HMCS Ojibwa, HMCS Okanagan and ex-HMS Olympus docked in Halifax | |
History | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Name | Okanagan |
Namesake | Okanagan First Nations people |
Builder | Chatham Dockyard, Chatham |
Laid down | 25 March 1965 |
Launched | 17 September 1966 |
Commissioned | 22 June 1968 |
Decommissioned | 14 September 1998 |
Motto |
|
Fate | Scrapped in 2011 |
Badge | Blazon Or, issuing out of a base barry wavy of four azure and argent, a marine monster "Ogopogo" gules, langued of the second. the first Parliament of Upper Canada in 1792, both proper. [1] |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Oberon-class submarine |
Displacement |
|
Length | 295.25 ft (89.99 m) |
Beam | 26.5 ft (8.1 m) |
Draught | 18 ft (5.5 m) |
Propulsion | 2 diesel electric engines |
Speed |
|
Range | 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) |
Endurance | 56 days |
Test depth | 120–180 metres (390–590 ft) |
Complement | 69 |
Sensors and processing systems |
|
Electronic warfare & decoys | MEL Manta UAL or UA4 radar warning |
Armament | 8 × 21 in (533 mm) tubes (6 bow, 2 stern), 18 torpedoes |
HMCS Okanagan (S74) was an Oberon-class submarine that served in the Canadian Forces (CF). She entered service in 1968 and spent the majority of her career on the east coast. The ship was paid off in 1998 and sold for scrap in 2011.
The Oberon class were considered an improved version of the preceding Porpoise-class submarines, with a different frame of the pressure hull [2] and constructed from a better grade of steel. [3] [4] These build differences allowed the Oberons to have a deeper diving depth at roughly 1,000 feet (300 m). [4]
The submarines displaced 2,030 tonnes (2,000 long tons) surfaced and 2,410 tonnes (2,370 long tons) submerged. [4] [2] They measured 295 ft 1⁄4 in (89.922 m) long with a beam of 26 ft 1⁄2 in (7.938 m) and a draught of 18 ft (5.5 m). [2] [note 1]
The boats were powered by a two shaft diesel-electric system. The Oberons were equipped with two ASR 1 16-cylinder diesel engines creating 3,680 brake horsepower (2,740 kW) and two English Electric motors creating 6,000 shaft horsepower (4,500 kW). This gave the submarines a maximum surface speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and a submerged speed of 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph). The boats carried 258 tons of oil giving them a range of 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) at 12 knots. [2] [5]
The design was armed with eight 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, six in the bow and two in the stern. They carried 24 reloads for a total of 30 torpedoes. [2] [6] Canadian boats differed from the original design by being equipped for the US Mark 37C torpedo. [7] The longer, wire-guided Mod 2 version was carried in the forward tubes and the non-guided Mod 0 for the rear tubes. [8]
The Oberons were equipped with Type 187 active-passive sonar, Type 2007 passive sonar and Type 2019 sonar. [4]
By the late 1970s, the Oberons in Canadian service had become obsolete and were in need of an update. Planning was done in 1978 and the program approved in February 1979. [9] In an effort to take the subs from anti-submarine warfare training to frontline service, Maritime Command developed a refit program that included new sonars, periscopes, communications and fire-control systems. They also had their armament upgraded with the fitting of torpedo tubes capable of firing the Mark 48 torpedo. This would allow the submarines to be deployed by NATO in the North Atlantic to monitor Soviet submarines. [10] [11]
The SOUP refits comprised a new US fire control system, a digital Singer Librascope Mark I, and new Sperry passive ranging sonar with the Type 719 short range sonar removed. The new sonar was placed in the upper casing on the pressure hull. New communications and navigational systems were installed. [9] The submarines were fitted with new torpedo tubes for Mark 48 torpedoes, however the torpedoes themselves were considered a separate procurement program, which was only finalized in 1985. [12]
Between 1980 and 1986, one of the Canadian Oberons was out of service undergoing the refit. SOUP came in on time and on its budget of C$45 million in 1986. [13] [14] SOUP kept the Canadian Oberons operational until the end of the 1990s when they were replaced by the British Upholder-class submarines. [15]
In March 1962, the Cabinet recommended the purchase of three Oberons and eight frigates, on the condition that the cost of acquiring the submarines from the United Kingdom would be offset by British defence purchases in Canada. [16] [17] On 11 April 1962, the purchase was announced in the House of Commons of Canada by the Minister of National Defence, Douglas Harkness. [18] [19]
However, the Conservative government postponed the acquisition of the Oberons due to the slow speed of the United Kingdom's attempt to offset the acquisition. [20] The Conservative government was defeated in 1963 and the incoming Liberal government suspended all major defence procurement projects upon taking power. [21] [22] The final price of C$40 million for the entire contract was agreed upon in 1963. [23] However, due to Canadian modifications to the design, that number climbed to C$51.4 million. [24]
