CANADA'S NEWEST SUBMARINES

HMCS Victoria arrived in Halifax on
Monday, October 23, 2000 and
was commissioned on December 2, 2000

Read about the new submarines in Julie's second book -
Deeply Canadian: New Submarines for a New Millennium,
released the same day that HMCS Victoria was commissioned.

On Monday 6 April 1998 Canada announced that the navy would acquire four used Upholder submarines from Britain to replace the three Oberon class boats presently in service. The Honourable Art Eggleton, Minister of National Defence said, "These submarines are a great purchase for Canada, giving our navy a vital capability at a fraction of what it would otherwise cost."

The newly named Victoria class submarines displace 2455 tonnes submerged, can dive to 750 feet and have a range of 8300 nautical miles, which can be increased. Their submerged endurance is 45% more than the old Oberons with their high capacity batteries providing 80 hours at 4 knots or short sprints in excess of 20 knots. Designed to take an air-independent power plug aft of the control room, the navy hopes to fit a fuel cell (probably from Ballard Power Systems of Vancouver) during the first refit to enable them to operate under the ice. With some modification the new submarines can carry the Mark 48 torpedoes presently in the Canadian inventory and will sport the Canadian towed array sonar. Our navy has chosen to retain the relatively new fire control system presently in the O boats that the submariners prefer.

The commissioning of HMCS Victoria on 2 December 00 in Halifax. (Ferguson photo)

The overall acquisition value of the four Victoria class boats is $750 million, about a quarter of the cost if Canada was to build new boats. However the navy devised a way to "pay" for the the new class s using little or no taxpayers' money. The eight year lease-to-own payments of $610 million will be offset by the payments that Britain would have made for the use of training facilities at three Canadian bases, as well as monies recovered by paying-off five ships and avoiding a costly Oberon refit. The reactivation and Canadianization package will cost $140 million, $100 million of which will be spent in Atlantic Canada. The submarine acquisition will ensure the retention of 200 jobs for thirty more years and add $150 million in industrial benefits.

The four new boats will "re-establish a permanent submarine presence off the Pacific coast after a 25 year absence," Minister Eggleton added.

The long awaited arrival of HMS/Ms Unseen , Ursula, Unicorn, and Upholder that began in October 2000, will rejuvenate the Canadian Submarine Service not a moment too soon. The submarines are called HMCS Victoria, Windsor, Chicoutimi, and Corner Brook.

If you are interested in the beginnings of the Canadian
Submarine Service, read more in
Through a Canadian Periscope

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