HMS Oberon (S09)

HMS Oberon (s09)
History
United Kingdom
Name:	Oberon
Namesake:	Oberon - King of Shadows
Builder:	Chatham Dockyard, England
Laid down:	28 November 1957
Launched:	18 July 1959
Commissioned:	24 February 1961
Decommissioned:	1986
Status:	Scraped Grimsby, 1991
General characteristics as designed
Class and type:	Oberon class
Displacement:	1,610 tons standard 2,030 tons full load surfaced 2,410 tons full load submerged
Length:	241 feet (73 m) between perpendiculars 295.2 feet (90.0 m) length overall
Beam:	26.5 feet (8.1 m)
Draught:	18 feet (5.5 m)
Propulsion:	2 × Admiralty Standard Range 16 VMS diesel generators 2 × 6,000 shaft horsepower (4,500 kW) electric motors 2 shafts
Speed:	17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) submerged 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) surfaced
Complement:	68 (6 officers, 62 enlisted)
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 Oberon was the lead ship of the Oberon-class submarines, operated by the Royal Navy.

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.^[1]

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).^[2] Displacement was 1,610 tons standard, 2,030 tons full load when surfaced, and 2,410 tons full load when submerged.^[2] Propulsion machinery consisted of 2 Admiralty Standard Range 16 VMS diesel generators, and two 6,000 shaft horsepower (4,500 kW) electric motors, each driving a 7 feet (2.1 m) 3-bladed propeller at up to 400 rpm.^[2] Top speed was 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) when submerged, and 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) on the surface.^[2] Eight 21-inch (530 mm) diameter torpedo tubes were fitted (six facing forward, two aft), with a total payload of 24 torpedoes.^[2] The boats were fitted with Type 186 and Type 187 sonars, and an I-band surface search radar.^[2] The standard complement was 68: 6 officers, 62 sailors.^[2]

Oberon was laid down by Chatham Dockyard on 28 November 1957, and launched on 18 July 1959.^[2] She was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 24 February 1961.^[2] Oberon cost £2.43 million. She was the first of the class to have a deeper casing installed to house the equipment for initial training of SSN crews.^[2]

Decommissioning and fate

Oberon was paid off in 1986. She was sold in 1987 to the Seaforth Group to be refitted for resale to Egypt, but was broken up at Grimsby in 1991.

References

1. Chant, Christopher (2005). Submarine Warfare Today: The World's Deadliest Underwater Weapons Systems. Wigston: Silverdale Books. p. . ISBN 1-84509-158-2. OCLC 156749009.
2. 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.

• Submarines, war beneath the waves, from 1776 to the present day, by Robert Hutchinson
• 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. OCLC 67375475.