HMS Superb was built by Vickers Shipbuilding Group, now a division of BAE Systems Submarine Solutions.

After being damaged in May 2008 in the Red Sea, she returned to HMNB Devonport where she was decommissioned slightly ahead of schedule on 26 September 2008.

[2] On 26 May 2008 Superb hit an underwater pinnacle in the Red Sea, 80 miles (130 km) south of the Suez Canal.

[3] After undertaking initial repairs at the Souda Bay NATO base on Crete on 10 June 2008, she passed through the Mediterranean Sea, with a pause (at night) some miles off Gibraltar to disembark some less critical crew.

After surveying the damage, the Royal Navy decided to decommission Superb slightly ahead of schedule on 26 September 2008.