HMS Vengeance: Vanguard-class submarine's secret monster deployment beneath the waves
A British nuclear-armed submarine has returned home after what is believed to be the second-longest deployment beneath the waves in Royal Navy history.
HMS Vengeance arrived back at her home base of Faslane on Sunday after a reported huge 201-day deployment.
As the UK's nuclear deterrent, the movements of HMS Vengeance and her fellow Trident-carrying boats are shrouded in secrecy.
The Royal Navy, as expected, has not confirmed the length or nature of Vengeance's deployment.
Pictures taken as she returned to Faslane show some rust and missing anechoic tiles, suggesting she has been at sea for some time, although this is typical wear and tear for a submarine.
Life on a submarine is, as the Royal Navy says, "not for the faint-hearted".
Vanguard's sailors wouldn't have seen sunlight or got any fresh air for more than six months, all while being away from loved ones and living in claustrophobic conditions at the depths of the ocean.
While for many the very thought of this is unnerving, for submariners – around 130 on HMS Vengeance – this is par for the course as part of life in the Silent Service.
It is thought recent Royal Navy deployments have been getting increasingly longer – just last Autumn HMS Vigilant returned home from what was reportedly a then-record 195 days.
For more than 50 years, the Royal Navy has had at least one nuclear-armed submarine patrolling the seas as part of the UK's nuclear deterrent.
The Navy has four submarines capable of being armed with Trident – HMS Vanguard, HMS Vengeance, HMS Victorious and HMS Vigilant – which together make up the Vanguard-class.
But in recent years, a maximum of three Vanguard-class boats had been available as HMS Vanguard underwent a delayed seven-and-a-half-year refit which could potentially be a factor in these longer missions.
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