HMS Oracle (S16)

Last updated

Hms oracle s16.jpg
HMS Oracle
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Oracle
Builder Cammell Laird, Birkenhead
Laid down26 April 1960
Launched26 September 1961
Commissioned14 February 1963
Decommissioned18 September 1993
FateTransferred to Pounds scrapyard, Portsmouth in 1997 for breaking up, completed in mid-2003. [1]
General characteristics as designed
Class and type Oberon-class submarine
Displacement
  • 1,610 tons standard
  • 2,030 tons full load surfaced
  • 2,410 tons full load submerged
Length
Beam26.5 feet (8.1 m)
Draught18 feet (5.5 m)
Propulsion
  • 2 × Admiralty Standard Range 16 VMS diesel generators
  • 2 × 3,000 shaft horsepower (2,200 kW) electric motors
  • 2 shafts
Speed
  • 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) submerged
  • 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) surfaced
Complement68
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Type 186 and Type 187 sonars
  • I-band surface search radar
Armament
  • 8 × 21-inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes (6 forward, 2 aft)
  • 24 torpedoes

HMS Oracle was an Oberon-class submarine of the Royal Navy.

Contents

Design and construction

The Oberon class was a direct follow on of the Porpoise-class, with the same dimensions and external design, but updates to equipment and internal fittings, and a higher grade of steel used for fabrication of the pressure hull. [2]

As designed for British service, the Oberon-class submarines were 241 feet (73 m) in length between perpendiculars and 295.2 feet (90.0 m) in length overall, with a beam of 26.5 feet (8.1 m), and a draught of 18 feet (5.5 m). [3] Displacement was 1,610 tons standard, 2,030 tons full load when surfaced, and 2,410 tons full load when submerged. [3] Propulsion machinery consisted of 2 Admiralty Standard Range 16 VMS diesel generators, and two 3,000 shaft horsepower (2,200 kW) electric motors, each driving a 7-foot diameter (2.1 m) 3-bladed propeller at up to 400 rpm. [3] Top speed was 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) when submerged, and 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) on the surface. [3] Eight 21-inch (530 mm) diameter torpedo tubes were fitted (six facing forward, two aft), with a total payload of 24 torpedoes. [3] The boats were fitted with Type 186 and Type 187 sonars, and an I-band surface search radar. [3] The standard complement was 68: 6 officers, 62 sailors. [3]

Oracle was laid down by Cammell Laird on 26 April 1960, and launched on 26 September 1961. [3] The boat was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 14 February 1963. [3]

Operational history

Oracle performed three-month secret 'observation' missions in the Arctic region in 1965 during the Cold War period and was on stand-by duty during the tumultuous period when Rhodesia announced independence.

Oracle attended the 1977 Silver Jubilee Fleet Review off Spithead when she was part of the Submarine Flotilla. [4]

Oracle featured in the 1980s BBC documentary series Submarine as she was host to Perisher trainee submarine commanders.[ citation needed ]

Decommissioning and fate

Oracle was paid off on 18 September 1993.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

HMS <i>Ocelot</i> (S17)

HMS Ocelot (S17) was an Oberon-class diesel-electric submarine operated by the Royal Navy.

HMS <i>Onslaught</i> (S14)

HMS Onslaught was a British Oberon-class submarine operated by the Royal Navy.

HMS <i>Oberon</i> (S09)

HMS Oberon was the lead ship of the Oberon-class submarines, operated by the Royal Navy.

HMS <i>Odin</i> (S10)

HMS Odin was a British Oberon-class submarine operated by the Royal Navy.

HMS <i>Sealion</i> (S07)

HMS Sealion (S07) was a Porpoise-class submarine.

HMS <i>Opportune</i> (S20)

HMS Opportune (S20) was an Oberon-class submarine of the Royal Navy.

HMS <i>Otus</i> (S18)

HMS Otus was a Royal Navy Oberon-class submarine launched in 1962. She was decommissioned in the early 1990s and is now a naval museum in Germany.

HMS <i>Olympus</i> (S12)

HMS Olympus was an Oberon-class submarine that served in the Royal Navy, and later in the Canadian Forces as a submarine trainer.

HMS <i>Osiris</i> (S13)

HMS Osiris (S13) was an Oberon-class submarine that served in the Royal Navy.

<i>Rainbow</i>-class submarine Type of British submarines in service before and during WWII

The Rainbow-class submarine or R class was a quartet of patrol submarines built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s.

HMS <i>Opossum</i> (S19)

HMS Opossum (S19) was an Oberon-class submarine in service with the Royal Navy from 1964 to 1993.

HMS H44 was an H-class submarine of the Royal Navy. She was built by Armstrong Whitworth and launched on 17 February 1919. She served in the Second World War. She had a complement of twenty-two crew members. She was sold in 1944 and was broken up at Troon in February 1945.

HMS <i>Cachalot</i> (S06)

HMS Cachalot (S06) was a Porpoise-class submarine. Her keel was laid down on 1 August 1955 by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Greenock. She was launched on 11 December 1957, and commissioned on 1 September 1959.

HMS <i>Orpheus</i> (S11) Oberon-class submarine

HMS Orpheus was an Oberon-class submarine of the Royal Navy.

HMS <i>Seneschal</i>

HMS Seneschal was a S-class submarine of the third batch built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She survived the war and was sold for scrap in 1965.

HMS <i>Spearhead</i>

HMS Spearhead was a S-class submarine of the third batch built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She survived the war and was sold to Portugal.

HMS <i>Spark</i>

HMS Spark was a S-class submarine of the third batch built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She survived the war and was scrapped in 1950.

HMS H52 was a British H class submarine built by HM Dockyard, Pembroke Dock. She was laid down on an unknown date, launched on 31 March 1919 and commissioned on 16 December 1919, the last Welsh-built fighting ship to enter the British Royal Navy.

HMS E27 was a British E class submarine built by Yarrow Shipbuilders, Scotstoun. She was launched on 9 June 1917 and commissioned in August 1917. HMS E27 was sold to John Cashmore Ltd in Newport for scrapping on 6 September 1922.

HMS <i>Oberon</i> (P21)

HMS Oberon was the prototype for the Odin-class submarine of the Royal Navy.

References

  1. ↑ Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN   978-1-86176-281-8.
  2. ↑ Chant, Christopher (2005). Submarine Warfare Today: The World's Deadliest Underwater Weapons Systems. Wigston: Silverdale Books. p. [ page needed ]. ISBN   1-84509-158-2. OCLC   156749009.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Moore, John, ed. (1977). Jane's Fighting Ships 1977-78. Jane's Fighting Ships (80th ed.). London: Jane's Yearbooks. p. 490. ISBN   0531032779. OCLC   18207174.
  4. ↑ Official Souvenir Programme, 1977. Silver Jubilee Fleet Review, HMSO

Publications

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.