Roundup: Britain's nuclear submarines to be named HMS Dreadnought

Queen Elizabeth on Friday approved the name HMS Dreadnought for a lead submarine being built as part of the Royal Navy's new successor submarines.

Defense Secretary Michael Fallon announced that to mark Trafalgar Day Queen Elizabeth has approved the name Dreadnought.

Trafalgar Day, which falls on Oct. 21, celebrates the victory won by the British Royal Navy, commanded by Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, over the combined French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar on Oct. 21, 1805.

Named 56 years after the launch of Britain's first nuclear-powered submarine of the same name, Dreadnought has extensive historical significance, so far given to nine Royal Navy ships.

A previous Dreadnought sailed with Sir Francis Drake in the 1580s to repel the 130-strong fleet of boats in the Spanish Armada repelled from attacking England. Another Dreadnought was present with Nelson at Trafalgar, where her gunnery was acknowledged to be the most devastating of any ship present.

But the most famous of all, said Britain's Ministry of Defense, was the ninth Dreadnought, a battleship so advanced that it rendered all others obsolete at a stroke.

The other three submarines in the new fleet, all yet unnamed, will sail as Dreadnought class vessels.

Fallon said: "Every day our ballistic missile submarines are used to deter the most extreme threats to Britain's security. Along with increasing the defense budget to buy new ships, more planes, and armored vehicles, this commitment shows we will never gamble with our security."

Construction began last month on the multi-billion pound program, which will deliver the most advanced and quietest submarine ever conceived by the Royal Navy. It will be the first to be designed to accommodate both male and female submariners. Endit