HMS Superb (S109)

HMS "Superb" (S109) is a nuclear powered fleet submarine of the Swiftsure class serving in the Royal Navy.

She was built by Vickers Shipbuilding Groups, now a division of BAE Systems Submarine Solutions. HMS "Superb" was launched on 30 November 1974 at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 13 November 1976. After being damaged in May 2008 in the Red Sea, she returned to Devonport where she was decommissioned slightly ahead of schedule on 26 September 2008.

Operations

She was the first British submarine to visit the Arctic Ocean and sail under the polar ice caps.

During the Falklands War, "Superb" was spotted sailing from Gibraltar, which prompted press speculation that she was sailing to the South Atlantic to enforce a maritime exclusion zone. In fact, only HMS "Spartan" was sailing south at that time but the speculation was useful to promote the apparent threat of the Royal Navy in the South Atlantic and was not corrected by the Navy or MoD.

In support of the war against terror in 2001, HMS "Superb" operated in the Indian Ocean.

In 2007, "Superb" successfully completed training manoeuvres off the Scottish coast, engaging with HMS "Daring", a brand new Type 45 destroyer. [ [http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.9979 News : HMS Superb : Swiftsure Class : Fleet Submarines (SSN) : Submarine Service : Operations and Support : Royal Navy ] ]

In January 2008 a sentry was found sleeping while on watch, the reprimand to the crew was caught on video. [cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7432732.stm |title=MoD acts over submarine incident |publisher=BBC |date=2008-06-03 |accessdate=2008-06-03] .

On 26 May 2008, the "Superb" hit an underwater pinnacle in the Red Sea, 80 miles south of the Suez Canal. She remained watertight, and none of the 112 crew were injured, however she was unable to resubmerge due to damage to her sonar. [cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7422774.stm |title=UK submarine hits Red Sea rocks |publisher=BBC |date=2008-05-27 |accessdate=2008-05-27] After undertaking initial repairs at the Souda Bay NATO base on Crete on 10 June 2008, she passed through the Mediterranean, with a pause (at night) some miles off Gibraltar to disembark some less critical crew. "Superb" then continued back to the UK, arriving at Devonport Dockyard on 28 June 2008. After surveying the damage, the Royal Navy decided to decommission the "Superb" slightly ahead of schedule on 26 September 2008. [cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/7638229.stm |title=Superb submarine's final service |publisher=BBC |date=2008-09-26 |accessdate=2008-09-27] [cite news |url=http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.13814/changeNav/6568 |title=Lone Piper Lament as Oldest Submarine Retires
publisher=RN |date=2008-09-26 |accessdate=2008-09-29]

Crest and Affiliations

"Superb"'s official crest depicts a heraldic lion with an anchor superimposed. This was the family crest of Sir Richard Keats who commanded a previous vessel of the name during the Napoleonic wars. However, throughout the Navy she is known as "Super B", and there is an unofficial crest depicting a superhero bumblebee.

"Superb" is affiliated with The Royal Dragoon Guards.

References

External links

* [http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.00h001003002002004 The Royal Navy's HMS "Superb" page]