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Vanguard-class submarine
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===Design and construction=== [[File:BAE Systems from Walney.jpg|thumb|left|The {{convert|25000|m2|abbr=on}} [[Devonshire Dock Hall]] indoor shipbuilding complex]] The ''Vanguard'' class were designed in the early 1980s by the Ministry of Defence, acting in one of its last Royal Navy warship design authority roles. The guidance drawings were then supplied for detailed design development by [[Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering]] (VSEL) based at [[Barrow-in-Furness]], now [[BAE Systems Maritime β Submarines]]. They were designed from the outset as nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, able to accommodate the UGM-133 Trident II missiles. As such, the missile compartment is based on the same system used on the American {{sclass|Ohio|submarine|4}}, which is also equipped with the UGM-133 Trident II. This requirement led to the ''Vanguard''-class design being significantly larger than the previous Polaris-equipped ''Resolution'' class, and at nearly 16,000 tonnes they are the largest submarines ever built for the Royal Navy. Due to the large size of the ''Vanguard''-class, the [[Devonshire Dock Hall]] in Barrow-in-Furness was built between 1982 and 1986 specifically for the construction of the boats.<ref name="DDH">{{cite news |date=2 September 2011 |title=In pictures: Submarine 'shed' in Cumbria marks 25th year |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-14762995 |access-date=1 December 2016}}</ref> Beginning in 1985, both [[HMNB Clyde]] and the [[RNAD Coulport|Royal Naval Armaments Depot Coulport]] at Faslane underwent extensive redevelopment in preparation for the ''Vanguard'' class submarines and Trident II missiles. [[Rosyth Dockyard|Rosyth dockyard]] also underwent significant redevelopment. The work included enhanced "handling, storage, armament processing, berthing, docking, engineering, training and refitting facilities" at an estimates cost of Β£550 million.<ref>{{cite web|title=Trident|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1985/jan/15/trident-1|publisher=Hansard, 15 January 1985|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|date=15 January 1985|access-date=1 December 2016}}</ref> Prime Minister Thatcher laid the keel of the first boat, HMS ''Vanguard'', on 3 September 1986 at the Devonshire Dock Hall.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.astuteclass.com/2011/09/ddh-celebrates-25th-birthday/ |title=DDH celebrates 25th birthday | Astute Class Submarine β BAE Systems Maritime β Submarines |work=astuteclass.com |year=2012 |access-date=27 August 2012}}</ref> ''Vanguard'' was [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] in 1992 and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] in 1993. The year 1992 saw a debate over whether the fourth vessel, ''Vengeance'', should be cancelled; however, the Ministry of Defence ultimately ordered it in July 1992<ref>{{cite news |date=1992-07-08 |title=Trident order raises arms doubts |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London }}</ref> and it was commissioned in 1999.
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