HMCS Onondaga (S73)

HMCS ''Onondaga'' (S73) is an that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces. Built in the mid-1960s, ''Onondaga'' operated primarily with the Maritime Forces Atlantic until her decommissioning in 2000 as the last Canadian ''Oberon''.

Several plans for the disposal of the submarine were made and cancelled before the Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père in Rimouski purchased the boat for preservation as a museum vessel. The submarine was moved into location during 2008, and is open to the public.

Design and construction

The ''Oberon'' class were considered an improved version of the preceding ''Porpoise''-class submarines, with a different frame of the pressure hullCocker, p. 108 and constructed from a better grade of steel.Brown, p. 285Gardiner and Chumbley, p. 530 These build differences allowed the ''Oberon''s to have a deeper diving depth at roughly .

The submarines displaced surfaced and submerged. They measured long with a beam of and a draught of .Gardiner and Chumbley state that the dimensions were between perpendiculars, long overall with a beam of and a draught of

The boats were powered by a two shaft diesel-electric system. The ''Oberon''s were equipped with two ASR 1 16-cylinder diesel engines creating and two English Electric motors creating . This gave the submarines a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . The boats carried 258 tons of oil giving them a range of at 12 knots.Gardiner and Chumbley, p. 529

The design was armed with eight 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, six in the bow and two in the stern. They carried 24 reloads for a total of 30 torpedoes. Canadian boats differed from the original design by being equipped for the US Mark 37C torpedo.Gardiner and Chumbley, p. 48 The longer, wire-guided Mod 2 version was carried in the forward tubes and the non-guided Mod 0 for the rear tubes.

The ''Oberon''s were equipped with Type 187 active-passive sonar, Type 2007 passive sonar and Type 2019 sonar.

Submarine Operational Update Program (SOUP)

By the late 1970s, the ''Oberon''s in Canadian service had become obsolete and were in need of an update. Planning was done in 1978 and the program approved in February 1979.Ferguson, p. 298 In an effort to take the subs from anti-submarine warfare training to frontline service, Maritime Command developed a refit program that included new sonars, periscopes, communications and fire-control systems. They also had their armament upgraded with the fitting of torpedo tubes capable of firing the Mk 48 torpedo. This would allow the submarines to be deployed by NATO in the North Atlantic to monitor Soviet submarines.

The SOUP refits comprised a new US fire control system, a digital Singer Librascope Mark I, and new Sperry passive ranging sonar with the Type 719 short range sonar removed. The new sonar was placed in the upper casing on the pressure hull. New communications and navigational systems were installed. The submarines were fitted with new torpedo tubes for Mark 48 torpedoes, however the torpedoes themselves were considered a separate procurement program, which was only finalized in 1985.

Between 1980 and 1986, one of the Canadian ''Oberon''s was out of service undergoing the refit. SOUP came in on time and on its budget of C$45 million in 1986. SOUP kept the Canadian ''Oberon''s operating until the end of the 1990s when they were replaced by the British s.

Acquisition

In March 1962, the Cabinet recommended the purchase of three ''Oberon''s and eight frigates, on the condition that the cost of acquiring the submarines from the United Kingdom would be offset by British defence purchases in Canada. On 11 April 1962, the purchase was announced in the House of Commons of Canada by the Minister of National Defence, Douglas Harkness.

However, the Conservative government postponed the acquisition of the ''Oberon''s due to the slow speed of the United Kingdom's attempt to offset the acquisition. The Conservative government was defeated in 1963 and the incoming Liberal government suspended all major defence procurement projects upon taking power. The final price of C$40 million for the entire contract was agreed upon in 1963.Ferguson, p. 260

Since ''Onyx'' was already under construction, the boat was finished to Royal Navy specifications. All three boats received modifications to the original ''Oberon'' design, which included the enlargement of the snort de-icer, a different weapons fit, a larger air conditioning unit, active sonar and different communications equipment. The second and third hulls were built to Canadian specifications, which moved the galley forward of the control room to make room for the sonar equipment. This led to the removal of three crew bunks, a problem that was never rectified in the submarines and led to an accommodation issue for the crew. The three submarines were acquired for service as "clockwork mice", submarines used to train surface vessels in anti-submarine warfare.Macpherson and Barrie, p. 268

Construction and career

The submarine, built at Chatham Dockyard in England, was laid down on 18 June 1964, and launched on 25 September 1965.Moore, p. 63Macpherson and Barrie, p. 269 She was commissioned at Chatham on 22 June 1967. The submarine was named after the Onondaga First Nations people, and was assigned the pennant number S 73. The submarine cost C$16,000,000.

