Nuclear-armed submarine aborts mission after blaze

A NUCLEAR-ARMED submarine was forced to abort its mission after a fire broke out on board.

HMS Victorious, one of Britain’s four nuclear-armed submarines, was in the North Atlantic when the fire started in an electrical component around six weeks ago, the MOD said.

The boat’s commanding officer ordered the vessel to surface as a precaution, an action rarely undertaken because of the risk of being spotted by Russian satellites.

All crew members, including those off duty and asleep in their bunks, had to fight the fire and search for any other blazes that may have broken out.

The cause of the emergency was a fault in a self-contained electrical module that converts AC power to DC, for use in many of the submarine’s systems.

The module has four built-in carbon dioxide injectors specifically for such emergencies. These discharged gas into the electrical component, thereby extinguishing the fire.

HMS Victorious is one of four submarines charged with carrying out nuclear patrols, known as the continuous at sea deterrent (CASD).

This means a Royal Navy nuclear submarine is always on patrol somewhere in the world, unseen and undetected, ready to launch weapons if directed by the Prime Minister.

A Royal Navy spokesman said Victorious was not in the role of CASD at the time of the incident but was transiting to the US for exercises.

The mission was aborted after the fire was contained.