HMS Spartan (S105)
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| General Characteristics
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| Displacement: 4,900 tonnes (dived)
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| Length: 82.9 m
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| Beam: 9.8 m
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| Draught: 8.5 m
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| Complement: 116
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Armament: 5 tubes capable of firing:
Spearfish Torpedoes
RN Sub Harpoon Missiles
Tomahawk Missiles
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HMS Spartan (S105) is a nuclear powered submarine of the Royal Navy Swiftsure class. HMS Spartan was launched on April 7, 1978 by Lady Lygo, wife of Admiral Sir Raymond Lygo. The boat was built by Vickers-Armstrong (now a division of BAE SYSTEMS) at Barrow in Furness in Cumbria, England.
HMS Spartan was ordered to sail south for the Falkland Islands two days before the Argentine invasion of the islands on March 30, 1982. Spartan was the first ship to arrive in the islands and began to enforce a 200 mile maratime exclusion zone imposed by the British. Shortly after, Spartan sighted Argentine merchant shipping mining the harbour at Port Stanley, but was not ordered to attack. This was partly due to British concerns about escalating the war too early, but also to avoid scaring off more lucruative targets such as the Argentine aircraft carrier. Unlike HMS Conqueror, Spartan did not fire in anger during the Falklands War, she did however provide valuable reconnaissance to the British Task Force on Argentine aircraft movements. Spartan's presence also ensured that the Argentine Navy would not dare leave its port.
In 1999, Spartan was fitted with Tomahawk cruise missiles. She is due to be decommisioned in 2006 when the new Astute class submarines come into service.
See HMS Spartan for other ships of the same name.
