Upholder/Victoria-class submarine
HMCS Victoria at US Naval Base Kitsap, December 2011 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Builders | VSEL, Ltd and Cammell Laird Co. |
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | Oberon class |
| In commission | |
| Planned | 12 |
| Completed | 4 |
| Cancelled | 8 |
| Active | 4 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Diesel-electric submarine (Hunter Killer SSK) |
| Displacement | 2,455 t (2,416 long tons) |
| Length | 70.26 m (230 ft 6 in) |
| Beam | 7.2 m (23 ft 7 in) |
| Draught | 7.6 m (24 ft 11 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Endurance | 30 days |
| Test depth | Over 656.17 ft (200 m) |
| Complement | 59 |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Armament | 6 x 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes (18x Mark 48 Mod 7 AT torpedoes) |
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The Upholder/Victoria-class submarines, also known as the Type 2400 (due to their displacement of 2,400 tonnes), are a class of diesel-electric submarines built in the United Kingdom in the 1980s to supplement the nuclear submarines in the Submarine Service of the British Royal Navy.
The boats were originally named the Upholder class, after the most renowned vessel of the former U class. Their British service life was short, with the vessels being decommissioned in 1994. After an unsuccessful bid to transfer these submarines to the Pakistan Navy in 1993–1994, the Canadian government eventually purchased the submarines and a suite of trainers from the Royal Navy for Canadian Forces Maritime Command (renamed to Royal Canadian Navy in 2011) to replace their decommissioned Oberon-class submarines in 1998.
In Canadian service, the submarines are classified as the Victoria class. These submarines initially suffered from serious electrical problems and were beset by mechanical operational incidents that limited their active service and the scope of their deployments. These problems have largely been overcome and the subs have achieved full operational capability.