Secret Warriors

Secret Warriors

British Submarines in the Cold War

The Cold War was a period of intense activity for submarines of the Royal Navy, with many hair-raising incidents involving Soviet vessels. They were engaged in frequent hazardous surveillance patrols investigating Soviet submarines and surface warships and their operational tactics, and trailing Soviet strategic submarines (SSBNs), as well as conducting British deterrent SSBN patrols and protecting those patrols using attack submarines (SSNs). There were also dangerous patrols which trialled submarine operation under the Arctic ice-cap. In addition, there were operations in other conflicts and war theatres including the Falklands War, the Suez campaign, the Northern Ireland Troubles, and the Indonesian confrontation.

In Secret Warriors Dr Paul Brown presents the full history of this pivotal era in a fully illustrated volume, containing stunning black-and-white and colour images, technical drawings and maps. He has interviewed Cold War-era submarine commanders and engineers, submitted Freedom of Information requests, and trawled the National Archives, the archives of the Royal Navy Submarine Museum and Imperial War Museums, as well as been though personal accounts of the senior officers and many secondary sources, to bring to light new information that is published here for the first time.

By: Dr Paul Brown

Published: 12 February 2026

Publisher: Osprey

ISBN: 9781472865120

Number of pages: 272