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	HMS Opossum (S19)
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Opossum
Builder	Cammell Laird, Birkenhead
Laid down	21 December 1961
Launched	23 May 1963
Commissioned	5 June 1964
Decommissioned	August 1993
Fate	Paid off for disposal
General characteristics as designed
Class and type	Oberon class
Displacement	1,610 tons standard; 2,030 tons full load surfaced; 2,410 tons full load submerged;
Length	241 feet (73 m) between perpendiculars; 295.2 feet (90.0 m) length overall;
Beam	26.5 feet (8.1 m)
Draught	18 feet (5.5 m)
Propulsion	2 × Admiralty Standard Range 16 VMS diesel generators; 2 × 3,000 shaft horsepower (2,200 kW) electric motors; 2 shafts;
Speed	17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) submerged; 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) surfaced;
Complement	68
Sensors and ; processing systems	Type 186 and Type 187 sonars; I-band surface search radar;
Armament	8 × 21-inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes (6 forward, 2 aft); 24 torpedoes;

HMS Opossum (S19) was an Oberon-class submarine in service with the Royal Navy from 1964 to 1993.

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.^[1]

As designed for British service, the Oberon-class submarines were 241 feet (73 m) in length between perpendiculars and 295.2 feet (90.0 m) in length overall, with a beam of 26.5 feet (8.1 m), and a draught of 18 feet (5.5 m).^[2] Displacement was 1,610 tons standard, 2,030 tons full load when surfaced, and 2,410 tons full load when submerged.^[2] Propulsion machinery consisted of 2 Admiralty Standard Range 16 VMS diesel generators, and two 3,000 shaft horsepower (2,200 kW) electric motors, each driving a 7-foot diameter (2.1 m) 3-bladed propeller at up to 400 rpm.^[2] Top speed was 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) when submerged, and 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) on the surface.^[2] Eight 21-inch (530 mm) diameter torpedo tubes were fitted (six facing forward, two aft), with a total payload of 24 torpedoes.^[2] The boats were fitted with Type 186 and Type 187 sonars, and an I-band surface search radar.^[2] The standard complement was 68: 6 officers, 62 sailors.^[2]

Opossum was laid down by Cammell Laird on 21 December 1961, and launched on 23 May 1963.^[2] The boat was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 5 June 1964.^[2]

Operational history

In 1990, Opossum took part in the bicentennial celebrations at Pitcairn Island, marking the occasion with a two-day visit in September.^[3]

Opossum was deployed to the Persian Gulf during the 1991 Gulf War under Operation Granby.^[4] On her return to Gosport, she was flying a Jolly Roger;^[5] the only indication that the submarine had been involved in deploying and recovering Special Air Service and Special Boat Service personnel.^[6]

On 14 July 1993, Opossum (which was travelling on the surface at the time) collided with the fishing vessel Amber Rose off the coast of Scotland.^[7]

Decommissioning and fate

On paying off in 1993, the nameplate from Opossum was given to St Edmundsbury council in commemoration of the submarine's association with the town of Bury St. Edmunds.^[8]

Heraldry

Admiral of the Fleet Lord Boyce, who commanded Opossum as a lieutenant commander from 1974 to 1976, symbolically commemorated the submarine in his personal coat of arms. For his crest he chose "a Mouse Opossum Argent, the eye ring and claws Azure", while his heraldic motto is "Ipsis Fretis Impedimentis Possum". (illustration)

References

^ Chant, Christopher (2005). Submarine Warfare Today: The World's Deadliest Underwater Weapons Systems. Wigston: Silverdale Books. p. ^{[page needed]}. ISBN 1-84509-158-2. OCLC 156749009.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Moore, John, ed. (1977). Jane's Fighting Ships 1977-78. Jane's Fighting Ships (80th ed.). London: Jane's Yearbooks. p. 490. ISBN 0531032779. OCLC 18207174.
^ "Bicentenary Celebrations". Pitcairn Islands Philatelic Bureau. 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
^ "British Forces involved in Operation Granby". raf.mod.uk. 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
^ Hillbeck, Ian W. (2015). "Submarine Camouflage Schemes". Submariners Association, Barrow-in-Furness Branch. Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
^ Richards, Bill; Smith, Peter (December 2006). "Onslow's Jolly Roger". Signals (77). Australian National Maritime Museum: 11. ISSN 1033-4688.
^ Jeremy Hanley, Minister of State for the Armed Forces (18 January 1994). "Submarines (Fishing Vessels)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. col. 506.
^ Nicholas Soames, Minister of State for the Armed Forces (27 October 1994). "Appropriation Accounts". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. col. 739–740.