List of submarines of the Royal Navy

This is a list of Royal Navy submarines, arranged chronologically. Submarines that are currently active and commissioned are shown below in bold.

Pre-First World War

HMS Holland 1, the first submarine to serve in the Royal Navy

A-class submarines, the first British-designed class

• Holland class
  • Holland 1, launched: 2 October 1901, decommissioned: 5 November 1913
  • Holland 2
  • Holland 3
  • Holland 4
  • Holland 5
• A class
  • A1, launched: 9 July 1902
  • A2
  • A3
  • A4
  • A5
  • A6
  • A7
  • A8
  • A9
  • A10
  • A11
  • A12
  • A13
• B class
  • 11 boats, 1904–1906
• C class
  • 38 boats, 1906–1910

First World War

HMS G9 at Scapa Flow in 1917

HMS M2 with her sea plane

HMS Thorn

• D class
• E class
• F class
• S class
• V class
• W class
• G class
• H class
• Nautilus class
• Swordfish class
• J class
• K class
  • HMS K1
  • HMS K2
  • HMS K3
  • HMS K4
  • HMS K5
  • HMS K6
  • HMS K7
  • HMS K8
  • HMS K9
  • HMS K10
  • HMS K11
  • HMS K12
  • HMS K13
  • HMS K14
  • HMS K15
  • HMS K16
  • HMS K17
  • HMS K26
• L class
• M class
  • HMS M1
  • HMS M2
  • HMS M3
  • HMS M4
• R class

Interwar years

• HMS X1
• Odin class
• Parthian class
  • HMS Pandora (N42)
  • HMS Parthian (N75)
  • HMS Perseus (N36)
  • HMS Phoenix (N96)
  • HMS Poseidon (P99)
  • HMS Proteus (N29)
• Rainbow class
• S (Swordfish) class
• River or Thames class
  • HMS Thames (N71)
  • HMS Severn (N57)
  • HMS Clyde (N12)
• Grampus class
• T (Triton) class
• U (Undine) class

Second World War

HMS Alliance at Gosport (where she is now part of the submarine museum) in 1987

HMS Voracious in 1945

• S (safari) class (War Emergency Programme)
• T (Tempest) class (War Emergency Programme)
• U (Umpire) class (War Emergency Programme)
• P611 class
  • HMS P611
  • HMS P612
  • HMS P614
  • HMS P615
• United States R-class submarine
  • HMS P511
  • HMS P512
  • HMS P514
• U (Uproar) class
• V (Vampire) class

Cold War

To mid-1950s

• Amphion class
  • Amphion (P439/S39/S43) (laid down as Anchorite but name changed before launch)
  • Astute (P447/S47/S45)
  • Auriga (P419/S19/S69)
  • Aurochs (P426/S26/S62)
  • Alcide (P415/S15/S65)
  • Alderney (P416/S16/S66)
  • Alliance (P417/S17/S67)
  • Ambush (P418/S18/S68)
  • Anchorite (P422/S22/S64)
  • Andrew (P423/S23/S63)
  • Affray (P421)
  • Aeneas (P427/S27/S72/SSG72)
  • Alaric (P441/S41)
  • Artemis (P449/S39/S49)
  • Artful (P456/S56/S96)
  • Acheron (P411/S11/S61)
  • Ace (P414)
  • Achates (P433)
• Explorer class
  • HMS Explorer
  • HMS Excalibur
• Stickleback class (midget submarines)
  • X51 Stickleback
  • X52 Shrimp
  • X53 Sprat
  • X54 Minnow
• Foreign Built
  • Graph (P715) – German Type VII U-boat
  • Meteorite – German Type XVII U-boat
  • N2 – German Type VII-C/41 U-boat
  • X2 – Italian, Archimede-class submarine

Late 1950s to late 1980s

From HMS Porpoise Royal Navy submarines were given their own "S" pennant numbers.

