on No.5 of the Navy’s next-generation nuclear submarines, HMS Anson.

Defence Minister Gerald Howarth officially marked the start of the principal phase of construction on the hunter-killer boat with a traditional laying of the keel – the large beam around which the hull is built – at BAE Systems’ yard in Barrow.

We say ‘traditional’, but this was a far from typical keel laying, for Anson’s keel is being laid vertically to make her construction more effective and efficient.

Mr Howarth performed the honours in the cavernous Devonshire Dock Hall – where the first four boats in the class of seven submarines have been or are being built – watched by local school children and some of the 5,000 shipwrights and engineers employed at the Cumbrian yard.

Although keel laying is regarded as the moment the submarine begins to take shape, considerable work has already been carried out on Anson; various sections of the pressure hull have already been completed and will now be pieced together.

Indeed, Mr Howarth unveiled a 190-tonne unit, some 11 metres (36ft) high and seven metres (23ft) wide. It will house ‘manoeuvring’ –the control centre for Anson’s propulsion plants, and the diesel generator module. In the words of their constructors, together they form “the electrical pulse of the submarine”. It’s also one of the most sophisticated and technically-challenging parts of the 97-metre-long (317ft) boat.

Such is the complex nature of this class of nuclear submarines – the most potent and sophisticated hunter-killer boats ordered for the RN – it will be the end of the decade before Anson is in service.

Astute herself is at Faslane undergoing trials and training, Ambush conducted her first dive in a basin at Barrow a fortnight ago and boats three (Artful) and four (Audacious) are taking shape in the dock hall.

When completed, HMS Anson, named after 18th Century Admiral of the Fleet George Anson who guided the Royal Navy through the Seven Years’ War, will displace some 7,400 tonnes, carry torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles, and offer much-improved accommodation over the Trafalgar-class boats she replaces for her 98 crew.

“The keel-laying for the fifth of seven immensely powerful Astute class boats marks another milestone in our programme to equip the Royal Navy with the most advanced nuclear submarines,” said Mr Howarth.

“It demonstrates this government’s ongoing commitment to investing in the equipment that will form the basis of the Future Force 2020."

"This exciting project is helping to maintain the skills required to build such boats in the UK and sustaining thousands of jobs.”