THE decision to renew the UK's submarine-based nuclear weapons system confirmed Barrow's place at the forefront of submarine building which it has enjoyed for more than 100 years.
As well as building the Royal Navy's first submarine, HMS Holland, in 1901, the shipbuilders of Barrow were at the forefront of the industry when they built Britain's first nuclear-powered submarine.
HMS Dreadnought, laid down on June 12, 1959 marked the birth of Britain's nuclear-powered fleet.
A collaboration between the Royal Navy and the US Navy, the submarine was a combination of British engineering and US nuclear technology.
The Dreadnought's construction came four years after the first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, was built.
Nuclear-powered submarines were seen as the pragmatic answer to maintaining the balance of power in the Cold War.
Construction took just over a year, and the Dreadnought was launched by the Queen on October 21, 1960, the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.
NEXT WEEK: Read more next week about the working life of HMS Dreadnought, including its voyage to the North Pole.
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