HMS Tireless (S88)

HMS Tireless is a Trafalgar-class submarine nuclear submarine of the Royal Navy and is the third vessel of her class. Tireless is the second submarine of the Royal Navy to bear this name. She was launched in March 1984, sponsored by Sue Squires, wife of Admiral 'Tubby' Squires, and commissioned in October 1985.

Tireless was scheduled to be decommissioned in 2013 and will be replaced by one of the new Astute class submarines.

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 Arctic in 1991. In early 1996, she entered refit and returned to sea in 1999.

Primary Coolant Leak
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. The damage was found to be more extensive than first thought, and the boat remained at Gibraltar, creating diplomatic tensions between Spain and Britain, until she left on 7 May 2001, nearly a year later following extensive repairs. During that year, all Trafalgar-class submarines were inspected for similar problems.

Collision with iceberg
On 13 May 2003, while on exercise in the Arctic and travelling at a depth of 60 metres, Tireless collided with an iceberg. There was no prior warning of the impending collision from her passive sonar or other onboard sensors. The submarine's bow was forced down 9 degrees and the vessel subsequently broke free of the iceberg at a depth of 78 metres. Some damage was sustained to the upper section of the boat. Before the incident the Royal Navy had not conducted under-ice operations since 1996.

On 19 April 2004, Tireless and USS Hampton (SSN-767) rendezvoused under the Arctic ice and surfaced together at the North Pole.

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.



March 2007 explosion
In 2007 Tireless ventured to the North Pole with USS Alexandria (SSN-757) to participate in the Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLIS). At the time of this experiment the cast of the movie Stargate: Continuum filmed on the ice-cap and the USS Alexandria.

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 on board, apparently caused by an oxygen generator candle in the forward section of the submarine. The submarine was in service near the North Pole under ICEX-07 along with the USS Alexandria (SSN-757) and had to make an emergency surface through the ice cap. A third crewmember suffered "non life-threatening" injuries and was airlifted to a military hospital at Elmendorf Air Force Base near Anchorage, Alaska. According to the Royal Navy, the accident did not affect the ship's nuclear reactor, and the boat sustained only superficial damage. Part of the exercise was being used to measure ice thickness by using sonar. The film Stargate: Continuum—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 Canal for the first time, provided protection for the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle launching aircraft over Afghanistan, and called into the ports of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, Goa in India and Souda Bay in Crete. She was also involved in a multi-nation anti-submarine exercise in the Gulf of Oman which saw the Australian frigate HMAS Melbourne and the French frigate FS Dupleix attempt to hunt Tireless down.

2012 South Atlantic deployment
In February 2012, it was reported that either Tireless or HMS Turbulent was being deployed to the Falkland Islands amid increasing tension between Argentina and the United Kingdom over sovereignty of the islands.

2013 Coolant Leak
In early 2013 Tireless experienced a "small coolant leak that was contained within the sealed reactor compartment", requiring her to return to HMNB Devonport for repair.

2013 Mediterranean Deployment
HMS Tireless was spotted off Gibraltar, amidst the tensions between Spain and Gibraltar. It is suggested that this SSN could be a key ship used to strike Syria if military actions occur.