Royal Navy Submarine Service

Royal Navy Submarine Service
Founded1901
Country United Kingdom
BranchRoyal Navy
Motto(s)"We Come Unseen"
Equipment6 SSNs & 4 SSBNs
Websitewww.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/the-fighting-arms/submarine-service Edit this at Wikidata
Commanders
Current
commander
Commodore Paul Dunn OBE[1]
Commodore-in-ChiefHRH The Prince of Wales
Insignia
White Ensign
(1901 – present)
Naval jack
Dolphin Badge

The Royal Navy Submarine Service is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. It is sometimes known as the Silent Service, as submarines are generally required to operate undetected.[2]

The service operates six fleet submarines (SSNs), of the Trafalgar and Astute classes (with two further Astute-class boats currently under construction), and four ballistic missile submarines (SSBN), of the Vanguard class. All of these submarines are nuclear powered.

Since 1993 the post of Flag Officer Submarines has been dual-hatted with the post of Commander Operations.

The Royal Navy's senior submariner was for many years located at HMS Dolphin in Hampshire.[3] It moved from Dolphin to the Northwood Headquarters in 1978.[4] The Submarine School is now at HMS Raleigh at Torpoint in Cornwall.

  1. ^ "Celebrated head of the Royal Navy's Submarine Service retires". Royal Navy. 26 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Royal Navy Submarine School". Royal Navy. Archived from the original on 25 April 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  3. ^ "Submarine School". Diesel Weasel. Archived from the original on 1 September 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  4. ^ Conley (2014), p. 136.