HMS Anson is gearing up for deployment (Picture: The Defense Post)
The Royal Navy’s latest £1,300,000,000 nuclear-powered submarine HMS Anson is getting ready for deployment after a test run in the Atlantic.
It comes more than a decade after the sub’s construction began.
The 318-foot attack sub means business – it is armed with Tomahawk land missiles and heavyweight Spearfish torpedoes.
Now the vessel is almost ready for deployment after a trial run off the US East Coast and in the Caribbean Sea, the Defense Post reports.
The Astute class submarines are set to replace the 40-year-old Trafalgar-class sub fleet(Credits: PA) (Picture: BAE Systems/PA Wire)
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Anson’s systems and weapons were put to test at the US Navy’s Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Centre near the Bahamas.
The trial was carried out to ensure the sub could hunt enemy vessels.
A stopover in the Bahamas offered a welcome change of scenery as the crew spent a few days on Andros Island, a green haven surrounded by pristine waters.
One submariner said: ‘The opportunity for the majority of the Ship’s Company to spend a few days on Andros was fantastic.
‘This afforded us a few days of rest from the sea trials we were conducting and allowed us to spend time on the beach in the sun relaxing and playing volleyball with base personnel.’
HMS Anson on land before its launch shows the scale of the vessel
The Silent Service
The Royal Navy Submarine Service boasts six fleet submarines, including HMS Anson within the Astute class, and four ballistic missile submarines of the Vanguard class. They are all nuclear-powered.
It is dubbed the Silent Service as the mysterious submarines operate undetected.
The motto of the submarine service is aptly ‘we come unseen.’
HMS Anson left a shipyard at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, in February 2023 after its commissioning in September 2022.
HMS Anson carried out tests in the US and Bahamas (Picture: Ministry of Defence)
Nuclear submarine HMS Anson
HMS Anson, an Astute-class fleet submarine, measures 318 feet in length and weighs 7,800 tonnes.
Its maximum speed is thought to be 30 knots (35mph) when submerged.
While Anson’s actual depth reach is classified, its test depth is more than 984 feet.
The sub is powered by a Rolls-Royce PWR 2 reactor and 600-kilowatt diesel generators.
Anson, named after Baron George Anson, is armed with Tomahawk Block IV cruise missiles, Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes, and six 21-inch torpedo tubes with stowage for up to 38 weapons.
The Tomahawk missiles have a range of 1,000 miles.
The sub has a capacity for up to 109 crew.
Anson’s range is unlimited it does not need to be refueled thanks to its nuclear reactor.
The nuclear reactor can purify water and air, meaning it can circumnavigate the world without resurfacing.
Its only limitation is food supply – there is enough space for three months’ supply of food for 98 officers and ratings.
HMS Anson is the fifth of the new Astute Class subs alongside HMS Astute, Ambush, Artful and Audacious.
It was built by BAE Systems Submarine Solutions, with an initial budget of £1,420,000,000.
In comparison, the Russian Navy’s submarine fleet has 58 vessels – 11 ballistic missile subs, 17 nuclear-powered attack subs, nine nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine, and 21 diesel-electric attack submarines.
The US Navy has 67 submarines.
After some time off the UK coast, it sailed north of Scotland for weapons trials, the outlet reports.
The exact start date of Anson’s service has not yet been publicly revealed.
But submarine missions come with risks and can be fatal.
HMS Affray was lost at sea on April 16, 1951, killing 75 sailors on board as the missing sub could not be found on time.
After a frantic search, its wreck was eventually located two months later 17 miles northwest of Alderney in 282 feet of water.
The most recent theory suggests the sub sank because the snort mast dropped below the surface, and the float valve failed to stop 13 tonnes of water per minute gushing into the submarine, leading it to drop to the bottom rapidly with the sailors trapped inside.
HMS Anson headed out to open sea for the first time on February 19, 2023 (Picture: James Bird/BAE Systems/PA Wire)
HMS Anson reportedly spent some time off the UK coast before heading to Scotland for tests after its launch in February last year
The site was made a controlled site in 2001, making it illegal to dive to the war grave without permission from the MoD.
In the case of an underwater emergency, the modern Royal Navy has a rescue system designed to reach sailors in stranded submarines.
Since 2004, the Royal Navy has operated the NATO Submarine Rescue System which is based in the UK.
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