Retired Builder and designer of submarines, employed as a subject matter expert on stealth , propulsion and sonar (as well as other chemistry and physics related matters); the Onyx was tied up next to my office in Barrow with our permission when it was privately owned. It left Barrow sometime around 2015, I think (I retired in 2018 at 70). The O class were used in experiments and tests on stealth and on exercises played havoc with US carriers by sinking them without the US ships even seeing them. O class and the Upholders were considered quite roomy for diesel boats and extremely quiet, the Canadians bought some Upholders. Regards
Don't be so quick to Dismiss the Upholder (Victoria) Class. I have spent time at sea on all 4 boats. Spare parts and bureaucracy have been their biggest short comings. They are quiet little boats and deserve some respect regardless of media perception. My more senior counter parts would spin dits of the RCN O-boats and I believe they embarrassed more than one US task group in their time :) Dolphin Code 38
HMS Otus, sat in Harry Pounds scrapyard but was rescued for preservation and towed to Ssanitz in Germany where she is today. I served on Otus first commission. First UK boat with automatic depth and course control. The one man control. So successful it was retro fitted to the other O Boats.
My late father's last command was HMS Opossum (S19) 1965 - 1968 before he retired from the Royal Navy in 1971. Opossum saw action in the first Gulf War, before finally being scrapped at Harry Pounds Yard in Portsmouth in 1993.
My dad was a stoker on this class of submarine, osirus, ocelot and olympus are the three ive got plaques for but he was on others. He loved his submariner days.
I went on one that was moored off Birkenhead alongside a Leander class ship from the Falklands - they were just starting the process of decommissioning it for a museum ship so we were not allowed to take photos - it seemed very dated - both ships did look like something from WW2 - one thing struck me was how clear the view was from the periscope was - I could easily pick out people at the shipyard the other side or the wash - the chap who showed us round was brilliant telling us how they coped on the long journey down to the antarctic - how a helicopter dropped off a deer so they could have fresh meet - the batteries were not behind the accommodation the were under the floor - huge things as tall as a man
I was on OVENS (WA) and ONSLOW (NSW) within 4days of each other last year on a cross Australia trip... oh the before times when travelling was something you could do
My father served as an officer aboard HMS Oracle. He always spoke of good times on diesel boats, he said the conditions made for more camaraderie than the nuclears he was on later.
Having served on A class and both P and O class in the 1970s, I noted some errors. The torpedoes in the afterends were mark 23s. I only ever sailed on an O class with a full crew once. And a term of endearment for the Scottish squaderon willas usually sail Saturday/Sunday USS. You are wrong about only one boat seeing active service. I am unsure if I can elaborate as of yet.
Spent some time on Onandaga when I was a lot younger. As a Canadian but not one who knows proper phonetic writing I offer these Ojibwa oh-jib-way Okanagan oh-k'nah-gn Onondaga on-on-day-gah You almost nailed the last one. And these are European pronunciations for the most part. Approximations of what the names sound like original native languages. Google translate isn't great with proper names I'll give you that. I've nothing to compare an Oberon to as it's the only one I was ever even aboard but it seemed to me to be a well designed and well built boat. Well suited for the waters off the East Coast of Canada.
Can’t remember which one, but one of the Australia boats (Which was barely seaworthy as it was intended to be a museum boat with a rather underfunded but well meaning group) nearly got sold to some rather shady bunch of chaps in Central America.
That would be HMAS Orion (my most favoured boat. Do an image search and there are some phots of Orion in a very sorry state in Freemantle. Eventually Orion was scrapped.
That picture at 9:20 is at Barrow and its Onyx, just down from the office, the frame you see is the base of a dockyard crane bombed in WW2 with several men being killed and is preserved as a memorial. Regards
There were rumors that the Australian boats in the 70s had shadowed Chinese and "not russian" boats right into port so close behind them as to feel the prop wash from the sub in front
A video of the Upholder class PRE RCN service wound be interesting British web pages list a operation depth of 300 m and a test depth of 500 m- Canadian web pages only say operational depth. >200 m
The upholders, not great? HMCS Victoria has been performing well despite her age. Heck, she even sank targets with live fish during a RIMPAC exercise recently.
