oberon class submarine ssk hmas australian navy

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Royal Australian Navy
Oberon class Submarine
 
 
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Units:
 S 57 HMAS Oxley (1967)
S 59 HMAS Otway (1968)
S 70 HMAS Ovens (1969)
S 60 HMAS Onslow (1969)
S 61 HMAS Orion (1977)
S 62 HMAS Otama (1978)
 
Boat data:

HMAS Oxley (S 57)
Laid down: July 2, 1964
Launched: September 24, 1965
Commissioned: March 21, 1967
 Decommissioned: February 13, 1992
 Fate: sold for scrap; scrapped

 Namesake: Oxley (suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia)
Motto: PATIENCE AND STRENGTH

s57 hmas oxley crest insignia patch badge oberon class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy
 

HMAS Otway (S 59)
 Laid down: June 29, 1965
Launched: November 29, 1966
Commissioned: April 23, 1968
 Decommissioned: February 17, 1994
Fate: monument at Holbrook, New South Wales

 Namesake: Otway National Park (Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia)
 Motto: VINCENT AMOR PATRAE (love of my country prevails)

s59 hmas otway crest insignia patch badge oberon class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy
 

HMAS Ovens (S 70)
 Laid down: June 17, 1966
Launched: December 4, 1967
Commissioned: April 18, 1969
 Decommissioned: December 1, 1995
 Fate: museum at Fremantle, Western Australia

 Namesake: Ovens is a river and locality in north-east Victoria, Australia
 Motto: SILENCE IS GOLDEN

s70 hmas ovens crest insignia patch badge oberon class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy
 

HMAS Onslow (S 60)
 Laid down: December 4, 1967
Launched: December 3, 1968
Commissioned: December 22, 1969
 Decommissioned: March 29, 1999
 Fate: museum at Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney

 Namesake: Onslow is a coastal town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia
 Motto: FESTINA LENTE (make haste slowly)

s60 hmas onslow crest insignia patch badge oberon class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy
 

HMAS Orion (S 61)
 Laid down: October 6, 1972
Launched: September 16, 1974
Commissioned: June 15, 1977
 Decommissioned: 1996
 Fate: sold for scrap; scrapped

 Namesake: The constellation Orion
 Motto: ORBE CIRCUMCINTO (all around the world)

s61 hmas orion crest insignia patch badge oberon class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy
 

HMAS Otama (S 62)
 Laid down: May 25, 1973
Launched: December 3, 1975
Commissioned: April 27, 1978
 Decommissioned: December 15, 2000
 Fate: sold for scrap; scrapped

 Namesake: Otama (Aboriginal word for shark or shark-like)
 Motto: UNSEEN WE SEEK

s62 hmas otama crest insignia patch badge oberon class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy
 
 
Specifications:

Builder: Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. Ltd., Greenock, Scotland, UK

 Displacement: 2,030 tons (surfaced) / 2,410 tons (submerged)
Length: 90 meters (295.2 feet)
Beam: 8.1 meters (26.5 ft)
Draft: 5.5 meters (18 ft)
Speed: 12 knots (22 km/h) - surfaced / 17 knots (31 km/h) - submerged
Depth: test depth 200 meters (660 ft)
 Complement: 7 officers, 56 sailors

Range:
 9,000 NM (17,000 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h)
Propulsion:
2 x Admiralty Standard Range supercharged V16 diesel generators (1,840 bhp, each)
2 x English Electric motors (3,000 bhp, each)
2 shafts, 2 propellers
 
Armament:
6 x 21 inches (533mm) torpedo tubes (bow)
 2 x short-length 21 inches torpedo tubes (stern) - removed later
 payload - mix of 20
 Mk.48 Mod.4 heavyweight torpedoes
 UGM-84 Harpoon SSM
  
 Systems:
 Atlas Elektronik Type CSU3-41 bow array
BAC Type 2007 flank array
Sperry BQG-4 Micropuffs rangefinding array
Kelvin Hughes Type 1006 radar
 
 
The Oberon class was a ship class of 27 British-designed submarines operated by five different nations. They were designed as a direct follow-on from the Porpoise-class: physical dimensions were the same, but stronger materials were used in hull construction, and updated equipment was fitted.

