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HMS Tireless (S88)
Encyclopedia
HMS Tireless is a nuclear submarine
Nuclear submarine
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor . The performance advantages of nuclear submarines over "conventional" submarines are considerable: nuclear propulsion, being completely independent of air, frees the submarine from the need to surface frequently, as is necessary for...
of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and is the third vessel of her class. She is the second submarine of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
to bear this name. Tireless was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
in March 1984, sponsored by Mrs Sue Squires, wife of Admiral 'Tubby' Squires, and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
in October 1985.
Operational history
From commissioning in 1985, over the next six years Tireless completed numerous exercises and visits around the world, including a trip to the ArcticArctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
in 1991. In early 1996, she entered refit and returned to sea in 1999.
In May 2000, Tireless developed a serious leak in the nuclear reactor primary cooling circuit, although there was no leak of radioactive material. The nuclear propulsion system was shut down and using backup diesel power Tireless made way to Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
. The damage was found to be more extensive than first hoped, and the boat remained at Gibraltar, creating diplomatic tensions between Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, until she left on 7 May 2001, nearly a year later following extensive repairs. During that year, all Trafalgar-class submarines
Trafalgar class submarine
The Trafalgar class is a class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines in service with the Royal Navy. They are a direct follow on from the Swiftsure class and were, until the introduction of the Astute class, the Royal Navy's most advanced nuclear fleet submarines.Seven boats were built and...
were inspected for similar problems.
On 19 April 2004, Tireless and rendezvoused under the Arctic ice and surfaced together at the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
.
Tireless again angered Spain in 2004 when the boat put into Gibraltar from 9 July to 15 July for what was explained as "technical reasons." Britain assured Spain that the port call was unrelated to the British celebrations, on 21 July, of the 300th anniversary of the capture of Gibraltar from Spain.
In 2007 Tireless ventured to the North Pole with to participate in the Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station
Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station
The Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station 2007 is an U.S.A. and Japanese laboratory dedicated to the study of global climate change, located about 300km south of the Arctic Circle, Alaska on the West Ridge of the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus.- Background and purpose :Citing the home...
(APLIS). At the time of this experiment the cast of the movie Stargate: Continuum
Stargate: Continuum
Stargate: Continuum is a Canadian-American military science fiction film released through MGM Home Entertainment , written by Brad Wright and directed by Martin Wood. The film is a time-travel adventure and is the second sequel to Stargate SG-1, after Stargate: The Ark of Truth...
filmed on the ice-cap and the USS Alexandria.
March 2007 explosion
On 21 March 2007, two Tireless crew members, Leading Operator Mechanic Paul McCann and Operator Maintainer (Weapons Submariner) 2 Anthony Huntrod, were killed in an explosion onboard, apparently caused by an oxygen generator candleChemical oxygen generator
A chemical oxygen generator is a device releasing oxygen created by a chemical reaction. The oxygen source is usually an inorganic superoxide, chlorate, or perchlorate. A promising group of oxygen sources are ozonides. The generators are usually ignited mechanically, by a firing pin, and the...
in the forward section of the submarine. The submarine was in service near the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
under ICEX07 along with the and had to make an emergency surface through the ice cap
Ice cap
An ice cap is an ice mass that covers less than 50 000 km² of land area . Masses of ice covering more than 50 000 km² are termed an ice sheet....
. A third crewmember suffered "non life-threatening" injuries and was airlifted to a military hospital at Elmendorf Air Force Base
Elmendorf Air Force Base
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is a United States military facility adjacent to Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska. It is an amalgamation of the former United States Air Force Elmendorf Air Force Base and the United States Army Fort Richardson, which were merged in 2010.-Overview:The...
near Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
. According to the Royal Navy, the accident did not affect the ship's nuclear reactor, and the ship sustained only superficial damage. Part of the exercise was being used to measure ice thickness by using sonar. The film Stargate: Continuum
Stargate: Continuum
Stargate: Continuum is a Canadian-American military science fiction film released through MGM Home Entertainment , written by Brad Wright and directed by Martin Wood. The film is a time-travel adventure and is the second sequel to Stargate SG-1, after Stargate: The Ark of Truth...
—which was filming on the ice and in the Alexandria during the exercise—was dedicated to McCann and Huntrod.
2010-2011 deployment
From 9 July 2010 to 12 May 2011 Tireless undertook a ten month deployment, spending 253 days at sea, the longest conducted by a Royal Navy submarine in ten years. During the deployment the boat passed through the Suez CanalSuez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
for the first time, provided protection for the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle launching aircraft over Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, and called into the ports of Fujairah
Fujairah
Fujairah is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, and the only one on the Gulf of Oman in the country's east instead of Persian Gulf .-History:...
in the United Arab Emirates, Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
in India and Souda Bay
Souda Bay
Souda Bay is a bay and natural harbour on the northwest coast of the Greek island of Crete. The bay is about 15 km long and only two to four km wide, and a deep natural harbour. It is formed between the Akrotiri peninsula and Cape Drapano, and runs west to east...
in Crete.