Top secret operation is aborted after fire breaks out on nuclear sub as it heads for overseas base

• The HMS Victorious had been sailing to a base overseas when the fire broke out 
• Blaze started by an electrical fire six weeks ago and taken to Scotland for repairs
• Around 130 sailors were on board at the time of the blaze but no one was injured

A Royal Navy submarine which was fully armed with nuclear missiles aborted a top secret operation after a fire broke out onboard.

The £3billion HMS Victorious, which is one of Britain’s four Trident submarines, had been sailing to a base overseas when the electrical fire started six weeks ago. 

The blaze, which destroyed an electrical converter, was quickly extinguished before the 30-year-old vessel returned to Scotland for repairs.

Around 130 sailors were on board at the time but no one was injured, a naval source said. 

The £3billion HMS Victorious, which is one of Britain’s four Trident submarines, had been sailing to a base overseas when the electrical fire started six weeks ago

A Royal Navy spokesman refused to comment on the details but said the ‘continuous at-sea [nuclear] deterrent is unaffected’.

The crew put on hazmat suits as smoke poured from a compartment housing an electrical conversion system. Even those who were off-duty at the time were summoned from their bunks.

A naval source said: ‘The fire destroyed an AC to DC electrical converter. The incident was taken very seriously. But nobody was injured and there was no serious damage to the submarine.

‘All members of the crew are trained firefighters. 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.

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.

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