×
Aircraft / Aviation Vehicles & Artillery Infantry Arms Warships & Submarines Military Pay Chart (2023) Military Ranks
Advertisements
HOME
NAVAL WARFARE
MODERN FLEETS
COUNTRIES
SHIPBUILDERS
COMPARE
BY CONFLICT
BY TYPE
BY DECADE
BY CLASS
COLD WAR
MODERN VESSEL
Naval Warfare

HMCS Victoria (SSK-876)


Diesel-Electric Attack Submarine [ 2000 ]



HMS Victoria and her class of four saw a short shelf life in service with the Royal Navy, and doing much less now in Canadian hands.



Authored By: JR Potts, AUS 173d AB | Last Edited: 10/09/2020 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]
Advertisements
The Upholder-class were the last class of diesel boats built for the Royal Navy for a couple of reasons. Firstly, they were cheaper to produce than their nuclear counterparts and, secondly, they were able to be constructed in a shorter period of time. The Royal Navy was in need of boats to protect the Greenland-Iceland - UK ocean gaps where Russian submarines would probe, trying to slip through into the greater Atlantic. The Upholder-class was commissioned starting in 1990 and ran through 1993 as the Cold War came to a close. The British government then came to the conclusion that they could not fund and maintain conventionally-powered submarines alongside nuclear boats. As such, the four Upholder-class subs were put into reserve status. In their short period of service, the class operated mostly in the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and around UK waters.

This recall was not an easy decision due to the large amounts of money spent on the new class. The Upholder-class were the most sophisticated and modern diesel-electric-powered submarines ever built. Her hull design looked like a nuclear boat having a short and stout "tear-drop" design. The boat could accommodate a crew of 41 seamen and 7 officers. The design allowed living space for 5 additional crew members. This was a new concept and allowed for OPS mission specialists, training or non-military mission personnel to come aboard. The low number of crew members was due to the increased automation built into these new boats. The boats had three decks and the pressure hull was a single skin constructed of number 1 high-tensile steel covered in elastomeric tiles. Her sonar and radar were top-of-the-line rivaling even Her Majesty's nuclear submarines. For whatever reason, they were not fitted with the British developed pump-jet propulsion system that had been installed in all SSNs since the early 1980s. The choice was made to provide a conventional seven-bladed skewback propeller, this decision perhaps forced due to project cost overruns as additional monies were needed to correct the torpedo launching system. All of the boats needed to have their initial launch tubes replaced in dry dock.

The four Victoria- (formerly the UK Royal Navy's Upholder) class submarines were inevitably sold to the Canadian Maritime Force (CMF) and the first of class boat - HMCS Victoria - was delivered in May of 2000. In short order deliveries, HMCS Windsor and HMCS Corner Brook arrived in 2003 with HMCS Chicoutimi becoming the last to be delivered sometime in 2004. This scheduled delay was due to a substantial refit in preparation for the purchase. During the crossing from the UK a fire developed in the electrical system of the Chicoutimi and she had to be towed the rest of the way. The fire claimed the life of one of the crewmembers. Chicoutimi finally arrived in Halifax in 2005 and underwent a lengthy investigation into the cause of the fire. The Canadian Navy decided to place all of the other boats in reserve until the refit was completed for safety reasons. Continued problems plagued the class for the time being. The Chicoutimi repairs were pushed off until 2010 and are still expected to take two years to complete. The Victoria was returned to duty for a short period in the interim, however, Windsor and Corner Brook have spent long periods in dry dock.©MilitaryFactory.com
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.
Advertisements

Specifications



Service Year
2000

Origin
Canada national flag graphic
Canada

Status
COMMISSIONED
In Active Service.
Complement
48
PERSONNEL


Class
Victoria-class
Number-in-Class
4
VESSELS
Ships-in-Class


HMCS Victoria (SSK-876); HMCS Windsor (SSK-877); HMCS Corner Brook (SSK-878); HMCS Chicoutimi (SSK-879)


National flag of Canada Canada
(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
Submerged Attack
Traveling under the surface to search, track, and / or engage or reconnoiter areas.
Maritime Patrol
Active patroling of vital waterways and maritime areas; can also serve as local deterrence against airborne and seaborne threats.
Fleet Support
Serving in support (either firepower or material) of the main surface fleet in Blue Water environments.


Length
230.0 ft
70.10 m
Beam
25.0 ft
7.62 m
Draught
18.0 ft
5.49 m
Displacement
2,185
tons
Disp.Submerged
2,400
tons


Installed Power: 2 x Paxman Valenta diesel generators delivering 2,035 horsepower; 2 x alternators with 1 x electric motor delivering 5,400 shaft horsepower; 2 x 240-cell batteries; 1 x shaft propeller.
Surface Speed
12.0 kts
(13.8 mph)
Submerged Speed
9.0 kts
(10.4 mph)
Range
8,000 nm
(9,206 mi | 14,816 km)


kts = knots | mph = miles-per-hour | nm = nautical miles | mi = miles | km = kilometers

1 kts = 1.15 mph | 1 nm = 1.15 mi | 1 nm = 1.85 km
6 x 21" (533mm) Bow Torpedo Launchers (Gould Mk 48 Mod 4 dual-purpose torpedoes).
18 x Torpedoes.
2 x Torpedo Decoys.


Supported Types


Graphical image of an aircraft aerial torpedo


(Not all weapon types may be represented in the showcase above)
None.


Military lapel ribbon for the Cold War period
Military lapel ribbon for early warship designs
Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War
Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War
Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War
Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the Attack on Pearl Harbor
Military lapel ribbon for the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2


Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective naval campaigns / operations / periods.

Images Gallery



1 / 1
Image of the HMCS Victoria (SSK-876)
Starboard side view of the HMCS Victoria 876 attack submarine


Advertisements




Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies


2023 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons.

View day-by-day actions of the American Civil War with CivilWarTimeline.net. View day-by-day actions of World War II with SecondWorldWarHistory.com.


©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)