Атомный подводный ракетный крейсер HMS Renown (S26)

1968 Resolution class nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine of the Royal Navy

HMS Renown (S26) was the third of the Royal Navy's ballistic missile submarines. Built by Cammell Laird and launched on 25 February 1967, she was decommissioned in 1996.

Renown, like the other Resolution class submarines, was ordered on 8 May 1963 and was laid down at Cammell Laird's Birkenhead shipyard on 25 June 1964. Construction was slower than planned, with poor performance by Cammell Laird and its workforce resulting in both Renown and sister ship being delayed. In 1966, it was discovered that due to lax interpretation of drawings, Renowns torpedo storage compartment differed in length by from the lead ship , and in November that year, broken bits of metal were found in the submarine's primary cooling circuits, the removal of which delayed construction by two months. Renown was launched on 25 February 1967 by Edna Healey, wife of Denis Healey, the Secretary of State for Defence. By October 1967, Revenge was six months behind programme, and the Ministry of Defence considered towing the unfinished Renown and Revenge to Barrow in Furness for completion by Vickers Armstrongs. She was formally commissioned on 15 November 1968.

Renown was 425 feet (130 m) long overall and 360 feet (110 m) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 33 feet (10 m) and a draught of 30 feet (9 m). In 1974 Renown suffered structural damage when she struck the bottom of the sea during sea trials off Scotland. In the 1990s the ageing Resolution class was becoming difficult for the Royal Navy to operate, suffering from an increased number of defects, and Renown was forced to remain alongside at Faslane due to defects in 1995 before being decommissioned on 24 February 1996.