The Royal Navy stated that the greatest name in the history of the Royal Navy, ‘HMS Warspite’, in the 20th Century will be resurrected in the 21st. The third Royal Navy nuclear deterrence submarine will be named ‘HMS Warspite’. It is expected to begin operations in the 2030s, alongside HMS Dreadnought, Valiant and a fourth, as yet unnamed, submarine, each carrying Trident nuclear missiles on deterrence patrols for three months at a time.
According to the Royal Navy, the submarine will be the eighth warship to bear the name, tracing her history back to the final years of Elizabeth I’s reign.
The announcement was made by Gavin Williamson,Defence Secretary, while he also revealed a multi-million pound contract for nuclear propulsion systems.
The 152.9-meter (501-foot) vessels will displace 1,300 more tonnes.
Concerning the sixth Warspite, a Queen Elizabeth-class battleship, earned more battle honours than any other single warship in Royal Navy history.
The sixth Warspite served through both World Wars, was badly damaged at both Jutland and Crete, mauled the Germans at Narvik, the Italians at Matapan, was hit by a guided bomb off Salerno, and hammered the defenders of Normandy – truly living up to her motto belli dura despicio (I despise the hard knocks of war).
Most recently, Warspite No.7 was a Cold War warrior: a Fleet/hunter-killer nuclear-powered submarine built to protect the nation’s then-new nuclear deterrent, serving between 1967 and 1991.