''Onondaga'' was assigned to Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) as part of the First Canadian Submarine Squadron and served nearly her entire career in the North Atlantic. ''Onondoga'' spent time training with the Royal Navy after an exchange program was instituted in the 1960s that would see submarines from both the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy spend time with each other's forces. This allowed Canadian submarines on intelligence-gathering missions. Beginning in the 1970s, Canada began underwater surveillance patrols in the western Atlantic, tracking Soviet sub and surface fleet vessels, especially the ballistic missile submarines, usually in concert with a Canadair CP-107 Argus or Lockheed CP-140 Aurora patrol aircraft.

''Onondoga'' arrived at HMC Dockyard at Halifax, Nova Scotia on 18 January 1982 in preparation for her SOUP refit. The refit began on 25 June 1983 and was completed on 27 April 1984. Following the SOUP refit and the introduction of the Mark 48 torpedoes, the ''Oberon''s were considered fully operational and counted the same as other offensive fleet units in Maritime Command.

Following the end of the Cold War, the ''Oberon''s were retasked, performing patrols on behalf of federal institutions such as the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Solicitor General of Canada between 1991 and 1994. For six months in 1994, the submarine served on the west coast. The delay of the introduction of the ''Victoria''-class submarines led to the ''Oberon''s working past their life expectancy. During the Turbot War, the ''Oberon''s were tasked with monitoring European fishing fleets off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Their presence served as a deterrent in the escalating crisis.

''Onondaga'' was decommissioned by Maritime Command on 28 July 2000. She was the last ''Oberon''-class submarine operational in Canadian service. On decommissioning, ''Onondaga'' and her sister boats were left to await disposal in Halifax harbour.Massarella, ''Monster Moves'', p. 114

Preservation

In 2001, it was planned to cut ''Onondaga'' into pieces and reassemble her inside the Canadian War Museum. This plan was cancelled before the end of the year, because of the excessive cost. In May 2005 the ''Halifax Chronicle-Herald'' announced that Maritime Command was looking to sell ''Onondaga'' for scrap metal, along with three other Canadian ''Oberon''s. MARCOM stated that the submarines were not in suitable condition to be used as museum ships, and predicted that each submarine would sell for between C$50,000 and C$60,000.

Instead of being scrapped, the submarine was purchased by the Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père, Rimouski in 2006, for C$4 plus tax . The submarine was towed from Halifax to Rimouski during the summer of 2008, floated onto a temporary marine railway, then hauled up the shore into the final position. Getting the submarine onto the marine railway required a high tide of , which would only occur during a 2-hour window on 2 August.Massarella, ''Monster Moves'', p. 117 The removal of torpedoes and batteries following decommissioning had significantly affected ''Onondaga''s displacement, and of water had to be pumped into the ballast tanks before the submarine could be safely towed. Originally due to leave Halifax on 9 July, the tow was delayed by two days due to foul weather. One of the tow bridles snapped before the tugboat and submarine left the harbour, causing a half-day delay. On 12 July, submarine and tugboat were forced to divert via the Canso Canal to avoid Hurricane Bertha; a second tugboat was called in to help ''Onondaga'' traverse the locks.

''Onondaga'' arrived in Rimouski harbour on time for the 2 August high tide, but a heavy storm prevented the operation from occurring. The marine railway was extended further into the water to permit an attempt in September with a tide. The second attempt succeeded in half-removing ''Onondaga'' from the water, but the submarine was not properly aligned with the support cradles. As the water receded overnight, the submarine rolled to the right and off the railway, puncturing the outer casing on a nearby boulder.Massarella, ''Monster Moves'', pp. 127–128 A third attempt was made two weeks later, after the submarine was shored up and the cradles were replaced.Massarella, ''Monster Moves'', p. 128 Two tugboats were used to help position the submarine over the railway, but as the pull from shore started, one of the tugboats applied too much tension and pulled ''Onondaga'' back off. A fourth and final attempt was made on 28 November; after this, there were no more opportunities before winter struck and froze Rimouski harbour, further damaging the submarine. ''Onondaga'' was successfully removed clear of the water. The transportation and removal of ''Onondaga'' from the water was featured in the 'Supersize Submarine' episode of the ''Monster Moves'' documentary series.

After repairs and refurbishment, ''Onondaga'' and her attached museum, as a publicly accessible submarine, opened on 29 May 2009, with over 100,000 visitors in the first year.Massarella, ''Monster Moves'', p. 129

Notes

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External links

Rimouski Museum Acquires HMCS Onondaga

Rimouski museum buys surplus sub for $4

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onondaga (S73)
Oberon-class submarines of Canada
Ships built in Chatham
1965 ships
Museum ships in Canada
Museum ships in Quebec
Tourist attractions in Bas-Saint-Laurent
Buildings and structures in Rimouski
Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père
Canadian submarine accidents