Parade marks end of an era for 'T-boats'

THE book has closed on a "proud chapter in the annals of the Royal Navy Submarine Service", as the Trafalgar class passed into history.

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For more than four decades, the seven submarines were at the forefront of underwater warfare, first as Cold War warriors, and later adapting to a new world order when the Soviet Union collapsed.

Submariners of all ages who served in the boats recently converged on Devonport Naval Base to celebrate the accomplishment of the class - known affectionately as T-boats - and recall old times.

The formal act of decommissioning the last operational boat in the class, HMS Triumph, provided the occasion for the reunion at the base which the hunter-killer submarines called home for most of their careers.

Crews of the last two T-boats in service, Talent and Triumph, held Divisions at HMS Drake, in Devonport, with former Trafalgar crews invited to join them.