PHOTOS from the past capture the first submarines built by workers in Barrow - decades before the nuclear deterrent.

Long before the nuclear behemoth constructed by Vickers and later BAE were launched from Barrow's shipyard, smaller crafts plunged into Walney Channel.

Photos from the Sankey Photography Archive - feature images by two generations of Barrow photographers - captures the town's early submarine history.

As far back as 1902, the archive shows sailors aboard a Holland Class submarine sailing through Buccleuch Dock.

 (Image: Sankey Archive)

In 1908, submarine A13 can be seen being launched Devonshire Dock with the General Guerrero, and a liner in the background in photo taken from Michaelson Road Bridge.

Pictures from the 1930s show submarines built for other nations.

The year 1934 saw the launch of the Portuguese submarine Delfim - meaning dolphine. The archive shows workers and people in uniform after the boat was launched down the slipway.

Another submarine for the Portuguese Navy, Espadarte, was also launched into Walney Channel that year.

(Image: Sankey Archive)

In July 1936 Barrow launched two submarines for the Estonian Navy - Kalev and Lembit - in a ceremony attended by Estonian dignitaries and crew members. 

The Lembit can be seen at the Tallinn Maritime Museum in Estonia, but the Kalev was sunk in 1941.

July 1936 brought the Launch of HMS Rorqual, with photos from the archive showing shipyard boss Sir Charles Craven about to smash a bottle onto its bow.

The boat survived two World War Two, seeing action against German and Japanse forces.

The ill-fated submarine, HMS Triton, was launched from Barrow in 1937.

Photos in the archive show the boat being launched by Lady Elles in a well-attended ceremony.

Triton, a T-Class submarine, was dual-launched with Undine on October 5 of that year . It was lost on her fourth patrol in December 1940 with the loss of all its crew.