THE official keel laying ceremony for Victorious was carried out by George Younger, Secretary of State for Defence on December 4 in 1987.

The rolling-out ceremony was held on Wednesday, September 29, in 1993, when The Mail noted: “Lady Heather Newman, wife of the Flag Officer Plymouth, Sir Roy Newman, named the ship Victorious.

“The VSEL works Band, who had kept the crowd entertained with a lively repertoire, slipped into solemn mode to play For Those in Peril on the Sea and God Save the Queen.

“There was emotion as 500 voices routinely singing the National Anthem reached the line ‘Send her Victorious’ and realised they were not only looking at Victorious but preparing to send her to the Queen’s navy.”

Victorious was commissioned into the Royal Navy at a ceremony watched by 1,300 people on Saturday, January 9 in 1995.

The boat’s sponsor, Lady Heather Newman, said: “On this special day I am proud to have this opportunity to congratulate VSEL and the ship’s company on this magnificent vessel and to wish HMS Victorious every success in the future as she joins the operational fleet.

“I wish all that are to sail in her good fortune.”

In August 1996 the submarine appeared in the BBC1 programme Defence of the Realm: Trident Countdown.

The captain of HMS Victorious, Cmdr Jonty Powis gave his view on what the life of a silent and hidden deterrent submarine was all about.

He said: “Each warhead has more power than five Hiroshima bombs.

“There is no point in having nuclear bombs if they are not awful.

“By being terrible we persuade people not to attack us.”

In June 2005 HMS Victorious was in dry-dock at Devonport for a £300m refit due to last three-years.

It included a new reactor core meaning the boat would never need to be refueled again in its lifetime.

Victorious emerged from the Babcock Marine yard in July 2008 after one of the largest projects ever undertaken at Devonport – involving more than 1,000 employees.

Roger Hardy, Babcock’s director of submarines, said: “We’ve literally stripped and overhauled her and put her back together again.”

A total of 12,000 items had been removed, refurbished and reinstalled – taking a total of 2.2m working hours