HMS Vengeance (S31)

Common card · No. 376863

HMS Vengeance is the fourth and final Vanguard-class submarine of the Royal Navy. Vengeance carries the Trident ballistic missile, the UK's nuclear deterrent. Vengeance was built at Barrow-in-Furness by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd, later BAE Systems Submarine Solutions, was launched in September 1998, and commissioned in November 1999. Before she was commissioned, the British Government stated that once the Vanguard submarines became fully operational, they would only carry 200 warheads. Vengeance carries unopened "last instructions" (letters of last resort) of the current British prime minister that are to be used in the event of a national catastrophe or a nuclear strike; this letter is identical to the letters carried on board the other three submarines of the Vanguard class.

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