HMS Vengeance departed this afternoon after a week's visit to Halifax. The Vanguard class strategic missile submarine was reported to be carrying warheads. Its capacity is 16 Trident D5 missiles, each one capable of carrying 12 warheads. All that nuclear firepower, coupled with the boat's own nuclear propulsion system, had some worried about the consequences of an accident. They stated that an accident could result in Hailfax being evacuated forever.
Fortunately no such accident occurred, and we are still here.
As with all nuclear subs, the boat tied up at Jetty November Alpha (Shearwater) but this may have been the first time that an RN sub has visited. Numerous US nuclear subs have called over the years, all without incident.
Laid down in 1993, launched in 1998 and commissioned in 1999 the sub is the last of four vessels in the class, and in addition to the missiles also carries torpedoes. It displaces 15,908 tons submerged, and can achieve 25 knots underwater.
Update: HMS Vigilant was in Halifax in 2008.
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Do you mean that Vigilant and Vengeance are the only Royal Navy ballistic missile subs to visit Halifax? I recall that HMS Trafalgar visited back in the halcyon days of the 1987 Defence White Paper that called for a Canadian fleet of 10-12 nuclear-powered attack subs capable of extended Arctic operations. A competing French Navy design came to Halifax as well. I'm sure other RN attack subs have been here in the years before and since 1987 as well?
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