HMS Splendid set the bar high when it came to leading a distinguished life at sea.
Launched on October 5 1979, Splendid was the last of the nuclear-powered Swiftsure class to be built in Barrow.
Just over a year after it was commissioned, it was one of the first submarines to reach the Falkland Islands after war was declared in 1982.
During the war in Kosovo in 1999, Splendid was the first British sub to fire American-made Tomahawk missiles on Serbian targets.
Once again at the forefront of the battle, it was deployed to the Gulf during the Iraq War in 2003.
During a 188-day tour, the boat supported the invasion by firing multiple Tomahawks at enemy targets.
Towards the end of its life, conspiracy theorists claimed the Splendid was to blame for the sinking of the Russian submarine Kursk . This was fuelled by claims at the time from Russian naval officers.
After serving at sea for 23 years the Splendid was decommissioned in 2004 at the Devonport naval base in Plymouth.
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