Dreadnought was handled by means of telemotor controls, using a type of joystick and elaborate instrument panel similar to those in the cockpit of a modern aircraft. At high underwater speed she also behaved and handled like an aircraft and could be set on course and depth by an 'automatic pilot'. She was also capable of performing 'aquabatics'.
Comprehensive air-conditioning and purification equipment maintained safe and comfortable atmosphere control and enabled Dreadnought to operate for more than two months without recourse to air from the surface - a pint of distilled sea-water an hour, passed through electrolysers, providing enough oxygen for a 100-man crew. Food supplies were the only factor which limited submerged endurance.
In the after end of Dreadnought, which was almost totally American and was known as the 'American Sector', electricity was produced for less than 1p a kilowatt hour when water produced on the same basis cost about 71/2p a gallon.
Accommodation was of an unprecedented standard, even in surface vessels, and the crew appreciated shower baths, laundry and washing facilities; amenities that weren't installed in earlier submarines. Separate mess spaces were provided for senior and junior rates, arranged on either side of a large galley, equipped for serving meals on the cafeteria system. Particular attention was paid to the decoration and furnishing of living quarters and recreational spaces - which included cinema equipment, an extensive library and tape recordings; features which helped to offset the monotony associated with prolonged underwater voyages.
During her career, Dreadnought went on many varied patrols. On 24th June, 1967, she was ordered to sink the wrecked and drifting German ship Essberger Chemist. Three torpedoes hit along the length of the target; the gunners of HMS Salisbury finished the job by piercing the tanks which were just keeping the Essberger Chemist afloat.
In the mid-60s, Dreadnought's visits included trips to Norfolk (Virginia), Bermuda, Rotterdam and Kiel. She was at Gibraltar in 1965, 1966 and 1967, and on 19th September, 1967 she left Rosyth for Singapore on a sustained high speed run. The round trip finished as 4640 miles surfaced and 26 545 miles submerged.
Apart from minor hull-cracking problems, Dreadnought proved to be a reliable vessel, popular with her crews. In 1970, she completed a major refit at Rosyth in the course of which her nuclear core was refuelled and her ballast tank valves were changed to reduce noise. She re-commissioned on 10th September, 1970 - and had a commemorative postal cover to prove it. On 3rd March, 1971, she became the first British submarine to surface at the North Pole.
Placed on the disposals list in 1983, having exceeded her designed 15 year hull life by a further 8 years, Dreadnought was laid up indefinitely at Rosyth Naval Dockyard upon decommissioning while her radioactive contamination decayed. Her nuclear fuel was removed and she was stripped of useful equipment.
During Dreadnought's build, Rolls Royce and Associates, in collaboration with the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, were developing a completely new nuclear propulsion system. On 31st August, 1960, Britain's second nuclear-powered submarine was ordered from Vickers and, fitted with Rolls-Royce's nuclear steam-raising plant, Valiant was the first all-British nuclear submarine.
VALIANT CLASS
Although the name originally chosen for her was Inflexible, Britain's second nuclear submarine was commissioned as HMS Valiant on 18th July, 1966. Derived directly from HMS Dreadnought, Valiant's near-perfect streamlining gave maximum underwater efficiency, whilst her fin-like conning tower was designed to reduce 'drag' to a minimum.
As early as April 1967, Valiant set a record submerged passage for a British submarine when she completed the 12 000-mile homeward voyage from Singapore in 28 days. Month-long submerged voyages became the routine.
