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Crew take final look at old S-boat before submarine dismantling programme begins
22 October 2024
Cold War warriors were invited to look around veteran submarine HMS Swiftsure before breakers set to work on her.
More than 40 veterans were invited to Rosyth for one last look at the retired hunter-killer – the first of the Navy’s unwanted old nuclear-powered boats to be chopped up in a complex operation – before the cutters moved in.
Despite the passage of time – Swiftsure was withdrawn from service in 1992 – there were still reminders of her active service and life aboard.
Former crew were astonished to find bunk plans – detailing who slept where – still posted in the messes and other mementos of Swiftsure’s active days.
Some described her as “a time capsule”. All veterans found the return was a bittersweet occasion: good times came flooding back, as did memories of shipmates no longer with us.
All told Chris Carpenter, Head of Submarine Disposal and Devonport Infrastructure, that the final chance to see the boat had been “very emotional”.
Mr Carpenter thanked the veterans not only for making the pilgrimage to the Babcock facility at Rosyth, but also for their service.
“Let me say how grateful I and my colleagues are for your service in keeping us safe - to the Silent Service.
“I wonder how many memories have been recalled: operations under the ice, crossings of the Equator, activities in each of the globe’s oceans, whether rolling uncomfortably at 400m, or drifting tensely in the adversaries’ baffles.
“Whether you served on the longest continuous surveillance operation, or on the well-publicised Kiev recordings, I see your pride today. Your nerve, skill and determination set examples for us as valid today as they were then.”
The lessons learned from Swiftsure will be applied to the remaining laid-up fleet, ensuring all future boats are safely and efficiently recycled with cost savings where possible applied.
The ‘Kiev recordings’ – capturing the sound signature of the flagship of the Red Fleet with the submarine’s periscope just 10ft below the aircraft carrier’s keel – is one of the few publicised highlights of Swiftsure’s 19-year career, almost all of it played out at the height of the Cold War.
Her career came to an end in 1992 (the last boat in her class, HMS Sceptre came out of service in 2010).
She is one of more than 20 decommissioned nuclear boats – mostly hunter-killers, but also all four first-generation deterrent submarines which paid off in the 1990s – awaiting recycling either in Rosyth or Devonport under the MOD’s complex, multi-phase Submarine Dismantling Project.
Swiftsure has been docked down in Rosyth since July last year in preparation for her dismantling.
Her breaking up will serve as a blueprint for dismantling the rest of the decommissioned boats.
With the reactor/fuel long since removed as well as any sections of the boat/fittings containing low-level radioactive waste dealt with, Rear Admiral JJ Bailey, Director Submarine Support, said the main task could begin.
“More than 90 per cent will be recycled and the project paves the way for the recycling of other laid up submarines,” he added.
“The lessons learned from Swiftsure will be applied to the remaining laid-up fleet, ensuring all future boats are safely and efficiently recycled with cost savings where possible applied.”
Dismantling Swiftsure is due to be completed by the end of 2026. What materials from her which cannot be repurposed will undergo conventional recycling.