Special Cover First Day in
Commission 17 April 1963
Sources: Jack Treutle
Visit HMS Dreadnought Norfolk 20 Jun 1964
Collection Jan Vercauteren
Visit
HMS Dreadnought To Kiel ( Germany) 21 Feb 1968
Collection:
Jack Treutle
Period
in service:
1963
– 1980
Displacement:
3,500
tons standard, 4000 tons dived
Length:
81m
/ 265.7ft
Beam:
9.8m
/ 31.2ft
Complement:
113
Speed:
25
kts surfaced, 30 kts submerged
Draught:
25.9ft
/ 7.9m
Armament:
6
tubes capable of firing 24 Torpedoes
HMS Dreadnought,
Britain’s first nuclear powered submarine, was
commissioned in 1963 and opened a new chapter in the history
of the Royal Navy. In 1955 the United States Navy had
completed USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear powered
submarine. It soon became clear that this was a revolution
in submarine design, not merely a more convenient form of
propulsion. Using her superior speed and endurance compared
with conventionally powered submarines, Nautilus ran rings
round British anti-submarine forces on exercise and the
Admiralty decided to build nuclear powered submarines.
Excellent relations between Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten,
the First Sea Lord, and Rear Admiral Rickover, in charge of
the American nuclear submarine programme, helped to obtain
considerable American help for the building of Dreadnought.
Most important was the purchase of a nuclear reactor system.
Dreadnought’s main role was to detect and destroy enemy
submarines. Her endurance and versatility were shown in 1967
when she travelled from Rosyth to Singapore and back and in
1971 she became the first British submarine to surface at
the North Pole. In 1973 Dreadnought took part in the
navy’s first annual Group Deployment, when a group of
warships and auxiliaries would undertake a long deployment
to maintain fighting efficiency and ‘show the flag’
around the world. Together with the frigates Alacrity and
Phoebe, Dreadnought was deployed to the South Atlantic in
1977 to deter possible Argentine aggression against the
Falkland Islands. Due to machinery damage and the limited
refit facilities then available for SSNs, Dreadnought was
withdrawn from service in 1980.
The effectiveness of nuclear powered submarines was clearly
demonstrated in the Falklands War. On 2 May 1982 HMS
Conqueror torpedoed the Argentine cruiser the General
Belgrano. With no means of detecting the Conqueror and
fellow SSNs HMS Spartan and HMS Splendid the entire
Argentine navy withdrew to coastal waters for the remainder
of the conflict.
