The British Royal Navy has turned to Ancient Greece as they named their latest submarine over the famous Greek king known widely from Homer’s ‘The Iliad’, Agamemnon.
The Navy, as reported in Daily Mail, has bestowed the name of Agamemnon on its newest 7,400-tonne submarine in honour of Admiral Lord Nelson, whose favourite ship was also named after the ancient Greek king.
Agamemnon was the King of Mycenae or Argos who famously commanded the combined Greek forces in the Trojan war, with his name even now connoting strength and authority.
The 97metres long submarine is set to be launched later this year, having been officially named on Monday at BAE Systems’ Submarines site in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.
HMS Agamemnon was blessed and christened, with a bottle of beer from the local Ulverston Brewing Company smashed against her hull, becoming the sixth Astute Class submarine in the Navy.
Steve Timms, Managing Director, BAE Systems’ Submarines business, said:
“This is a key milestone for Agamemnon and the UK nuclear submarine programme, and contributes to the Government’s Defence Nuclear Enterprise Command Paper, which underpinned the importance of our business and Barrow in delivering this national endeavour.”
James Cartlidge, Minister for Defence Procurement, said that “HMS Agamemnon will play a vital role in defence of the nation, providing our Armed Forces with a competitive edge for decades to come”.
“The Astute Class programme continues to support tens of thousands of jobs, with these submarines being a leading example of our commitment to investing in British sovereign capabilities,” Cartlidge said.
The new submarine, like the others within the Astute Class, boasts a number of features such as having six 533mm torpedo tubes and the capacity to fire 36 missiles, having the Tomahawk IV missile (which has a range of over 1,000 miles) as well as other features.
The submarine can reach speeds of 30 knotts while crews can spend up to 80 days on the ship before resurfacing and switching.
It has advanced nuclear technology meaning it will never need to be refuelled, with it capable of manufacturing its own oxygen and fresh water from the ocean as well as circumnavigating the globe without surfacing.
Astute Class submarines are also equipped with world-leading sensors and carries both Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missiles (TLAM) and Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes.
HMS Agamemnon harkens back to the favourite ship of Admiral Lord Nelson, which was launched in 1781 and was commanded by Lord Nelson from 1793-1796.
He affectionately called it ‘Eggs and Bacon’ with the ship having 64 guns and featured in the Batlle of Copenhagen and the Batlle of Trafalgar.
The ship’s service came to an end in 1809 when it was wrecked on the River Plate in South America.