Interesting history of the O boats. But I thought I might correct you on a couple of points for the Royal Australian Navy O Boats: There are currently three O boats that have been saved and are on display and open to the public, two are on the East coast one is at the National Maritime Museum HMAS ONSLOW SSG 60, the second one, HMAS OTWAY SSG 59 (Fin, Outer hull and stern section only) was shipped to the Holbrook Submarine Museum in NSW. She is now landlocked but is open to the public for display. The third O boat is on the West Coast at the Western Australian Maritime Museum HMAS OVENS SSG 70, also open for visits by the public. The fourth O boat that was going to be on display for the public HMAS OTAMA SSG 62 is currently at anchor in the Western Point Bay Victoria. She has been there since 2002, and is slowly rusting away and has taken on a substantial list to Starboard. Many ex submariners believe her days are numbered and it wont be long before she joins her sister submarines the J Class at the bottom of Western Point Bay. The fin of HMAS ORION (SSG 61) along with a 5" gun from HMAS DERWANT (DE 49) form the Rockingham Naval Memorial Park in Western Australia. HMAS ORION's fin is the memorial for all Royal Australian Navy Submariners who are on eternal patrol. HMAS OXLEY SSG 57 was sold for scrap with the exception of the bow section which is on display at the Western Australian Maritime Museum, and the fin which is a memorial at the Submarine School HMAS STIRLING. As a side note, all six O boats for the Royal Australian Navy were built by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. Ltd., Greenock, Scotland, UK
Slight inaccuracy in the commentary. Commentator says that these vessels had an impressive diving depth of 200m. This was not a particularly impressive diving depth when these submarines were designed in the 50s. During ww2 german u-boats were already able to exceed 200m with reports of some diving to nearly 900ft. During the 50s and 60s Russian submarines had the capability to dive to between 250 - 300m.
Retired Builder and designer of submarines, employed as a subject matter expert on stealth , propulsion and sonar (as well as other chemistry and physics related matters); the Onyx was tied up next to my office in Barrow with our permission when it was privately owned. It left Barrow sometime around 2015, I think (I retired in 2018 at 70). The O class were used in experiments and tests on stealth and on exercises played havoc with US carriers by sinking them without the US ships even seeing them. O class and the Upholders were considered quite roomy for diesel boats and extremely quiet, the Canadians bought some Upholders. Regards
Australia also bought a few.
Served on Walrus before time on Opportune and Otter. Great boats and fantastic crews.
Don't be so quick to Dismiss the Upholder (Victoria) Class. I have spent time at sea on all 4 boats. Spare parts and bureaucracy have been their biggest short comings. They are quiet little boats and deserve some respect regardless of media perception. My more senior counter parts would spin dits of the RCN O-boats and I believe they embarrassed more than one US task group in their time :) Dolphin Code 38
Benjamin Just found this see your comment Dolphin code 38 concur as first aussie to serve on Ojibwa and Onondaga
HMS Otus, sat in Harry Pounds scrapyard but was rescued for preservation and towed to Ssanitz in Germany where she is today. I served on Otus first commission. First UK boat with automatic depth and course control. The one man control. So successful it was retro fitted to the other O Boats.
these were the best boats ever built and a honour to serve on
My late father's last command was HMS Opossum (S19) 1965 - 1968 before he retired from the Royal Navy in 1971. Opossum saw action in the first Gulf War, before finally being scrapped at Harry Pounds Yard in Portsmouth in 1993.
I served in Opossum 1975 best breakfast on earth
My dad was a stoker on this class of submarine, osirus, ocelot and olympus are the three ive got plaques for but he was on others. He loved his submariner days.
I went on one that was moored off Birkenhead alongside a Leander class ship from the Falklands - they were just starting the process of decommissioning it for a museum ship so we were not allowed to take photos - it seemed very dated - both ships did look like something from WW2 - one thing struck me was how clear the view was from the periscope was - I could easily pick out people at the shipyard the other side or the wash - the chap who showed us round was brilliant telling us how they coped on the long journey down to the antarctic - how a helicopter dropped off a deer so they could have fresh meet - the batteries were not behind the accommodation the were under the floor - huge things as tall as a man
I was on OVENS (WA) and ONSLOW (NSW) within 4days of each other last year on a cross Australia trip... oh the before times when travelling was something you could do
Ben Clayton I’ve been on both of them as well, had to move a lot when dad was in the navy
My father served as an officer aboard HMS Oracle. He always spoke of good times on diesel boats, he said the conditions made for more camaraderie than the nuclears he was on later.
Having served on A class and both P and O class in the 1970s, I noted some errors. The torpedoes in the afterends were mark 23s. I only ever sailed on an O class with a full crew once. And a term of endearment for the Scottish squaderon willas usually sail Saturday/Sunday USS. You are wrong about only one boat seeing active service. I am unsure if I can elaborate as of yet.
I saw HMS ocelot at Chatham before thrblock down. And damn those things are sardine tins!
Spent some time on Onandaga when I was a lot younger. As a Canadian but not one who knows proper phonetic writing I offer these
Ojibwa oh-jib-way
Okanagan oh-k'nah-gn
Onondaga on-on-day-gah
You almost nailed the last one. And these are European pronunciations for the most part. Approximations of what the names sound like original native languages. Google translate isn't great with proper names I'll give you that.
