Construction of the boat began on 18 September 1970. She was launched on 17 February 1973 and commissioned on 11 July 1974.
Operational historyedit
In 1976, Sovereign played a role in Operation Brisk; the submarine surfaced at the geographical North Pole on 20 October 1976 as part of the exercise, testing navigational systems and equipment performance in low temperatures.
HMS Sovereign actually surfaced on 21 October 1976 about halfway between the Geographic North Pole and the northern tip of Ellesmere island. Brisk was a coordinated operation between the Royal Navy and the Canadian Forces Maritime Proving & Evaluation Unit (MP&EU) from CFB Summerside, Prince Edward Island. MP&EU was in a six-year project of evaluating airborne remote sensing devices including a SLAR, ILRS and a Laser Profilometer which were all used to do imaging during Sovereign's through-ice surfacing.
Sovereign underwent an extensive refit in the mid-1990s and was rededicated in January 1997. Cracks were discovered in the tailshaft during post-refit sea trials and she was sent to Rosyth for 14 weeks of emergency repairs in June 1998 before returning to Faslane.
Sovereign was used for the "Perisher" Submarine Command Course in June 1999 as well as other training cruises. She was part of the NATOexercise Linked Seas in May 2000, operating in the Bay of Biscay.
In the early 2000s, Sovereign was out of service for some time due to reactor problems, a fault she shared in common with others of her class. Although she was back in full service by July 2005, the submarine was decommissioned as of September 2006.
Referencesedit
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sovereign, s108, other, ships, with, same, name, sovereign, seas, royal, sovereign, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed,. For other ships with the same name see Sovereign of the Seas and HMS Royal Sovereign This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources HMS Sovereign S108 news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2017 Learn how and when to remove this message HMS Sovereign was a Swiftsure class nuclear powered fleet submarine of the Royal Navy History United Kingdom NameSovereign Ordered16 March 1969 BuilderVickers Laid down18 September 1970 Launched17 February 1973 Commissioned11 July 1974 Decommissioned12 September 2006 IdentificationPennant number S108 FatePaid off Badge General characteristics Class and typeSwiftsure class submarine Displacement4 900 tonnes dived Length82 9 m 272 ft 0 in Beam9 8 m 32 ft 2 in Draught8 5 m 27 ft 11 in SpeedOver 20 knots 37 km h 23 mph dived Complement116 Armament5 21 in 533 mm torpedo tubes Spearfish torpedoes RN Sub Harpoon missiles Tomahawk cruise missilesConstruction editConstruction of the boat began on 18 September 1970 She was launched on 17 February 1973 and commissioned on 11 July 1974 Operational history editIn 1976 Sovereign played a role in Operation Brisk the submarine surfaced at the geographical North Pole on 20 October 1976 as part of the exercise testing navigational systems and equipment performance in low temperatures HMS Sovereign actually surfaced on 21 October 1976 about halfway between the Geographic North Pole and the northern tip of Ellesmere island Brisk was a coordinated operation between the Royal Navy and the Canadian Forces Maritime Proving amp Evaluation Unit MP amp EU from CFB Summerside Prince Edward Island MP amp EU was in a six year project of evaluating airborne remote sensing devices including a SLAR ILRS and a Laser Profilometer which were all used to do imaging during Sovereign s through ice surfacing Sovereign underwent an extensive refit in the mid 1990s and was rededicated in January 1997 Cracks were discovered in the tailshaft during post refit sea trials and she was sent to Rosyth for 14 weeks of emergency repairs in June 1998 before returning to Faslane Sovereign was used for the Perisher Submarine Command Course in June 1999 as well as other training cruises She was part of the NATO exercise Linked Seas in May 2000 operating in the Bay of Biscay In the early 2000s Sovereign was out of service for some time due to reactor problems a fault she shared in common with others of her class Although she was back in full service by July 2005 the submarine was decommissioned as of September 2006 References editThis article about a specific naval submarine of the United Kingdom is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title HMS Sovereign S108 amp oldid 1184006593, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
