HMS Dreadnought (S101) — Nuclear Submarine Model, 36 in
HMS Dreadnought (S101) — Nuclear Submarine Model, 36 in
How big is it?
Length about 91 cm / 36.0 in. Drawn to scale; the model outline is a simplified shape.
Model details
- Size
- 36 in / 91 cm
- Construction
- Handcrafted
- Condition
- Fully assembled, ready to display
- Display
- Wooden base with brass nameplate
- Collection
- Battle Ship Models
- Item no.
- CM560
The larger edition of Britain's first nuclear submarine, at 36 inches.
Specification
- 36 inches
- Handcrafted hull with fin and control surface detail
- Hydroplanes, rudder, propeller and casing detail
- Mounted on a display base with nameplate
- Fully assembled
What nuclear power actually changed
A diesel-electric submarine is a surface ship that can dive for a while. It runs on batteries underwater and must surface or snorkel to recharge, which limits it to a day or two submerged and a few knots if it wants to stay quiet.
A nuclear boat needs no air and no refuelling. It can cross an ocean submerged at thirty knots and stay down until the food runs out. That single change made the submarine a strategic weapon rather than a coastal one — and it is why the ballistic missile submarine became the most survivable leg of every nuclear deterrent.
Dreadnought was the boat that brought that capability to the Royal Navy.
Service
Commissioned 1963, surfaced at the North Pole in 1971, decommissioned 1980.