Royal Navy nuclear submarine destroys Britain’s longest voyage after 201 days at sea
A ROYAL Navy nuclear submarine has broken the record for the longest voyage after 201 days at sea.
HMS Vengeance set sail on August 29 and did not return until Sunday – six months and 18 days later.
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The heroic submarine crew never set foot on land and spent most of that time underwater on a top-secret nuclear patrol.
A naval source told The Sun: “We ask an awful lot of our submarine crews.
“There’s always a nuclear submarine on patrol this country safe, but most people don’t even know.”
The crew beat the previous record of 195 days set by HMS Vigilant last year.
During that time, the 149 crew members have virtually no contact with their loved ones.
They cannot send messages for fear of revealing the submarines’ position.
They are only allowed to receive one 40-word message per week, known as a family-gram.
And any bad ones news about loved ones is censored by the Navy because it is impossible to get the submarines home without endangering the patrol.
Typically, the submarines move slower than walking pace to stay still.
The back-to-back patrol records are due to a shortage of working submarines.
The Navy has four doomsday submarines, but one HMS Victorious is in Devonport harbor awaiting major repairs.
HMS Vanguard was sent to America fire testing a Trident 2 missile that failed.
The remaining submarines HMS Vengeance and Vigilant have been forced to spend increasingly longer periods at sea to maintain the continued nuclear deterrent at sea, the cornerstone of Britain’s defence.
They are armed with Trident 2 doomsday missiles to blast Britain’s enemies into oblivion in the event of a nuclear attack.
When the Navy launched Operation Relentless – the continued naval deterrent mission – in 1969, the patrols lasted less than three months.
A Royal Navy spokesperson said: “Our continued maritime deterrent protects us and our NATO allies every moment of every day.
“We are extremely grateful to the submariners on board and their loved ones for their efforts and dedication.
“While we do not comment on the length of patrols, we take safety very seriously and all submarines undergo strict safety checks before each patrol.”