British Service
The submarines entered service from 1990 to 1993. Initially they were unable to actually fire torpedoes and the first three were refitted in 1992 and 1993 to have this fixed at a cost of some £9 million. They were operating from HMS Dolphin (at Gosport) but with only 4 submarines the base was deemed uneconomic and they transferred to Devonport Naval Base.
In their short period in service, the class operated mostly in the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean and UK waters. The exception was Unicorn, which completed a 6 month deployment east of Suez completing operations and exercises in the Mediterranean, the Gulf of Oman and Indian Ocean and in the Persian Gulf. Her return in October 1994 to decommission marked the end of service of this class, following a defence review by the UK government that decided to maintain an all-nuclear powered submarine fleet rather than a mix of diesel with fewer nuclear submarines.
Read more about this topic: Upholder/Victoria Class Submarine
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