Since Onyx was already under construction, the boat was finished to Royal Navy specifications. All three boats received modifications to the original Oberon design, which included the enlargement of the snort de-icer, a different weapons fit, a larger air conditioning unit, active sonar and different communications equipment. [23] The second and third hulls were built to Canadian specifications, which moved the galley forward of the control room to make room for the sonar equipment. This led to the removal of three crew bunks, a problem that was never rectified in the submarines and led to an accommodation issue for the crew. [25] The three submarines were acquired for service as "clockwork mice", submarines used to train surface vessels in anti-submarine warfare. [26] [27]
The submarine, built at Chatham Dockyard in England, was laid down on 25 March 1965, and launched on 17 September 1966 by Monique Cadieux, the wife of the Associate Minister of Canadian National Defence. [28] [29] She was commissioned on 22 June 1968 at Chatham. [28] [26] She was also the final submarine constructed at Chatham Dockyard. [30] The submarine was named after the Okanagan First Nations people, and was assigned the pennant number S 74. [28]
Okanagan was assigned to the First Canadian Submarine Squadron, joined by her sister boats and served her entire career with Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) in the North Atlantic. [31] Okanagan spent time training with the Royal Navy after an exchange program was instituted in the 1960s that would see submarines from both the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy spend time with each other's forces. This allowed Canadian submarines on intelligence-gathering missions. Beginning in the 1970s, Canada began underwater surveillance patrols in the western Atlantic, tracking Soviet sub and surface fleet vessels, especially the ballistic missile submarines, usually in concert with an Argus or Aurora patrol aircraft. [32]
In July 1973, Okanagan collided with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel Grey Rover while exercising in British waters off the coast of Scotland. The submarine was running submerged off the mouth of the River Clyde when the tanker hit Okanagan. There were no injuries to the submarine's complement. However, the submarine suffered damaged to her fin and mast. The submarine returned to Faslane to effect repairs. [33] [34]
On 30 June 1983, Okanagan was deployed on a 19-day anti-Soviet submarine patrol. [35] Okanagan underwent her SOUP refit beginning in 1984, being handed over to HMC Dockyard at Halifax, Nova Scotia on 2 April. The refit began on 12 June 1985 and lasted until 7 April 1986. [36] Following the SOUP refit and the introduction of the Mark 48 torpedoes, the Oberons were considered fully operational and counted the same as other offensive fleet units in Maritime Command (MARCOM). [32]
In October–November 1990, Okanagan cruised the Great Lakes, the first Canadian submarine to do so. [26] Following the end of the Cold War, the Oberons were retasked, performing patrols on behalf of federal institutions such as the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Solicitor General of Canada between 1991 and 1994. The delay of the introduction of the Victoria-class submarines led to the Oberons working past their life expectancy. [32] During the Turbot War, the Oberons were tasked with monitoring European fishing fleets off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Their presence served as a deterrent in the escalating crisis. [37]
In early September 1998, Okanagan was used to search the ocean floor for the flight recorders of the crashed Swissair Flight 111 off the coast of Nova Scotia. [38] She was paid off from MARCOM on 12 September 1998. [26]
In May 2005, the Halifax Chronicle-Herald announced that MARCOM was looking to sell Okanagan for scrap metal, along with three other Canadian Oberons laid up at CFB Halifax. MARCOM stated that the submarines were not in suitable condition to be used as museum ships and predicted that each submarine would sell for between C$50,000 and C$60,000. [39] Okanagan was towed to a scrapyard in Port Maitland, Ontario in August 2011. [40]
The Upholder/Victoria-class submarines, also known as the Type 2400, are the class of the diesel-electric submarines built in the United Kingdom in the 1980s to supplement the nuclear submarines in the Submarine Service of the British Royal Navy.
HMCS Victoria is a long-range hunter-killer (SSK) submarine of the Royal Canadian Navy, the lead ship of her class. She is named after the city of Victoria, British Columbia. She was purchased from the Royal Navy, and is the former HMS Unseen (S41). The class was also renamed from the Upholder class.
The Oberon class was a ship class of 27 British-designed submarines operated by five nations. They were designed as a follow-on from the Porpoise class; physical dimensions were the same but stronger materials were used in hull construction and improved equipment was fitted.
HMCS Onondaga (S73) is an Oberon-class submarine that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces. Built in the mid-1960s, Onondaga operated primarily with the Maritime Forces Atlantic until her decommissioning in 2000 as the last Canadian Oberon.
HMCS Terra Nova was a Restigouche-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces from 1959 until 1997. After her final refit, she was a guided missile destroyer.