A Valiant-class nuclear submarine. Whilst HMS Dreadnought had an American reactor, these were fully British-built

HMS Tireless at the North Pole

• Porpoise class (Diesel-electric hunter-killer)
  • Porpoise, commissioned/decommissioned: 1958–1982
  • Narwhal, c/d: 1959–1977
  • Finwhale, c/d: 1960–1987 (harbour service from 1979)
  • Cachalot, c/d: 1959–1979
  • Sealion, c/d: 1961–1987
  • Walrus, c/d: 1961–1986
  • Grampus, c/d: 1958–1978
  • Rorqual, c/d: 1958–1976
• Oberon class (Diesel-electric hunter-killer)
  • Oberon, commissioned/decommissioned: 1961–1986
  • Onslaught, c/d: 1962–1990
  • Orpheus, c/d: 1960–1990 (harbour service from 1987)
  • Odin, c/d: 1962–1990
  • Otter, c/d: 1962–1991
  • Olympus, c/d: 1961–1989
  • Oracle, c/d: 1963–1993
  • Ocelot, c/d: 1964–1991
  • Otus, c/d: 1963–1991
  • Opossum, c/d: 1964–1993
  • Opportune, c/d: 1964–1993
  • Osiris, c/d: 1964–1989
  • Onyx, c/d: 1967–1991
• Dreadnought (Nuclear-powered hunter-killer), commissioned/decommissioned: 1963–1980
• Valiant class (PWR1 nuclear-powered hunter-killer)
  • Valiant, commissioned/decommissioned: 1966–1994
  • Warspite, c/d: 1967–1991
• Resolution class (PWR1 nuclear-powered ballistic missile)
  • Resolution, commissioned/decommissioned: 1967–1994
  • Repulse, c/d: 1967–1996
  • Renown, c/d: 1967–1996
  • Revenge, c/d: 1969–1992
• Churchill class (PWR1 nuclear-powered hunter-killer)
  • Churchill, commissioned/decommissioned: 1970–1991
  • Conqueror, c/d: 1971–1990
  • Courageous, c/d: 1971–1992
• Swiftsure class (PWR1 nuclear-powered hunter-killer)
  • Swiftsure, commissioned/decommissioned: 1973–1992
  • Sovereign, c/d: 1974–2006
  • Superb, c/d: 1976–2008
  • Sceptre, c/d: 1978–2010
  • Spartan, c/d: 1979–2006
  • Splendid, c/d: 1981–2004
• Trafalgar class (PWR1 nuclear-powered hunter-killer)
  • Trafalgar, commissioned/decommissioned: 1983–2009
  • Turbulent, c/d: 1984–2012
  • Tireless, c/d: 1985–2014
  • Torbay, c/d: 1987–2017
  • Trenchant, c/d: 1989-2022
  • Talent, c/d: 1990-2022
  • Triumph, commissioned: 1991

1990s to present

• Upholder class (Diesel-electric hunter-killer) Transferred to Canada as the Victoria-class submarine
  • Upholder, commissioned/decommissioned: 1990–1994
  • Unseen, c/d: 1991–1994
  • Ursula, c/d: 1992–1994
  • Unicorn, c/d: 1993–1994

HMS Astute being launched

• Vanguard class (PWR2 nuclear-powered ballistic missile)
  • Vanguard, commissioned: 1993
  • Victorious, commissioned: 1995
  • Vigilant, commissioned: 1996
  • Vengeance, commissioned: 1999
• Astute class (PWR2 nuclear-powered hunter-killer)
  • Astute, commissioned: 2010
  • Ambush, commissioned: 2013
  • Artful, commissioned: 2016
  • Audacious, commissioned: 2020
  • Anson, commissioned: 2022
  • Agamemnon, construction began: 2013/Expected commission: 2025
  • Agincourt, confirmed, steel cut/Expected commission: 2026
• Dreadnought class (PWR3 nuclear-powered ballistic missile)^[1]
  • Dreadnought, under construction - first elements of construction underway in 2016^[2]
  • Valiant, under construction
  • Warspite, under construction
  • King George VI, ordered

See also

• List of submarine classes of the Royal Navy
• Royal Navy Submarine Service
• List of submarines of the Second World War

References

1. "New Successor Submarines Named" (Press release). Gov.uk. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
2. "New nuclear submarine given famous naval name". BBC News. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.