Nuclear-armed Navy submarine aborted top secret mission due to life-or-death fire beneath the waves

A NUCLEAR-armed Navy submarine had to abort a top secret mission because of a life-or-death fire beneath the waves.

HMS Victorious was carrying Trident 2 missiles when the electrical blaze broke out.

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HMS Victorious, one of the Royal Navy’s four strategic submarines. was carrying 2 trident missiles when a blaze broke out onboard[/caption]

The £3billion Vanguard-class nuclear submarine shot to the surface as the captain declared “emergency stations”.

Every member of the 130-plus crew, including those off-duty, was ordered into action.

Naval sources insisted the fire was swiftly contained.

One said: “Every seagoing member of the Royal Navy is a qualified fire-fighter. This ensures that our ships and submarines are able to respond to incidents swiftly and efficiently, assuring operational outputs are not affected.”

The 30-year-old vessel — which is overdue a major refit — broke surface in the North Atlantic to flush out toxic fumes.

After assessing the damage, the captain ordered a return to base at HMNB Clyde in Faslane.

The 16,000-tonne sub is one of four that provides non-stop nuclear deterrent patrols — but was understood not to be in that role at the time.

A Royal Navy spokesman said: “The continuous at-sea deterrent is unaffected but we do not comment on the detail of submarine operations.”