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HMS Vigilant (S30)
Organisation / Units & Squadrons

HMS Vigilant (S30)

As one of the four submarines which make up the UK’s nuclear deterrent, HMS Vigilant is far from a high-profile vessel – her top-secret duties mean she must ‘disappear’ on patrol for weeks on end.

Role

HMS Vigilant is the third of the Royal Navy’s Vanguard Class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. Together with her sister vessels, she carries the UK’s strategic nuclear deterrent.

The deterrent patrol cycle carried out by the Vanguard-class began in 1969 – and has continued unbroken to this day.

Following a mid-life Long Overhaul Period Refuel, HMS Vigilant now has an upgraded reactor core, meaning that she has enough fuel to power her through the reminder of her working life. The overhaul also included significant upgrades to all her major machinery and operating systems.

Vanguard class

Unit history

1745

The First Vigilant

The first Vigilant was a French fourth rate ship with 58 guns, captured by HMS Superb off Cape Breton in May 1745 and sold in December 1759.
1755

The Second Vigilant

The second Vigilant was a schooner which served on the Canadian lakes before being captured by the French in 1756.
1774

The Third Vigilant

The third of the name was a third rate 64-gun ship of the line launched at Bucker’s Hard in Hampshire in October 1774. She saw action, including battles in the Caribbean and in home waters.
1777

The Fourth Vigilant

An ‘armed ship’ of 20 guns, formerly the Empress of Russia, was bought in America in 1777, only to be burnt as unfit in South Carolina three years later.
1777

The Fourth Vigilant

An ‘armed ship’ of 20 guns, formerly the Empress of Russia, was bought in America in 1777, only to be burnt as unfit in South Carolina three years later.
1793

The Fifth Vigilant

The fifth Vigilant met the same fate met as the fourth. The four-gun cutter, captured from the French in August 1793, was destroyed at the evacuation of Toulon.
1793

The Fifth Vigilant

The fifth Vigilant met the same fate met as the fourth. The four-gun cutter, captured from the French in August 1793, was destroyed at the evacuation of Toulon.
1803

Vigilant number Six

The sixth Vigilant was a four-gun schooner bought in 1803 and sold in 1808. Her successor was a French eight-gun schooner Imperial, captured by Cygnet off Dominica in May 1806.
1821

Launch at Deptford

Next was a 12-gun cutter launched at Deptford in April 1821. Vigilant number nine – the 1,540-tonne wooden screw frigate – was ordered in March 1846 but cancelled three years later.
1856

The Eighth Vigilant

A wood screw gunvessel of 680 tonnes was launched at Blackwall in London in March 1856 and sold in Bombay in February 1869.
1871

Vigiliant Eleven

Vigilant number 11, a wooden paddle dispatch vessel of 1,000 tonnes, was launched in Devonport and served for 15 years before being sold in Hong Kong in October 1886.
1900

Torpedo boat destroyer

The next Vigilant was a 380-tonne C-class ‘30-Knotter’ torpedo-boat destroyer. A speculative purchase from shipbuilding firm John Brown, she served with the Navy for 20 years.
1942

Survival and attack

Vigilant 13 was the 1,710-tonne Valentine-class destroyer launched at the end of 1942. Far from unlucky, she not only survived the war, but also had roles in the attack on the Tirpitz in April 1944.
1952

A type 15 fast anti-submarine frigate

In 1952-53, she was converted to a Type 15 fast anti-submarine frigate, and was eventually broken up at Faslane in 1965.
1975

Vigilant numbers 14 and 15

The 14th Vigilant was a patrol boat, launched in March 1975 and renamed Meavy in July 1986 – leaving the current V-boat as Vigilant number 15.

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