HMCS Ojibwa (S72)

HMCS ''Ojibwa'' is an that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and later the Canadian Forces Maritime Command (MARCOM). Originally intended for service with the British Royal Navy as HMS ''Onyx'', the submarine was transferred to Canadian ownership before completion, and entered RCN service in 1965. ''Ojibwa'' operated primarily with Maritime Forces Atlantic until her decommissioning in 1998. In 2010, ''Ojibwa'' was laid up at CFB Halifax awaiting disposal, with the Elgin Military Museum planning to preserve her as a museum vessel. The submarine was towed to Port Burwell, Ontario in 2012, and was opened to the public in 2013. She is now the new focal point of a planned Museum of Naval History to be built alongside.

Design

The ''Oberon'' class were considered an improved version of the preceding ''Porpoise''-class submarines, with a different frame of the pressure hullCocker, p. 108 and constructed from a better grade of steel.Brown, p. 285Gardiner and Chumbley, p. 530 These build differences allowed the ''Oberon''s to have a deeper diving depth at roughly .

The submarines displaced surfaced and submerged. They measured long with a beam of and a draught of .Gardiner and Chumbley state that the dimensions were between perpendiculars, long overall with a beam of and a draught of

The boats were powered by a two shaft diesel-electric system. The ''Oberon''s were equipped with two ASR 1 16-cylinder diesel engines creating and two English Electric motors creating . This gave the submarines a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . The boats carried 258 tons of oil giving them a range of at 12 knots.Gardiner and Chumbley, p. 529

The design was armed with eight torpedo tubes, six in the bow and two in the stern. They carried 24 reloads for a total of 30 torpedoes. Canadian boats differed from the original design by being equipped for the US Mark 37C torpedo.Gardiner and Chumbley, p. 48 The longer, wire-guided Mod 2 version was carried in the forward tubes and the non-guided Mod 0 for the rear tubes.

The ''Oberon''s were equipped with Type 187 active-passive sonar, Type 2007 passive sonar and Type 2019 sonar.

Submarine Operational Update Program (SOUP)

By the late 1970s, the ''Oberon''s in Canadian service had become obsolete and were in need of an update. Planning was done in 1978 and the program approved in February 1979.Ferguson, p. 298 In an effort to take the subs from anti-submarine warfare training to frontline service, Maritime Command developed a refit program that included new sonars, periscopes, communications and fire-control systems. They also had their armament upgraded with the fitting of torpedo tubes capable of firing the Mark 48 torpedo. This would allow the submarines to be deployed by NATO in the North Atlantic to monitor Soviet submarines.

The SOUP refits comprised a new US fire control system, a digital Singer Librascope Mark I, and new Sperry passive ranging sonar with the Type 719 short range sonar removed. The new sonar was placed in the upper casing on the pressure hull. New communications and navigational systems were installed. The submarines were fitted with new torpedo tubes for Mark 48 torpedoes, however the torpedoes themselves were considered a separate procurement program, which was only finalized in 1985.

Between 1980 and 1986, one of the Canadian ''Oberon''s was out of service undergoing the refit. SOUP came in on time and on its budget of C$45 million in 1986. SOUP kept the Canadian ''Oberon''s operational until the end of the 1990s when they were replaced by the British s.

Acquisition

In March 1962, the Cabinet recommended the purchase of three ''Oberon''s and eight frigates, on the condition that the cost of acquiring the submarines from the United Kingdom would be offset by British defence purchases in Canada. On 11 April 1962, the purchase was announced in the House of Commons of Canada by the Minister of National Defence, Douglas Harkness.

However, the Conservative government postponed the acquisition of the ''Oberon''s due to the slow speed of the United Kingdom's attempt to offset the acquisition. The Conservative government was defeated in 1963 and the incoming Liberal government suspended all major defence procurement projects upon taking power. The United Kingdom, in an effort to get the contract moving, offered the hulls of ''Ocelot'' and ''Opportune'', but Canada passed on them. However, when ''Onyx'' became available, Canada took up the offer. The final price of C$40 million for the entire contract was agreed upon in 1963.Ferguson, p. 260 However, due to Canadian modifications to the design, that number climbed to C$51.4 million.

Since ''Onyx'' was already under construction, the boat was finished to Royal Navy specifications. All three boats received modifications to the original ''Oberon'' design, which included the enlargement of the snort de-icer, a different weapons fit, a larger air conditioning unit, active sonar and different communications equipment. The second and third hulls were built to Canadian specifications, which moved the galley forward of the control room to make room for the sonar equipment. This led to the removal of three crew bunks, a problem that was never rectified in the submarines and led to an accommodation issue for the crew. The three submarines were acquired for service as "clockwork mice", submarines used to train surface vessels in anti-submarine warfare.Macpherson and Barrie, p. 268

Construction and career

The submarine was initially ordered for the Royal Navy as HMS ''Onyx'', with Chatham Dockyard laying the keel down on 27 September 1962.Moore, p. 63 In 1963 the submarine was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy, and was launched as HMCS ''Ojibwa'' on 29 February 1964.Moore, p. 490 ''Ojibwa'' was commissioned on 23 September 1965 at Chatham Dockyard. The submarine was named after the Ojibwe First Nations people, and was assigned the pennant number S 72.