I've nothing to compare an Oberon to as it's the only one I was ever even aboard but it seemed to me to be a well designed and well built boat. Well suited for the waters off the East Coast of Canada.
Went onboard Ocelot at Chatham. The "British Leyland" charging panel was a blast from the past!
Can’t remember which one, but one of the Australia boats (Which was barely seaworthy as it was intended to be a museum boat with a rather underfunded but well meaning group) nearly got sold to some rather shady bunch of chaps in Central America.
That would be HMAS Orion (my most favoured boat. Do an image search and there are some phots of Orion in a very sorry state in Freemantle. Eventually Orion was scrapped.
That picture at 9:20 is at Barrow and its Onyx, just down from the office, the frame you see is the base of a dockyard crane bombed in WW2 with several men being killed and is preserved as a memorial. Regards
My late father served on these subs as the engineering officer.
There were rumors that the Australian boats in the 70s had shadowed Chinese and "not russian" boats right into port so close behind them as to feel the prop wash from the sub in front
Just rumours of course. One day the photos might be released but until then, only a rumour.
For future reference, Ojibwa should be pronounced as a hard 'o' , jib (as in the sail), and way
ahhhhh, well, ill try remember that. probs best tell google to change google translate haha
Hi great video, could you make a video about any Irish Navy ship. Thanks
A video of the Upholder class PRE RCN service wound be interesting
British web pages list a operation depth of 300 m and a test depth of 500 m- Canadian web pages only say operational depth. >200 m
The upholders, not great? HMCS Victoria has been performing well despite her age. Heck, she even sank targets with live fish during a RIMPAC exercise recently.
Just to give you a quick pronunciation guide: Ojibwa: OH-JIB-WAH, Okanagan: OAK-AN-AH-GAN, Onondaga: ON-ON-DAH-GAH
What happened to the 4th one ?
the HMCS boats are pronounced... Oh-Jib-Wah, O-kah-nog-in, and On-an-dog-a
Never understood why moved away from diesel electric, Nuclear boats All have prominent sognatures
Not built for speed but for silence, manned by real Officers and men to sneak up on anything undetected, anywhere.
So, what’s next? The CVN 65 or CV-67?
How do you make hauls for ships in Minecraft
I think you forgot to mention HMS ODIN S10 in the line up of Oberon class submarines.
Hot Fuzz reference?
I wonder if the torpedo was named after that fish stuck in the torpedo tube.
yep, thats the refrence
Interesting history of the O boats. But I thought I might correct you on a couple of points for the Royal Australian Navy O Boats:
There are currently three O boats that have been saved and are on display and open to the public, two are on the East coast one is at the National Maritime Museum HMAS ONSLOW SSG 60, the second one, HMAS OTWAY SSG 59 (Fin, Outer hull and stern section only) was shipped to the Holbrook Submarine Museum in NSW. She is now landlocked but is open to the public for display.
The third O boat is on the West Coast at the Western Australian Maritime Museum HMAS OVENS SSG 70, also open for visits by the public.
The fourth O boat that was going to be on display for the public HMAS OTAMA SSG 62 is currently at anchor in the Western Point Bay Victoria. She has been there since 2002, and is slowly rusting away and has taken on a substantial list to Starboard. Many ex submariners believe her days are numbered and it wont be long before she joins her sister submarines the J Class at the bottom of Western Point Bay.
The fin of HMAS ORION (SSG 61) along with a 5" gun from HMAS DERWANT (DE 49) form the Rockingham Naval Memorial Park in Western Australia. HMAS ORION's fin is the memorial for all Royal Australian Navy Submariners who are on eternal patrol.
HMAS OXLEY SSG 57 was sold for scrap with the exception of the bow section which is on display at the Western Australian Maritime Museum, and the fin which is a memorial at the Submarine School HMAS STIRLING.
As a side note, all six O boats for the Royal Australian Navy were built by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. Ltd., Greenock, Scotland, UK
I know these were excellent submarines but why did they design them with such a conventional hull instead of more streamlined teardrop design?
Slight inaccuracy in the commentary. Commentator says that these vessels had an impressive diving depth of 200m. This was not a particularly impressive diving depth when these submarines were designed in the 50s. During ww2 german u-boats were already able to exceed 200m with reports of some diving to nearly 900ft. During the 50s and 60s Russian submarines had the capability to dive to between 250 - 300m.
my dad served on the otama
Informative, but still need to work on your pronunciation. Ex Clanky SM3 and SM10
12 Knots Surface, 17 Knots submerged, "on par with most ww2 era submarines", hmmmm more research is needed I think.
T Class ww2, 9 knots submerged, this was considered exceptionally fast for the time.
Unfortunately, as you didn’t serve in the RN your banter needs work ....absolutely cringing 😬