HMS Otus (S18)
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 HMS Otus |
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| Career (United Kingdom) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Otus |
| Operator: |  Royal Navy |
| Builder: | Scotts Yard in Greenock, Scotland |
| Yard number: | 688 |
| Laid down: | 31 May 1961 |
| Launched: | 17 October 1962 |
| Commissioned: | 5 October 1963 |
| Decommissioned: | 1990s |
| In service: | 1960s-1990s |
| Identification: | Pennant number: S18 |
| Fate: | To Sassnitz on the island of Rügen in Germany to act as a floating naval museum |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Oberon-class submarine |
| Displacement: | Surfaced: 2,030 t (2,000 long tons) Submerged: 2,410 t (2,370 long tons) |
| Length: | 295.2 ft (90.0 m) |
| Beam: | 26.5 ft (8.1 m) |
| Draught: | 18 ft (5.5 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | Surfaced: 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)[1] Submerged: 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph)[1] |
| Range: | 10,350 nautical miles (19,170 km; 11,910 mi) at surface cruising speed |
| Test depth: | 650 ft (200 m) |
| Complement: | 7 officers 62 sailors |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
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| Armament: |
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HMS Otus was a Royal Navy Oberon-class submarine launched in 1962. She was decommissioned in the early 1990s and is now a naval museum in Germany.
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[edit] Construction
Built in 1962 at Scotts Yard in Greenock, Scotland, the sub's trials were conducted in Scottish waters, mainly Loch Long and Loch Fyne. Her pennant number (S18) was carried in white paint on the ship's conning tower fin, however this was removed in 1964 as a discontinued practice.
[edit]
The first commission of Otus included large-scale missile trial exercises in the Atlantic Ocean and visits to the United States and Halifax, Canada.
[edit] Deep escape trials
In July 1987, a team of British, Commonwealth and international submariners took part in trials in Bjornafjorden, near Bergen, Norway, aboard Otus. They ran a series of progressively deeper escapes, starting at 30 metres (98 ft). At 90 metres (300 ft), individuals started to drop out. At the end of the trials two submariners reached a depth of 183 metres (600 ft). This set a new world record which to date has not been broken.[citation needed] Of the two record breakers, the first (the commander of the Submarine Escape Training Tower at HMS Dolphin) was a regular ascent under control. The second, a petty officer instructor from the Submarine Escape Training Tower suffered a emergency release having given the alarm signal whilst flooding up the chamber. It was considered safer and quicker to escape him rather than depressurise and drain down. Both escapees suffered no lasting effects and returned to normal service. Both received military honours of the British Empire in the following years for this act.
[edit] Decommissioning and museum
Otus was decommissioned in the early 1990s and resided at Pound's scrapyard in Portsmouth for several years. She was later purchased by a German entrepreneur, who moored her in the harbour of the town of Sassnitz on the island of Rügen in Germany to act as a floating naval museum.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Sharpe (ed.), Jane's Fighting Ships, 1996-97, pgs. 23, 54, 86, 104
- ^ "HMS Otus - Oberon class, home page". http://www.hms-otus.com/englishpage/indexenglish.php. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
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Coordinates: 54°30′43″N 13°38′31″E / 54.51194°N 13.64194°E
