A NUCLEAR submarine has set a Royal Navy record for the longest patrol after 205 days at sea.
HMS Vanguard — armed with Trident 2 missiles — set sail last September 25 as our designated nuclear deterrent.
She returned to her Faslane base in Scotland yesterday after completing the Navy’s third patrol in a row of more than 200 days — the result of a chronic shortage of working subs and delays to their Dreadnought replacements.
Britain’s four Vanguard-class subs were designed for maximum 80-day voyages when launched 33 years ago.
But only two are currently serviceable, with the vessels needing major repairs between voyages.
One is undergoing heavy maintenance.
They must rotate every six months to ensure one is always at sea.
The previous record was 204 days.
Ex-chief of defence staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin has said: “There is something wrong when sailors are having to put to sea for extraordinarily long patrols in complex machines beyond their original design life.”
The Navy does not comment on nuclear patrols.
