HMS Vengeance is the fourth and last of the Vanguard-class nuclear missile submarines which provide the United Kingdom's strategic nuclear deterrent, silently patrolling the oceans to guarantee national security.

They combine the technologies of the stealth bomber (minimising their signature to prying sensors), the Space Shuttle (operating in a harsh and alien environment), and the modern nuclear power station, all within a displacement of around 16,000 tons when dived.

Vengeance is part of the First Submarine Squadron, which is based at the Clyde Naval Base, Faslane, in Scotland.

She was built at Barrow-in-Furness, the birthplace of the entire British nuclear submarine fleet, and rolled out on September 19, 1998. She commissioned on November 27, 1999.

Vengeance has a complement of 135 (14 officers), roughly the same as the Trafalgar-class attack submarines which are just one-third the displacement of the Vanguard-class.

Vengeance is powered by a Rolls-Royce pressurised water nuclear reactor which runs two GEC turbines, and she can carry up to 16 Lockheed Trident II D5 ballistic missiles, as well as a number of Spearfish wire-guided torpedoes.

Top speed is in the order of 25 knots when the submarine is dived.

(Ship of the Month January 2000)

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