Design and construction:
The 295.2-foot (90.0 m)-long Oberon class was based heavily on the preceding Porpoise class of submarines, which were in service from 1956 to 1988. Changes from the Porpoise design were primarily to improve the strength and stealth of the submarine. Instead of UXW steel, the hull was built from QT28 steel, which was easier to fabricate and stronger, allowing the submarine to dive deeper. Glass-reinforced plastic was used in construction of the casing.

Electronics, sonar, and radar systems were also upgraded to the latest standard. The submarines were equipped with a type 1002 surface search and navigation radar, a type 187 active-passive attack sonar, and a type 2007 long-range passive sonar.

The Oberons were constructed at a variety of shipyards in the United Kingdom: the six Australian and two Chilean submarines by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company (the latter were built after the Scott Lithgow merger); the three Brazilian submarines by Vickers-Armstrongs; and the three Canadian submarines at Chatham Dockyard. Construction of the British submarines was shared amongst four dockyards: the three mentioned above and Cammell Laird.

Armament:
The Oberons were originally armed with eight 21-inch (533.4 mm) torpedo tubes: six tubes in the bow, and two short tubes for antisubmarine defence in the stern. The submarine normally carried a payload of 20 torpedoes for the forward tubes; a mix of Mark 24 Tigerfish and Mark 8 torpedoes, while only the two preloaded Mark 20S torpedoes were carried for the stern tubes. Naval mines could be carried instead of torpedoes: the torpedo payload would be replaced with up to 50 Mark 5 Stonefish or Mark 6 Sea Urchin mines.

The forward torpedo tubes are constructed in two sections bolted together across the bulkhead at the fore end of the torpedo compartment. The 116-in long inner section is constructed of 0.5-in rolled steel fitted with welded flanges and support brackets. The outer section is constructed of a similar tube 175 in long but with a reinforced 1.125 inch thick section behind the main bulkhead. The internal door hinges at one side with two locking mechanisms, a swing bolt opposite the hinge and a rotating locking ring attached to the tube which presses down on the ten projecting lugs around the door. The outer end of the tube is sealed with a domed bow cap. Bow shutters close across the bow caps so as to preserve the streamlined shape of the bow when the cap is closed.

The bow caps and shutters are mechanically linked to a hydraulically operated drive rod from within the torpedo compartment. The bow cap opens first behind the shutter, which then folds back against it forming a smooth exit tube. Interlocks prevent the doors at both ends being opened at the same time but the inner door is also provided with a test cock to check whether the tube is full of water before opening and remains held nearly closed by the swing bolt after the locking ring is released. The tube internal diameter is 22.5 in, wider than the torpedo, which is designed as a loose fit inside the tube. Torpedoes could be fired either electrically or with compressed air.

The aft torpedo tubes passed through the ballast tank at the rear of the submarine. A 31-inches section projected into the boat through the bulkhead, forming overall a relatively short tube of 12 ft, but of 25 in diameter.

With the retirement of the Mark 20S torpedo in the 1980s, the stern torpedo tubes were decommissioned and thereafter used for storing beer.


The Royal Australian Navy acquired six Oberons: an initial order of four and a second order of two. The second order was originally for four submarines, but two were cancelled in favour of expanding the RAN Fleet Air Arm.

Australian Oberons had different electronic equipment, using primarily American radar and sonar systems. They had Sperry BQG-4 Micropuffs passive ranging sonar and Krupp CSU3-41 attack sonar. Instead of the British Tigerfish torpedoes, the Australians used American Mark 48 torpedoes. They had a slightly larger payload, carrying 22 torpedoes for the forward tubes, six of which were preloaded. Shortly after entering service, the aft torpedo tubes in all six submarines were sealed.
The Australian submarines were later updated to be equipped with the subsonic antiship Harpoon missile. In 1985, off the island of Kauai in Hawaii, HMAS Ovens became only the second conventional submarine in the world - and the first Oberon - to fire a subsurface-launched Harpoon missile, successfully hitting the target over the horizon. Consequently, the designation for the Australian Oberons changed from SS to SSG.

source: wikipedia + RAN

 
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