HMCS Ojibwa is an Oberon-class submarine that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and later the Canadian Forces Maritime Command (MARCOM). Originally intended for service with the British Royal Navy as HMS Onyx, the submarine was transferred to Canadian ownership before completion, and entered RCN service in 1965. Ojibwa operated primarily with Maritime Forces Atlantic until her decommissioning in 1998. In 2010, Ojibwa was laid up at CFB Halifax awaiting disposal, with the Elgin Military Museum planning to preserve her as a museum vessel. The submarine was towed to Port Burwell, Ontario in 2012, and was opened to the public in 2013. She is now the new focal point of a planned Museum of Naval History to be built alongside.
HMCS Yukon was a Mackenzie-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and later the Canadian Forces. She was the first Canadian naval unit to carry the name. She was named for the Yukon River that runs from British Columbia through Yukon and into Alaska in the United States.
HMCS Nipigon was an Annapolis-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces. She was the second Canadian naval unit to carry this name. Entering service in 1964, she was named for the Nipigon River that flows through Ontario.
HMCS Corner Brook is a long-range hunter-killer submarine (SSK) of the Royal Canadian Navy. She is the former Royal Navy Upholder-class submarine HMS Ursula (S42), purchased from the British at the end of the Cold War. She is the third boat of the Victoria class and is named after the city of Corner Brook, Newfoundland. The submarine was launched in 1989 and entered service with the Royal Navy in 1992. The Royal Navy laid Ursula up in 1994. In 1998, Canada acquired the submarine from the United Kingdom. The vessel entered service with the Canadian Armed Forces in 2003. Renamed Corner Brook, the submarine took part in several military exercises both internationally, such as NATO exercises and domestic, such as Operation Nanook. In June 2011, the submarine ran aground in Nootka Sound, damaging the vessel's bow. The submarine was sent for refit in 2014 to complete the repairs.
HMCS Annapolis was an Annapolis-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later, the Canadian Forces. She was the second Canadian naval unit to carry this name. Named for the Annapolis River that flows through Nova Scotia, the ship entered service in 1964, the last of the St. Laurent-class design. Serving through the Cold War, Annapolis was decommissioned in 1998 before going through a protracted legal battle for use as an artificial reef. She was finally scuttled as such in 2015 off the coast of British Columbia.
HMCS Mackenzie was a Mackenzie-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and later the Canadian Forces. She was the lead ship of her class and is the first Canadian naval unit to carry this name. The ship was named for the Mackenzie River, the largest river system in Canada and runs primarily through the Northwest Territories.
HMS Olympus was an Oberon-class submarine that served in the Royal Navy, and later in the Canadian Forces as a submarine trainer.
HMCS Qu'Appelle was a Mackenzie-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces. The ship's insignia and logo was the head of a fox facing forward centered in a diagonal line double white with a red center sqiggley line from the top left to bottom right. The moniker of the ship was "Follow the Fox".
HMCS Restigouche was the lead ship of the Restigouche-class destroyers that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces. Commissioned in 1958, Restigouche remained in service until 1994. She was sold for use as an artificial reef, however controversy arose over her acquisition and instead she was scuttled off the coast of Mexico in 2001. She was the second Canadian warship to carry the name HMCS Restigouche.
The Mackenzie-class destroyer was a class of warship used by the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Forces from the 1960s–1990s. Six such ships were envisioned, of which four were completed to this specification. The last two hulls were completed to the post DDH conversion St. Laurent-class design ; they were designated as the Annapolis class instead. The four Mackenzie-class destroyers spent most of their service in the Pacific Ocean, used primarily in a training role. Their only significant update was the DELEX program, which was completed between 1982 and 1985 and updated their navigational radar and their sonar.
HMCS Saskatchewan was a Mackenzie-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and later the Canadian Forces. She was the second Canadian naval unit to bear the name HMCS Saskatchewan. The ship was named for the Saskatchewan River which runs from Saskatchewan to Manitoba in Canada.
The Annapolis-class destroyer escort was a two-ship class of destroyer escorts that saw service with the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Forces from the 1960s to the 1990s. The final version of the St. Laurent-class design, the class was used extensively for anti-submarine warfare purposes. Both ships were sunk as artificial reefs after being retired, one on each coast of Canada.
HMCS Gatineau was a Restigouche-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces during the Cold War from 1959 to 1996. She was the third ship in her class and the second vessel to carry the designation HMCS Gatineau. She was sold for scrapping in 2009.
HMCS Windsor is a long-range hunter-killer (SSK) submarine of the Royal Canadian Navy, the second submarine of the Victoria class. She is named after the city of Windsor, Ontario. Built for the Royal Navy as the Upholder-class submarine HMS Unicorn she was purchased by Canada when the United Kingdom decided to move to an all-nuclear power fleet.
The Canada-class submarine was a proposed class of ten nuclear-powered attack submarines to be built for Canadian Forces Maritime Command with an option for two more. Announced in 1987, the class was intended to provide Maritime Command with a method for monitoring Canada's Arctic Ocean area while establishing Canadian sovereignty in the area. The announcement suffered significant public and private criticism and the project was cancelled before any of the submarines could be built.