machinery loading hatch, automated hovering system, welded hull valves, standardised valves, and raft-mounted propulsion machinery. Construction programme Operational service The first to be completed was Resolution, laid down in February 1964 and launched in September 1966. After commissioning in 1967 she underwent a long period of sea trials, culminating in the test firing of a Polaris missile from the USAF Eastern Test Range off Cape Kennedy at 11:15 on 15 February 1968. Resolution commenced her first operational patrol on 15 June 1968, beginning 28 years of Polaris patrols. The class were part of the 10th Submarine Squadron, all based at Faslane Naval Base, Scotland. All four of the class underwent conversion during the 1980s so that they could be fitted with the Polaris A3TK missile which was fitted with the British-developed Chevaline MRV system. As the newer Vanguard-class submarines entered service, the Resolution class was eventually retired and all boats laid up at Rosyth dockyard with their used nuclear fuel removed. All four will eventually be disposed of via MOD's Submarine Dismantling Project (SDP). This project will begin in 2016 with as the first submarine to prove the technique. The selected method will first remove all Low-level radioactive waste from the vessel, followed by the more radioactive intermediate-level waste. All non-radioactive material in the remainder of the vessel will be recycled for re-use by conventional ship-breaking techniques. Refits New methods of project management were used in the refits of the Resolution class, including: "The appointment of a senior officer of two star rank and with the title of Assistant Controller (Polaris), working under the joint superintendence of the Controller of the Navy and Chief of Fleet Support, whose responsibilities will include the oversight of the preparations for refits of Polaris boats, and their completion;" "The delegation to a designated officer (Director, Project Technical Submarines) of the responsibility for drawing up the "work package" for each refit, which will include full design information and documentation;" "The use of a fully integrated refit management team at Rosyth, and" "The full use of available management techniques and aids, including computers." See also List of submarines of the Royal Navy Fictional submarines The 1971 book The Fighting Temeraire by John Winton features a fictional British Polaris submarine, HMS Temeraire, which is used on a spying mission in the Black Sea. The 1987 book Skydancer by Geoffrey Archer features a fictional British Polaris submarine, HMS