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Companies asked to scrap old submarines

Article online since October 30th 2008, 23:00
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OTTAWA - Three large pieces of Canadian military history are bound for the scrapyard after Public Works Canada called Friday for companies to haul away and break up the navy's three remaining Oberon-class submarines.

The boats, constructed in the 1960s, were decommissioned in the late 1990s as newer Victoria-class submarines were introduced.

The former head of the Canadian navy, retired vice-admiral Bruce McLean, said it's a nostalgic time for the thousands of sailors who crewed the cramped, damp quarters of the boats over 30 years.

"There's a certain bond between a ship and an individual, particularly in a submarine when you're at five or 600 feet underneath the water," said McLean, who spent 11 years serving in and commanding submarines.

"There's quite a significant attachment and for those of us that served in submarines, you're always a submariner; no matter what else you do."

There is a definite misty-eyed wistfulness among the old salts for the diesel-electric boats that prowled the icy waters of the North Atlantic and the Pacific at the height of the Cold War.

Unlike today's automated, computer screen-driven submarines, the Oberon-class - based on the Germans' Second World War U-boat design - was powered by hydraulics and human sweat.

"Everything was turned by hand, opened by hand, shut by hand whereas, in modern submarines, there's basically a flick of the switch and something happens," said McLean, who quickly added that he doesn't bemoan progress.

"You really had to know your boat. It was different, sort of like getting right under the hood and knowing your car."

The Defence Department announced a few years ago that it intended to sell the boats for scrap and hoped to get about $50,000 apiece for them.

Maritime engineers said at the time that the submarines, which have been tied up at a jetty in Halifax, have deteriorated too much even to be used as museum pieces.

Despite that a Quebec naval museum, the Musee de la Mer de Pointe-au-Pere in Rimouski, Que., bought the former HMCS Onondaga from the federal government for $4, plus tax.

But there have been no takers for Okanagan and Ojibwa, as well as Olympus, a former training ship.

McLean, who served as commanding officer of Okanagan, said the British-built Oberon-class not only created a bond for the sailors that served aboard them, but among Commonwealth countries.

The Royal Navy and the Royal Austrailan Navy sailed the same class of submarines.

Brazil and Chile also purchased Oberons, but McLean said the exchanges that happened between Commonwealth navies created a strong sense of camaradarie.

"We not only had individual exchanges, but we had boat exchanges where Royal Navy submarines used to come to Canada and work for the 1st Canadian Submarine Squadron," said McLean, who at one point commanded an Austrailan boat.

"Those exchanges continue today, but not with that perfect one-to-one relationship."

The British replaced their Oberons years ago with four Upholder-class boats, which were eventually sold to Canada and renamed the Victoria class.

A series of glitches and a fatal fire aboard one of the used boats drastically delayed their introduction to the Canadian navy.

The Australians have also moved on with a different type of boat.

The Public Works tender call stipulated the submarines were to be "removed intact" and disposed of at a Canadian facility.

There is no indication how much it will cost, but the chosen contractor will have eight weeks to complete the removal once the deal is signed.

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