HMS Oberon (S09)
HMS Oberon was the lead ship of the Oberon-class submarines, operated by the Royal Navy.
Design and construction
The Oberon class was a direct follow on of the Porpoise-class, with the same dimensions and external design, but updates to equipment and internal fittings, and a higher grade of steel used for fabrication of the pressure hull.As designed for British service, the Oberon-class submarines were in length between perpendiculars and in length overall, with a beam of, and a draught of. Displacement was 1,610 tons standard, 2,030 tons full load when surfaced, and 2,410 tons full load when submerged. Propulsion machinery consisted of 2 Admiralty Standard Range 16 VMS diesel generators, and two electric motors, each driving a 3-bladed propeller at up to 400 rpm. Top speed was when submerged, and on the surface. Eight diameter torpedo tubes were fitted, with a total payload of 24 torpedoes. The boats were fitted with Type 186 and Type 187 sonars, and an I-band surface search radar. The standard complement was 68: 6 officers, 62 sailors.
Oberon was laid down by Chatham Dockyard on 28 November 1957, and launched on 18 July 1959. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 24 February 1961. Oberon cost £2.43 million. She was the first of the class to have a deeper casing installed to house the equipment for initial training of SSN crews.