Canadian Submarine Choices (Oberons) - Part Two

Following Part One between 1957-1960 Canada decided to buy its own submarines. Canada chose Britain's Oberon-class for a number of reasons including:
-  the Oberons were the latest class Britain were building and offering in the late 1950s
-  Britain's Royal Navy (RN) had been training Canadian submariners on the 3 Amphion/A-class
   submarines at 6th Division (Halifax) since 1954. The A-class in many technical and operational
   ways evolved into the larger Porpoise-class and then Oberon class. Perhaps the main reasons the
   Porpoise/Oberons were 600 tons heavier than the A-class were thicker pressure hulls/deeper diving,
   greater battery tonnage/longer submerged, larger sonars, 8 more crew and more food for longer
   missions/endurance. 

-  Britain itself  (RN and Vickers) had a well developed secondment-training systen for British
   Empire/Commonwealth submariners on RN submarines, particularly if the Royal Canadian Navy
  (RCN) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) were going to buy Oberons.

-  the A-class to Porpoise/Oberon evolution had identified and resolved most technical problems
   before they were bought by customer navies (something that couldn't happen for the RCN's later
   Victoria/Upholders or the RAN's Collins and maybe future Attack class). The evolution meant
   Oberon development costs were low. 

-  purchase and support (spare parts, upgrades etc) costs were also low because the RN itself bought
   them in quantity (13 and later 2 more) and had a long term commitment to operate them. Also costs
   were shared between the RAN (buying 6), Brazilian Navy (3) and Chilean Navy (2). The RCN
   bought only 3, which was inadequate for continuous operations in both the Atlantic and Pacific
   Oceans. So permanent basing only seemed to a occur at Halifax, serving the Atlantic Ocean. 

Canada's complete operational Oberon flotilla probably at Halifax naval base (Photo courtesy Corvus Publishing Group Ltd./Canada's Navy via http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/canada/postwar/oberon/ )

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Canada’s 3 Oberons: Ojibwa, Onondaga and Okanagan (all in above photo) entered service in 1965, 1967 and 1968 respectively. Their main function were service as "clockwork mice", submarines used to train RCN and USN surface vessels in anti-submarine warfare (ASW). "Clockwork mice" is a derogatory term for boring (for submariners) ASW training operations where the submarine is instructed to be "noisy" in order to be quickly/easily detected by surface forces. Also USN nuclear (SSN) and conventional (SSK) attack submarines would have exercised with Canada’s Oberons. The US operated its last Tench-class SSK until 1975 and last Barbel-class SSK until 1990. 

From 1979 the RCN upgraded its 3 Oberons with new sonars, periscopes, communications, fire-control systems and torpedo tubes capable of firing the still used US Mk 48 torpedo. This would allow the 3 to be deployed by NATO in the North Atlantic to monitor, and if necessary destroy, Soviet submarines. Canada acquired 2 more Oberons (in 1989 Olympus and in 1992 Osiris) for stationary training and spare parts cannibalisation respectively. 

From what I've read no Canadian Oberons were based in Canada's Pacific Ocean environment. One reason for this could have been Canada did not want to provide submarines for the US war in Vietnam. Reading between the lines the RAN's Oberons may have been used for Special Forces dropoffs and pickups in North Vietnam (through to 1972). See my two secret missions articles written in 2013 here and here.

Tomorrow Part Three - Canada tosses up buying SSNs to replace the Oberons. Next week I'll also do Parts Four and Five.

Pete