HMS Valiant (S102) was the second of Britain's nuclear-powered submarines and the first vessel of the Valiant class. Ordered on August 31, 1960, she was constructed at Vickers-Armstrongs in Barrow-in-Furness, with her keel laid down on January 22, 1962. The design integrated the forward section of the Dreadnought submarine with an aft section featuring all British nuclear machinery, based on the Dounreay prototype. Launched on December 3, 1963, by Lady Thorneycroft, she officially entered service on July 18, 1966. Throughout her operational life, HMS Valiant underwent multiple refits, notably in 1970, 1977, and 1989. Her service record includes notable incidents such as a 1977 salt water pipe leak while trailing a Soviet submarine in the eastern Mediterranean. The leak flooded the reactor compartment, leading to the reactor's shutdown, a subsequent dry-up, and a clean-up process before the reactor was restored to power. She also played a significant role during the Falklands War in 1982, arriving in the war zone on May 17. During this conflict, Valiant transmitted over 300 early air-warning alerts and conducted 101 days of patrols off the Argentine coast. On May 23, she sustained minor damage off Rio Grande when an Argentine fighter jettisoned bombs near the submarine during landing. In March 1991, Valiant is reported to have run aground in the North Norwegian Sea. Engine trouble developed in June 1994, and she was decommissioned on August 12, 1994. Currently, her hull and reactor are laid up afloat at Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth, awaiting facilities for the long-term storage of her radioactive components. Components from Valiant were also used in the restoration of HMS Courageous, which was selected as a museum ship representing the Royal Navy’s Cold War SSN fleet.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.