HMS Sovereign (S108) is a nuclear powered fleet submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

 of the Swiftsure class

Swiftsure class submarine

The Swiftsure class were a class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines in service with the Royal Navy from the early 1970s until 2010....

.

Construction

Construction of the boat began on 18 September 1970; she was launched on 17 February 1973, and commissioned on 11 July 1974.

Operational history

In 1976, Sovereign played a role in Operation Brisk; the submarine surfaced at the geographical North Pole on 20 October 1976 as part of the exercise, testing navigational systems and equipment performance in low temperatures.

Sovereign underwent an extensive refit in the mid 1990s and was rededicated in January 1997. Cracks were discovered in the tailshaft during post-refit sea trials and she was sent to Rosyth for 14 weeks of emergency repairs in June 1998 before returning to Faslane.

Sovereign was used for the perisher submarine command course

Submarine Command Course

The Submarine Command Course , previously known as the Commanding Officers Qualifying Course , and informally known as the Perisher because of its low success rate, is a training course for naval officers preparing to take command of a submarine.Created by the Royal Navy during World War I, the...

in June 1999 as well as other training cruises. She was part of the NATO exercise Linked Seas in May 2000, operating in the Bay of Biscay.

In the early 2000s, Sovereign was out of service for some time due to reactor problems, a fault she shared in common with others of her class. Although she was back in full service by July 2005, the submarine was decommissioned as of September 2006.