Themes

Article Highlights

• Introduction

• Swiftsure Class

• The Cold War

• Submarines in the Cold War

• Submarines in the Arctic

• Arctic naval strategy

Submarines in the Arctic

HMS Sovereign took part in Operation Brisk during 1976. The submarine surfaced at the geographical North Pole as part of the exercise on 20th October 1976. The operation tested the submarine's navigational and operational capabilities in such freezing temperatures.

Ice pick from HMS Sovereign (RNSM)

The crew of HMS Sovereign playing cricket at North Pole (RNSM)

The Royal Navy, along with the US Navy, increased its under ice operations as the Cold War progressed. Such trials paved the way for particularly extensive involvement in the Arctic region during the 1980s which sought to counter Soviet interests by locating Western submarines in this critical region. The naval power that seized control of this area would establish itself in a dominant strategic position, helping to deter the threat of war.

The invention of the nuclear submarine during the 1950s allowed Western navies to begin under ice operations in an attempt to secure the Arctic Ocean. The world's first nuclear submarine, USS Nautilus, pioneered a route from Alaska to Greenland in 1958, becoming the first submarine to pass underneath the North Pole. USS Skate became the first submarine to break through the Arctic ice and surface at the Pole during the following year. The Royal Navy's submarines also undertook expeditions to the Arctic throughout the 1960s, such as HMS Grampus in 1963. Then HMS Dreadnought became the first British submarine to surface at the North Pole on 3rd March 1971.

HMS Grampus under Arctic Ice by D A Rapkins (RNSM)

HMS Dreadnought at North Pole (RNSM)

Western powers believed that Soviet submarines would operate in or around the Arctic during peacetime, as well as fight in this region during wartime. Nuclear submarines therefore led to a technological transformation of this area, turning it from a barrier into a potential access route to the enemy. This made Russia far more vulnerable than at any time in the nation's history, with the 8000 mile long Soviet Arctic frontier becoming the one weak zone in the USSR's borders.