HMAS Otama
 Otama in Western Port Bay in June 2011 |
|
| Career (Australia) |  |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company |
| Laid down: | 25 May 1973 |
| Launched: | 3 December 1975 |
| Commissioned: | 27 April 1978 |
| Decommissioned: | 15 December 2000 |
| Motto: | "Unseen We Seek" |
| Status: | Decommissioned |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Oberon class submarine |
| Displacement: | 1,610 tons standard 2,030 tons surfaced 2,410 tons submerged |
| Length: | 295.2 ft (90.0 m) |
| Beam: | 26.5 ft (8.1 m) |
| Draught: | 18 ft (5.5 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2 x Admiralty Standard Range supercharged V16 diesel generators 2 x English Electric motors 3,500 bhp, 4,500 shp 2 shafts |
| Speed: | 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) surfaced 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) submerged 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) at snorkel depth |
| Range: | 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Test depth: | 200 metres (660 ft) |
| Complement: | As launched: 8 officers, 56 sailors At decommissioning: 8 officers, 60 sailors |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
Sonar: Atlas Elektronik Type CSU3-41 bow array BAC Type 2007 flank array Sperry BQQ 4 Micropuffs rangefinding array Radar: Kelvin Hughes Type 1006 |
| Armament: | Torpedo tubes: 6 x 21-inch (53 cm) bow tubes 2 x short-length 21-inch (53 cm) stern tubes (later removed) 1996 payload: Mix of 20: • Mark 48 Mod 4 torpedoes • UGM-84 Sub Harpoon missiles |
HMAS Otama (SS 72/SSG 72) was an Oberon class submarine of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built in Scotland, the submarine was commissioned into the RAN in 1978; the last of the class to enter service. Otama remained in service until late 2000, when she was decommissioned and sold to a Victorian community group, who planned to preserve the submarine as a museum ship.
However, permission to build an information centre to moor the submarine at was repeatedly denied by the local council, and Otama was listed on eBay in late 2008. Although the submarine was not sold, several expressions of interest were made, including one by a group believed to be interested in restoring Otama for use as a drug-smuggling submarine.
Contents |
[edit] Design and construction
The Oberon class was based heavily on the preceding Porpoise class of submarines, with changes made to improve the vessels' hull integrity, sensor systems, and stealth capabilities.[1] Eight submarines were ordered for the RAN, in two batches of four.[2] The first batch was approved in 1963, and the second batch (including Otama) was approved during the late 1960s, although two of these were cancelled before construction started in 1969, with the funding redirected to the Fleet Air Arm.[3][4] This was the fourth time the RAN had attempted to establish a submarine branch.[5]
The submarine is 295.2 feet (90.0 m) long, with a beam of 26.5 feet (8.1 m), and a draught of 18 feet (5.5 m) when surfaced.[6] At full load displacement, she displaces 2,030 tons when surfaced, and 2,410 tons when submerged.[6] The two propeller shafts are each driven by an English Electric motor providing 3,500 brake horsepower and 4,500 shaft horsepower; the electricity for these is generated by two Admiralty Standard Range supercharged V16 diesel generators.[7] The submarine could travel at up to 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) on the surface, and up to 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) when submerged, had a maximum range of 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph), and a test depth of 200 metres (660 ft) below sea level.[6][7] When launched, the boat had a company of 8 officers and 56 sailors, but by the time she decommissioned, the number of sailors had increased to 60.[6][7] In addition, up to 16 trainees could be carried.[7]
The main armament of the Oberons consisted of six 21-inch (533.4 mm) torpedo tubes.[1] The British Mark 8 torpedo was initially carried by the submarine; this was later replaced by the wire-guided Mark 23.[8] Between 1977 and 1985,[clarification needed] the Australian Oberons were upgraded to carry United States Navy Mark 48 torpedoes and UGM-84 Sub Harpoon anti-ship missiles.[5][9] As of 1996, the standard payload of an Australian Oberon was a mix of 20 Mark 48 Mod 4 torpedoes and Sub Harpoon missiles.[6] Some or all of the torpedo payload could be replaced by Mark 5 Stonefish sea mines, which were deployed through the torpedo tubes.[6][8] On entering service, two stern-mounted, short-length 21-inch (53 cm) torpedo tubes for Mark 20 anti-submarine torpedoes.[10] However, the development of steerable wire-guided torpedoes made the less-capable aft-firing torpedoes redundant; they were closed off, and later removed during a refit.[10]
Otama was laid down by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Greenock, Scotland on 25 May 1973, launched on 3 December 1975, and commissioned into the RAN on 27 April 1978.[9] Otama was the sixth and final Oberon class submarine to enter service with the RAN.[11] The boat's name comes from an Aboriginal word meaning "dolphin"; this was a break in RAN tradition, which used the names of explorers and pioneers for previous submariens.[12]
[edit] Operational history
On 8 September 1980, Otama joined five other RAN vessels to form the Australia Squadron.[13] The Squadron, which included HMA Ships Melbourne, Perth, Derwent, Stalwart, and HMAS Supply spent two months in the Indian Ocean as part of a flag-showing cruise;[13] the largest RAN deployment since World War II.
