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HMS Resolution (S22) was the first of the Royal Navy's Resolution-class ballistic missile submarines.cite-ref-rossbishop2016-1-0[1] She operated from 1968 until 1994 providing the UK Polaris at sea nuclear deterrent.cite-ref-rossbishop2016-1-1[1]

• Construction

• Service

• Alleged use during the Falklands War

• Decommission

• References

The submarine was ordered on 21 May 1963 with Vickers Armstrong at a cost of £40.2m.cite-ref-hall2018-2-0[2]

The keel was laid down at Barrow-in-Furness on 26 February 1964 by the Director General Ships, Sir Alfred Sims.cite-ref-jinkshennessy236-3-0[3]

She was launched was on 15 September 1966, attended by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.cite-ref-jinkshennessy248-4-0[4] After fitting out, she proceeded to sea on 22 June 1967.cite-ref-jinkshennessy248-4-1[4] The submarine was commissioned on 2 October 1967, and following extensive trials, including the firing of her first Polaris missile on 15 February 1968, commenced her first patrol on 14 June 1968.cite-ref-jinkshennessy260-5-0[5] To ensure continuous operation, she was the first Royal Navy submarine to operate with two dedicated crews, who would relieve each other, known as port and starboard respectively.cite-ref-jinkshennessy248-4-2[4]

The ship was assigned to the 10th Submarine Squadron (United Kingdom) where it operated as the first of the UKs new Polaris based nuclear deterrent.cite-ref-hall2018-2-1[2]

Her Polaris system was updated in 1984 with the Chevaline IFE (Improved Front End) that included two new warheads and re-entry bodies and penaids, super-hardened to resist ABM attack, replacing the original three ET.317 warheads.

Resolution conducted the longest patrol of any Polaris submarine being at sea for 108 days in 1991.cite-ref-ross2016-6-0[6]

During the early stages of the Falklands War, the BBC World News reported that Resolution was stationed off Buenos Aires. A similar story appeared in 1984 in the New Statesman which alleged that Resolution was sent south, as a means of launching a nuclear attack against Córdoba in the event that a Royal Navy aircraft carrier be sunk.cite-ref-jinkshennessy455-7-0[7]

In reality, Resolution's crew were having to deal with an upsurge of Soviet SSN activity, with Resolution having to take evasive action to avoid a November-class submarine. Despite Soviet efforts, Resolution was never found during her 72-day patrol.cite-ref-jinkshennessy455-7-1[7]

Following the completion of the first Trident-carrying Vanguard-class submarine in 1992, the Resolution class were gradually removed from service. Resolution was decommissioned on 22 October 1994,cite-ref-ross2016-6-1[6] after 69 patrols, and laid up at the Rosyth Dockyard.cite-ref-ross2016-6-2[6] She remains in the main basin at Rosyth, intact but with her reactor defuelled; the MOD has yet to finalise plans for removal of the radioactive reactor parts and the scrapping of the boat.cite-ref-bbc-dismantling-8-0[8]

cite-note-rossbishop2016-11. ↑ citerefdavid-rosschris-bishop2016David Ross; Chris Bishop (15 October 2016). Submarines: WWI to the Present. Book Sales. pp. 322–. ISBN 978-0-7858-3446-5.

cite-note-hall2018-22. ↑ citerefkeith-hall2018Keith Hall (11 June 2018). Polaris: The History of the UK's Submarine Force. The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-8850-6.

cite-note-jinkshennessy236-33. ↑ citerefjames-jinkspeter-hennessy2015James Jinks; Peter Hennessy (29 October 2015). The Silent Deep: The Royal Navy Submarine Service Since 1945. Penguin UK. p. 236. ISBN 978-0-14-197370-8.

cite-note-jinkshennessy248-44. ↑ citerefjames-jinkspeter-hennessy2015James Jinks; Peter Hennessy (29 October 2015). The Silent Deep: The Royal Navy Submarine Service Since 1945. Penguin UK. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-14-197370-8.

cite-note-jinkshennessy260-55. ↑ citerefjames-jinkspeter-hennessy2015James Jinks; Peter Hennessy (29 October 2015). The Silent Deep: The Royal Navy Submarine Service Since 1945. Penguin UK. p. 260. ISBN 978-0-14-197370-8.

cite-note-ross2016-66. ↑ citerefdavid-ross2016David Ross (15 December 2016). The World's Most Powerful Submarines. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-4994-6587-7.

cite-note-jinkshennessy455-77. ↑ citerefjames-jinkspeter-hennessy2015James Jinks; Peter Hennessy (29 October 2015). The Silent Deep: The Royal Navy Submarine Service Since 1945. Penguin UK. pp. 455–456. ISBN 978-0-14-197370-8.

cite-note-bbc-dismantling-88. ↑ citerefcameron-buttle2011Cameron Buttle (18 November 2011). "Dismantling a nuclear submarine". BBC News.