Oberon class Submarine SSG SSK Royal Australian Navy

Royal Australian Navy
Oberon class Submarine

oberon class submarine attack ssk hmas royal australian navy oxley otway ovens onslow orion otama

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 1992
Fate: sold for scrap
Motto: -

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
Motto: -

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
Motto: -

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
Motto: -

HMAS Orion (S 61)

Laid down: October 6, 1972
Launched: September 16, 1974
Commissioned: June 15, 1977
Decommissioned: 1996
Fate: sold for scrap
Motto: orbe circumcincto (all around the world)

HMAS Otama (S 62)

Laid down: May 25, 1973
Launched: December 3, 1975
Commissioned: April 27, 1978
Decommissioned: December 15, 2000
Fate: awaiting preservation
Motto: unseen we seek

Specifications:

Builder: Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. Ltd., Greenock, Scotland, UK
Length: 90 meters (295.2 feet)
Beam: 8,1 meters (26.5 ft)
Draft: 5,5 meters (18 ft)
Displacement: 2030 tons (surfaced) / 2410 tons (submerged)
Speed: 12 knots (22 km/h) - surfaced / 17 knots (31 km/h) - submerged
Depth: test depth 200 meters (660 ft)
Complement: 68

Range:
9000 NM (17000 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h)

Propulsion:
2 x Admiralty Standard Range supercharged V16 diesel generators
2 x English Electric motors
3500 bhp / 4500 shp
2 shafts

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-in 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

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