''Ojibwa'' was assigned to the First Canadian Submarine Squadron on 22 April 1966, later joined by her sister boats and served virtually her entire career with Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) in the North Atlantic.Ferguson, pp. 265–266 Following the establishment of the First Canadian Submarine Squadron, personnel issues arose aboard ''Ojibwa'' and Rear-Admiral William Landymore was forced to intervene directly, relieving the commander of the submarine, Lt. Commander Samuel G. Tomlinson. ''Ojibwa'' spent time training with the Royal Navy after an exchange program was instituted in the 1960s that would see submarines from both the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy spend time with each other's forces. This allowed Canadian submarines on intelligence-gathering missions. Beginning in the 1970s, Canada began underwater surveillance patrols in the western Atlantic, tracking Soviet sub and surface fleet vessels, especially the ballistic missile submarines, usually in concert with an Argus or Aurora patrol aircraft. In 1977, ''Ojibwa'' made a short deployment to British Columbia with Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC) in 1977. She took part in WESTEX 77, a training exercise off the west coast.Perkins, p. 154

''Ojibwa'' underwent her SOUP refit beginning in 1979, arriving at HMC Dockyard at Halifax, Nova Scotia on 18 June for preparation. The refit began on 20 February 1981 and lasted until 31 May 1982. Following the SOUP refit and the introduction of the Mark 48 torpedoes, the ''Oberon''s were considered fully operational and counted the same as other offensive fleet units in Maritime Command. From 14 November to 6 December 1983, ''Ojibwa'' performed and anti-Soviet submarine patrol for NATO. The sub made another patrol in March 1985 and discovered a Soviet . The Delta-class sub passed within of ''Ojibwa'', which tracked the Soviets for two days. On 20 March, ''Ojibwa'' was detected by a Soviet and broke off contact with both subs.

Following the end of the Cold War, the ''Oberon''s were retasked, performing patrols on behalf of federal institutions such as the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Solicitor General of Canada between 1991 and 1994. For six months in 1994, the submarine served on the west coast. The delay of the introduction of the ''Victoria''-class submarines led to the ''Oberon''s working past their life expectancy. In 1994, ''Ojibwa'' was cut in half; her engines were removed and replaced with newer ones from , which had been purchased from the Royal Navy as a source of spare parts in 1992. During the Turbot War, the ''Oberon''s were tasked with monitoring European fishing fleets off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Their presence served as a deterrent in the escalating crisis. In 1997 ''Ojibwa'' made a second small deployment to the west coast. This deployment was rife with problems, as the submarine developed mechanical and technical difficulties. She was paid off from MARCOM on 21 May 1998.

Museum ship

In May 2005, the ''Halifax Chronicle-Herald'' announced that MARCOM was looking to sell ''Ojibwa'' for scrap metal, along with three other Canadian ''Oberon''s. MARCOM stated that the submarines were not in suitable condition to be used as museum ships and predicted that each submarine would sell for between C$50,000 and C$60,000. After decommissioning, she was a target in "shock" testing in 2010 resulting in a noticeable dent on the port side.

On 11 June 2010, it was reported that ''Ojibwa'' would be moved by BMT Fleet Technology Ltd to become part of the collection of the Elgin Military Museum at St. Thomas, Ontario. On 2 December 2011, it was announced that the Department of National Defence had approved the transfer of ''Ojibwa'' to the Elgin Military Museum subject to satisfaction of financial requirements. The final agreement was signed on 25 May 2012 after three years of negotiations.

On 26 May 2012, ''Ojibwa'' started her trip from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Hamilton, Ontario by way of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The submarine was transferred with the help of the tugs ''Florence M'' and ''Lac Manitoba'' and tow ''HM-1''. She stayed in Hamilton at Heddle Marine Dockyards being repainted and fitted with specialized transport cradles that would allow her to be moved across land. On 18 November 2012, ''Ojibwa'', on the barge ''HM 08'', made the final leg of her journey by way of the Welland Canal and then Lake Erie from Hamilton to Port Burwell, while being towed by the tugs ''Lac Manitoba'' and ''Seahound''.

The sub arrived in Port Burwell on 20 November after a short journey and became part of a new Museum of Naval History. The site opened for tours on 29 June 2013. During April 2015, financial issues dealing with the transfer of the submarine to Port Burwell were widely circulated, as Royal Bank of Canada called on the community to pay the $6 million loan.

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External links

Photo of HMCS ''Ojibwa'' heading to Hamilton, Ontario, 1 June 2012.

Project Ojibwa homepage

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ojibwa (S72)
Oberon-class submarines of Canada
Ships built in Chatham
1964 ships
Museum ships in Canada
Museum ships in Ontario