HMCS Chicoutimi (SSK 879)

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period of service Royal Navy Jack
Type: Fleet submarine
Keel laying: November 1983
Launch: 2nd December 1986
Commissioning: June 2, 1990
Status: Decommissioned in 1994
period of service
Type: Hunting submarine
Acquired: 1998
Commissioning: October 2004
Status: in dry dock (see text)
Technical specifications
Displacement: 2,260 tons (surfaced)
2,500 tons (submerged)
Length: 70.3 m (230 ft)
Width: 7.2 m (23 ft)
Draft: 5.5 m (18 ft)
Drive: Diesel-electric.
2 Paxman Valenta 16 RPA diesel generators with 4,070 PS (3,035 kW)
2 GEC, 6,798 PS (5,000 kW) motor-generators
Speed: 12 knots (surfaced)
20 knots (submerged)
Diving depth: 200 m
Range: 10,000 nautical miles at 12 knots
Crew: 57 officers and men
Armament: six 21- inch torpedo tubes, 18 Mark 48 heavyweight torpedoes

The HMCS Chicoutimi is a conventional long-range Victoria-class hunting submarine of the Canadian Navy . The Chicoutimi was built as HMS Upholder (S40) for the submarine service of the Royal Navy of Great Britain and was later taken over by Canada. During the transfer voyage, there was a fire on board in which a seaman was killed.

history

The submarine was built for the Royal Navy as HMS Upholder (S40) and type ship of the Upholder class. It was named after the submarine HMS Upholder (P37) built during World War II. It was built by Vickers Shipbuilding & Engineering Limited and was launched on December 2, 1986. Due to a possible problem with the torpedo tubes, commissioning was delayed on June 2, 1990. After the end of the Cold War, austerity measures led to the program being discontinued and decommissioned in April 1994, along with the three sister ships of the class. In 1998 the boat was sold to Canada and commissioned there as HMCS Chicoutimi, named after the city of Chicoutimi .

Overpass and accident

Several years had passed since the decommissioning when work began to bring the boat back into service. During the work it was found that parts of the ship were badly corroded and no longer safe, the pressure hull was not affected by this. Parts of the internals were defective or cannibalized in order to obtain spare parts for its sister ship, the HMCS Corner Brook. The Chicoutimi was handed over to the Faslane Naval Base on October 2nd, 2004 as the last of the boats renamed Victoria-class . Two days later she left for transfer to her new home port CFB Halifax in Nova Scotia .

On October 5th, the boat surfaced through heavy seas about 160 km northwest of County Mayo , Ireland. Both hatches in the tower lookout had been left open and about 2000 liters of salt water entered the ship. The salt water caused short circuits and a fire. Nine crew members suffered smoke inhalation and the boat drifted in the heavy seas. Three of the crew were flown to Sligo General Hospital in Ireland the next day , one in critical condition. On October 6, Canada's Prime Minister confirmed that one of the injured died on the way to hospital.

Several Irish and British ships provided assistance. An Irish ship, the LÉ Róisín, was damaged by the heavy seas and had to turn back to its home port. At 2 p.m., the Royal Navy frigate HMS Montrose reached Chicoutimi together with the supplier RFA Wave Knight and 3 other ships were on the way. Later the Irish LÉ Aoife joined the ships and took over the coordination of the rescue and recovery operation. On the evening of October 7th the weather had improved and the Chicoutimi was towed by the British coastguard tug Anglian Prince to bring her back to Faslane, Scotland. The tug was later replaced by the US Submarine Support Vessel MV Carolyn Chouest, which increased the towing speed from three to about eight or nine knots. On the evening of October 10th they reached the harbor together with the Canadian frigate HMCS St. John's, which had hurried across the Atlantic after the news of the fire that had broken out.

The events reinvigorated the debate about the new submarines in Canada, but also sparked a debate in Ireland about the capabilities and means of search and rescue at sea.

In the Canadian media there were allegations that Britain had delivered an unsafe ship. The statement made with the condolences of the British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon that Canada would be charged for the cost of the salvage and Caveat emptor (the buyer must be careful) led to further dissatisfaction. Many World War II veterans were outraged at what was said about the sacrifices Canada had made at the time.

Chicoutimi during the transfer

In May 2009 the Chicoutimi reached the city ​​of Esquimalt on the west coast of Canada after a month-long transfer on the semi-submersible ship Tern , including through the Panama Canal, for a 24-month stay in the dry dock of Victoria Shipyards Ltd.

See also

Web links