SUBMARINES: CHATHAM BUILT
Oberon Class: Overseas Patrol Submarine
The design of the earlier Porpoise Class was heavily influenced by the later German U-boats of WW11 and the
Oberon's were a further advancement on this design.
Unlike the Porpoise boats, plastics and fibre glass was used on the fin and casing. All machinery sat on heavy resilient mountings and with the external streamlining,
this class of submarine became the quietest of their type in the world.
Built at a cost of 2.4 to 3.6 million pounds, the first of the class, Oberon was laid down at Chatham on 28 November 1957. The first to be commissioned came out of
the Vickers yard at Barrow in November 1960.
The quality of the Oberon class was quickly realised and four countries, Canada, Australia, Brazil and Chile placed orders. All three boats ordered by Canada were built at Chatham.
In the control room, the earlier configuration of foreplanes, afterplanes and helm were gone and the One Man Control was installed.
These diesel electric submarines were capable of long patrols and served the Royal Navy well during the Cold War.
The life of these boats was extended by upgrade programmes to both boat and its weapons carrying capability. The last Royal Navy boat paid off in 1993
and of those with other navies, Hyatt with the Chilean Navy paid of in 2005.
Of the thirteen RN submarines in this class, two are now museum exhibits. Onyx is at Birkenhead and in 1992 Ocelot returned to the place of her birth and can be seen at the
Historic
Dockyard Chatham.
Another Chatham boat, built for the Canadian Navy, Onondaga, is to be placed on display at the
Pointe au Pere Historic Site, Rimouski, Quebec.
It is hoped the project will be completed for opening to the public in June 2007.
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| Oberon Class: Information | |||
| Commissioned | 1960 to 1977 RN boats 1960 to 1967 |
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| Length (feet): | 295ft 3" |
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| Beam (feet): | 26ft 6⅛" | ||
| Surface Displacement (tons): | 2200 |
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| Submerged Displacement (tons): | 2410 |
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| Speed (knots): | Surface: 15 Dived: 17 |
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| Armament: | 6 x 21" Bow Tubes 2 x 21" Stern Tubes |
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| Propulsion: | 2 x 3680 bhp Diesel Engines 2 x 6000 bhp Electric Motors 2 Shafts |
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| Range | 9,000 nm |
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| Complement | 69 |
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