On 3 August 1987, two sailors were killed aboard Otama. At 09:00, the submarine left HMAS Platypus to test a new towed hydrophone system. Foul weather prevented the trials, and two sailors were sent into the fin to recover the equipment. At 10:35, the submarine was prepared for diving, and she submerged four minutes later, with the two men still in the fin. Their absence was not noticed until around 11:00, and was not confirmed for at least another half hour. The coronial inquiry found that the sailors had climbed to the fin's bridge and attempted to contact the control room but were unsuccessful before being washed away and drowning. The bodies were not recovered.[14]
[edit] Decommissioning and fate
Otama paid off on 15 December 2000: problems with the introduction of the Collins-class submarines kept Otama and sister boat Onslow in service for several years beyond their planned decommissioning date.[15][16]
The submarine was sold in 2001 to the Western Port Oberon Association, a community group with the intention of preserving her as a museum ship in Hastings, Victoria, for A$50,000.[17] Otama was towed to Western Port Bay in 2002, where she was to wait until the Shire of Mornington Peninsula council approved plans to construct a purpose-built tourism and information centre, where the submarine would be docked.[18] However, the council knocked these plans back on three separate occasions, each at a different location.[17][18] In late 2008, the submarine was listed for sale on eBay, as the group could no longer afford to maintain Otama while waiting for council approval.[17][18]
The submarine was not sold, but several expressions of interest were made; among these, the owners received enquires about the possibility of restoring the submarine to operational condition.[17] Although claiming to be a tourism operator, Otama's owners believed that the enquirer wanted to use the submarine for drug smuggling, and advised the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.[17]
[edit] Citations
- ^ a b Chant, A Compedium of Armaments and Military Hardware, pp. 167-8
- ^ Cooper, in Stevens, The Royal Australian Navy, p. 188
- ^ Cooper, in Stevens, The Royal Australian Navy, p. 194
- ^ Bastock, Australia's Ships of War, p. 394-5
- ^ a b Dennis et. al., The Oxford Companion to Australian Military history, p. 399
- ^ a b c d e f Sharpe (ed.), Jane's Fighting Ships, 1996–1997, p. 23
- ^ a b c d Shaw, HMAS Onslow, p. 15
- ^ a b Shaw, HMAS Onslow, p. 21
- ^ a b Sharped (ed.), Jane's Fighting Ships 1992-93, p. 22
- ^ a b Shaw, HMAS Onslow, p. 19
- ^ Stevens, in Stevens, The Royal Australian Navy, opp. p. 32
- ^ Bastock, Australia's Ships of War, p. 394
- ^ a b Lind, The Royal Australian Navy, p. 297
- ^ Waller, Suddenly Dead, pp. 3-10
- ^ Jones, in Stevens, The Royal Australian Navy, pp. 276–7
- ^ Yule & Woolner, The Collins Class Submarine Story, pp. 288–9
- ^ a b c d e Stewart, ASIO eyes mystery group after attempt to buy sub
- ^ a b c Cogdon, Submarine for sale on internet auction website eBay
[edit] References
- Books
- Bastock, John (1975). Australia's Ships of War. Cremorne, NSW: Angus and Robertson. ISBN 0207129274. OCLC 2525523.
- Chant, Christopher (1987). A Compedium of Armaments and Military Hardware. Routledge. ISBN 0710207204. http://books.google.com/books?id=k9cNAAAAQAAJ&dq=&as_brr=3&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0. Retrieved 30 July 2008.
- Lind, Lew (1986). The Royal Australian Navy: Historic Naval Events Year by Year (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Reed Books. ISBN 0730100715. OCLC 16922225.
- Sharpe, Richard, ed. (1992). Jane's Fighting Ships 1992-93 (95th ed.). Surrey, UK: Jane's Information Group. ISBN 0710609833. OCLC 25930144.
- Sharpe, Richard, ed. (March 1996). Jane's Fighting Ships 1996–97 (99th ed.). Surrey: Jane's Information Group. ISBN 0710613555. OCLC 34998928.
- Shaw, Lindsey (2005). HMAS Onslow: cold war warrior. Sydney, NSW: Australian National Maritime Museum. ISBN 0975148244. OCLC 225390609.
- Stevens, David, ed. (2001). The Royal Australian Navy. The Australian Centenary History of Defence (vol III). South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195555422. OCLC 50418095.
- Cooper, Alastair. "The Era of Forward Defence". The Royal Australian Navy.
- Jones, Peter. "A Period of Change and Uncertainty". The Royal Australian Navy.
- Stevens, David. "World War I". The Royal Australian Navy.
- Waller, Kevin. Suddenly Dead: Ten famous cases through the eyes of the coroner. Chippendale, NSW: Ironbark. pp. 3–10. ISBN 0330272586.
- Yule, Peter; Woolner, Derek (2008). The Collins Class Submarine Story: Steel, Spies and Spin. Port Melbourne, VIC: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521868945. OCLC 213111359. http://books.google.com/books?id=qZ-WlswoHFwC.
- News articles
- Cogdon, Kamahl (21 November 2008). "Submarine for sale on internet auction website eBay". The Herald Sun. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/want-to-buy-a-sub-just-get-online/story-0-1111118095931. Retrieved 29 December 2009.[dead link]
- Stewart, Cameron (28 December 2009). "ASIO eyes mystery group after attempt to buy sub". The Australian. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/asio-eyes-mystery-group-after-attempt-to-buy-sub/story-e6frg6n6-1225814011176. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
[edit] External links
- 38°20′52″S 145°13′19″E / 38.34778°S 145.22194°E - location of this submarine as of 2009.
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