HMS Onyx (S21)

History of HMS Onyx (S21)

The Oberon class were 27 conventionally powered (diesel-electric) attack submarines built in British shipyards during the Cold War (1947-1991). The type was in service from 1960 to 2000, and subsequently served the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, Canada and Chile for its role in naval history.

All vessels have since been decommissioned, leaving eight complete examples.

This class was used to replace the locally designed and built "Dolphin class" ships and became the HMS Onyx (S21) under it, providing attack/ocean patrol duties at sea for the prestigious British Royal Navy (RN). Oberon The class is more or less identical to earlier Porpoise submarines, save for new engines, stronger steel and other subtler changes that warrant a new class name.

The HMS Onyx was laid on 16 November 1964 by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead and launched on 18 August 1966. She entered service on 20 November 1967 and would have a 24-year career that included participation in the Falklands War (1982).

As planned, the displacement is 1,610 tons under standard load and over 2,000 tons under full load. Dimensions include a barrel length of 295 feet, a beam of 26.5 feet and a draft of 18 feet. Power is provided by 2 Admiralty Standard Range 16 (SR16) VMS diesel gensets linked to 2 electric motors providing 3,000 hp of submersible driving power.

All of this powers the 2 x axles in the stern. At the time of their arrival, the Oberon-class was considered one of the quietest diesel-electric forms ever built.

The boat is capable of 12 knots when surfaced and, more importantly, 17 knots when submerged. Due to the diesel-electric nature of the class, the boats must surface after a while to recharge the batteries and vent dangerously accumulated carbon dioxide gas.

The ship had a crew of 68, including six officers, with Type 186 and Type 187 sonar systems and I-band surface search radar. Installed armament includes 8 x 530 mm (21") bow torpedo tubes and 24 reloads. With such a massive war load, the ship is able to wreak havoc on enemy ships and other surface threats while maintaining the initiative .

The HMS Onyx was the only conventionally powered submarine of the Royal Navy to participate in the 1982 Falklands War against Argentina. During the conflict, the ship was used to bring special forces ashore due to its relatively compact size compared to its larger nuclear-powered cousins ??in service at the time.

The war ended in a decisive British victory, proving the importance of strong naval power (and logistics) in trying to reach remote parts of the world - and HMS Onyx certainly played her part.

In the post-war period, she used torpedoes against the Sir Galahad, a landing/logistics ship badly damaged during the Falklands War in the 1960s, to create a protected war tomb - which was the ship's last notable action. HMS Onyx was decommissioned from the Royal Navy in 1991 at the end of the Cold War for budgetary reasons and began its retirement as a well-preserved floating museum in Birkenhead, UK, before being purchased and exhibited at the Submarine Heritage Centre in Barrow . Furness (Cumbria).

Despite extra efforts to continue to protect her, the ship was taken over by the museum and put into liquidation and scrapped to pay the debt.

As the number of British ships began to dwindle in the late Cold War (the disintegration of the Soviet Empire now negated the need for massive military power), the Oberon class was replaced by the Upholder class in RN service. So the UK's focus is on the lesser but more powerful type of nuclear power, rather than the quantitative diesel-electric form favored by most European powers.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Wing