HMS ''Oberon'' was the lead ship of the ''Oberon''-class

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s, operated by the

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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 A submarine hull has two major components, the ''light hull'' and the ''pressure hull''. The light hull (''casing'' in British usage) of a submarine is the outer non-watertight hull which provides a hydrodynamically efficient shape. The pressure ...

. As designed for British service, the ''Oberon''-class submarines were in length between perpendiculars and in

length overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...

, with a beam of , and a draught of . Displacement was 1,610 tons standard, 2,030 tons full load when surfaced, and 2,410 tons full load when submerged. Propulsion machinery consisted of 2 Admiralty Standard Range 16 VMS diesel generators, and two electric motors, each driving a 3-bladed propeller at up to 400 rpm. Top speed was when submerged, and on the surface. Eight diameter torpedo tubes were fitted (six facing forward, two aft), with a total payload of 24 torpedoes. The boats were fitted with Type 186 and Type 187 sonars, and an I-band surface search radar. The standard complement was 68: 6 officers, 62 sailors. ''Oberon'' was laid down by Chatham Dockyard on 28 November 1957, and launched on 18 July 1959. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 24 February 1961. ''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

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crews.

Operational history

Ran aground in Rothesay Bay - early 1960s - soon refloated.

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 Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linco ...

in 1991.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oberon (S09) Oberon-class submarines of the Royal Navy Ships built in Chatham 1959 ships Cold War submarines of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1961