Trident submarines to carry one of Royal Navy's most famous names

The first of the new submarines that will carry Trident missiles when the UK's nuclear deterrent is renewed is to carry on the Royal Navy's most famous name. The submarine, which will be built at BAE Systems' manufacturing site at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, is to be called HMS Dreadnought and, as is traditional, the three other nuclear missile-carrying submarines will be known as the Dreadnought class and their names will all begin with D.

Dreadnought will replace the Vanguard-class submarines that currently carry Britain's nuclear deterrent. Vanguard, Victorious, Vigilant and Vengeance began to come into service in 1993. Construction of Dreadnought began last month. No date has yet been given for Dreadnought's entry into service, or of any other of the submarine’s specifications, but the cost of building the four submarines is expected to be around £31bn.

The Dreadnought name has been used for nine other Royal Navy ships in the past, the first being sailed by Sir Francis Drake when he fought the Spanish Armada in 1588. Another was one of Nelson's fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar. The most famous Dreadnought was probably a battleship launched in 1906, which at the time the largest was the most heavily armed and armoured naval ship in the world, and which started an arms race in the run-up to the First World War (see box below). The Royal Navy's first nuclear powered submarine, launched in 1956, was also called Dreadnought.