HMS Oberon (P21)
HMS Oberon at sea, bow and stern images
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Oberon |
Laid down | 22 March 1924 |
Launched | 24 September 1926 |
Commissioned | 24 August 1927 |
Decommissioned | 5 July 1944 |
Identification | Pennant number P21 |
Fate | Scrapped 1945 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Odin-class submarine |
Displacement |
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Length | 270 ft (82 m) |
Beam | 28 ft (8.5 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range | |
Test depth | 300 ft (91 m) |
Complement | 54 |
Armament |
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HMS Oberon was the prototype for the Odin-class submarine of the Royal Navy.
Design
Oberon was the prototype for the Odin-class submarines and was initially named O1 but renamed in 1924, becoming the first named British submarine. Ordered under the 1923 programme, she was the fifth ship of the Royal Navy to carry the name Oberon.[1] The submarine was built in response to the demise of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance in 1922, which necessitated a need for a long-range patrol submarine capable of operations in the Far East. Oberon differed from the predecessor L-class submarines in that she was lengthened by 32 feet (9.8 m) and broadened by 3 feet (0.91 m), in addition to a two-knot reduction in top speed, expanded range, and double the number of torpedoes and torpedo tubes.[2]
With a complement of 54, Oberon was 270 feet (82 m)
The submarine had a
Initially armed with a single
Construction and service
She was laid down on 22 March 1924, launched on 24 September 1926 at the Chatham Dockyard and commissioned on 24 August 1927. As a result of torsional vibration in her powerplant, the submarine was never deployed to the Far East. Oberon was stationed at Portsmouth between 1927 and 1931, then moved to the Mediterranean before returning to Portsmouth in 1934. On 11 October 1935, she collided with the destroyer Thanet at Devonport. Placed in reserve in 1937, Oberon was recommissioned on 2 August 1939 and was used for training during the Second World War. Lieutenant Michael Lindsay Coulton Crawford, previously commander of HMS Unseen in the Mediterranean, was given command on 24 March. She was decommissioned at Blyth on 5 July 1944 and was sold for scrap on 24 August 1945.[5] Oberon was scrapped at Dunston by Clayton and Davie.[6][1]
She was assigned a pennant number of 21.P, which was changed to 21.N in 1939 and to N.21 in 1940.[5]
Notes
- ^ a b c Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 248.
- ^ a b Bagnasco 1977, pp. 105–106.
- ^ a b c Chesneau 1980, p. 47.
- ^ a b Akermann 2002, p. 287.
- ^ a b Akermann 2002, p. 288.
- ^ "HMS Oberon (N 21) of the Royal Navy - British Submarine of the O class - Allied Warships of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
References
- Akermann, Paul (2002). Encyclopaedia of British Submarines 1901–1955 (reprint of the 1989 ed.). Penzance, Cornwall: Periscope Publishing. ISBN 1-904381-05-7.
- Bagnasco, Erminio (1977). Submarines of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-962-6.
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- OCLC 67375475.
- McCartney, Innes (2006). British Submarines 1939–1945. New Vanguard. Vol. 129. Oxford, UK: Osprey. ISBN 1-84603-007-2.
External links