HMS Warspite (S103)

The latest HMS "Warspite" was the third of Britain's nuclear-powered submarines, and the second (and final) of the "Valiant" class. She was launched on 25 September 1965 by the wife of the then British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, and entered service 18 April 1967.

In October 1968, "Warspite" collided Fact|date=September 2008 with a Russian Fact|date=September 2008 Echo 2 submarine Fact|date=September 2008 it had been shadowing Fact|date=September 2008 in the Barents Sea Fact|date=September 2008, causing serious damage to its large central fin. The cover story Fact|date=September 2008, put out in "The Times" of Sunday 19 October, claimed that she had in fact hit an iceberg. She made her way first to Lerwick, where a carpentry team overnight hastily erected a scaffold over the central fin and covered it with a black tarpaulin, so that on the following day, any spotter planes flying overhead would not see any apparent damage to the vessel. She was then towed to Faslane and subsequently to Barrow, to have her fin replaced with that from her sister ship, HMS|Churchill|S46|6.

"Warspite" also suffered a serious fire whilst in Liverpool, England, 2 May 1976, caused by a broken coupling spraying oil.Fact|date=September 2008 Repairs and refitting took two years.Fact|date=September 2008 She subsequently took part in the Falklands War, and was decommissioned in 1991 following the discovery of hairline cracks in the primary coolant circuit during a refit.Fact|date=September 2008 Mainly operated out of HMNB Clyde, at Faslane (the former Clyde Submarine Base) with the Third Submarine Squadron (SM3). Her hull and reactor are currently laid up afloat at Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth, Devon until facilities are available for the long term storage of her radioactive components.

Notable commanders of this vessel include the Falklands Conflict Battle Group Commander, Rear Admiral Sir John "Sandy" Woodward. Woodward went on to become the Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command and rose to the rank of Admiral.