OBERON CLASS

Canada had three Oberon class submarines in active service from 1965 until 2000. These boats were extremely successful and were noted for being very difficult to detect. They were frequently upgraded and modernized during their life and faithfully served numerous generations of Canadian submariners. Many a warship discovered, to their embarassment, that these old hulls still packed a hard punch.

On the 29th of February, 1964, HMCS OJIBWA was launched at Chatham Dockyard, in England - the same dockyard that had launched Great Britain's most famous warship, HMS VICTORY, nearly 200 years previously.

She was followed in quick succession by her sister subs HMCS ONONDAGA (1967) and HMCS OKANAGAN (1968), which turned out to be the last warship ever built at Chatham Dockyard.

The Oberons themselves were derived from lessons learned during the Second World War and offered a great improvement over earlier boats, especially in the areas of diving depth and crew comfort. That is, of course, if you can call severe water rationing and a bunk size smaller than the average coffin 'comfort'.

Throughout the '70s, '80s and '90s the three Oberons were used in a variety of roles...

'Clockwork mouse' (to provide NATO surface ships with sonar contact time)...

Surveillance...

Underwater looks (sneaking up underneath a surface ship to gather intelligence on its hull, propellers and sonars). The image above is from an underwater look gone wrong when HMCS OKANAGAN collided with the propellers on the Royal Fleet Auxilliary Grey Rover in the Clyde estuary on the 28th of July, 1973.

…and SBS Ops - covertly landing agents on hostile shores. Here, ONONDAGA takes members of the Canadian Army's Patrol Pathfinder course to sea for some middle-of-the-night operations.

Canadian Oberons underwent extensive upgrading during their mid-life refit, known as SOUP - Submarine Operational Update Program. In the early '90s, the main sonar set was also upgraded and the familiar Oberon dome was replaced with a larger, more streamlined Triton dome.

Additionally, up until 1987, all Canadian Oberons carried the U.S. Mk 37 NC2 and NC3 torpedoes. After 1987, the weapons embarkation and discharge systems were modified to carry the much longer U.S. Mk 48 torpedo. Unfortunately, this meant the end of the line for permanent fixed bunks in the Forward Torpedo Room, though the crew still 'slept with the fishes' using temporary bunks known as breadboxes.

Even though the hulls were getting somewhat long in the tooth, the Mk 48 modifications and constant electronic upgrades to all sensor systems allowed the Oberons to be used for much more than just clockwork mouse. Many opponents were dismayed to discover just how quiet an Oberon could be. Here, HMCS OKANAGAN snorts through the periphery of the Arctic ice pack.

Once the decision to purchase Upholder class submarines was announced in 1998, OJIBWA was laid up immediately and OKANAGAN was decommissioned a few months later in order to save as much money as possible.

In her last months of naval life, OKANAGAN rescued two civilian sailors who had been adrift for days off the Bahamas. On return to home waters, she searched for and found the black boxes of doomed Swissair Flight 111, which had plunged into the sea just off the mouth of Halifax harbour with the tragic loss of all life. Both of these achievements were fitting ends to a career that spanned over three decades.

ONONDAGA, just coming out of a two-year refit, was kept running for a little while longer. Her operational roles and capabilities were taken away one by one and, for the final year, her sole purpose in life was to train the sailors that would form the next generation of Canadian submariners.

"They weren't just hull numbers; they were our home addresses. Now the old neighbourhood is torn down and gone, and all that is left are memories." - Dick Murphy, USS Tiru (SS 416).

However, all is not lost. ONONDAGA has been preserved as a museum at the Point-au-Père Maritime Historic Site in Rimouski, Quebec - now new generations of Canadians can experience the cramped conditions firsthand. Not only do they have torpedo tube rear door shutting contests and mini-qualification packages, but visitors can even spend the night onboard.

OJIBWA is also being preserved - as part of the Elgin Military Museum - and will be in permanent drydock at Port Burwell, Ontario. Those of us who sailed on these two boats owe a debt of gratitude to the teams of dedicated Canadians working hard to preserve them. It is a rare opportunity indeed, to be able to step back into the past, even if just for a day, and relive the experiences of youth.