HMCS Ojibwa

Type

Submarine

Period

20th Century

Nation

Canada

Overview: HMCS Ojibwa was an Oberon-class diesel-electric submarine that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later Canadian Forces Maritime Command from 1965 to 1998. She was originally laid down for the Royal Navy as HMS Onyx but was transferred to Canada while still under construction and completed as Ojibwa, one of three Oberons (with Onondaga and Okanagan) that formed Canada's Cold War submarine squadron. Specifications: As an Oberon-class boat she displaced about 2,030 tons surfaced and 2,410 tons submerged, measured 295.25 ft (89.99 m) in length with a 26.5 ft beam and 18 ft draught, and was powered by two diesel-electric engines. The class was armed with eight 21-inch torpedo tubes (six bow, two stern) carrying up to 30 torpedoes, and was later upgraded under the SOUP refit program to fire Mark 48 torpedoes; this class is regarded as an improved, better-steeled evolution of the earlier Porpoise-class design, useful reference for modelers replicating hull and fin details. Service History: Commissioned on 23 September 1965 at Chatham Dockyard, Ojibwa joined the First Canadian Submarine Squadron in 1966 and spent virtually her entire career with Maritime Forces Atlantic in the North Atlantic, including exchange training with the Royal Navy and Cold War patrols tracking Soviet submarines. She was decommissioned in 1998 and by 2005 the navy was considering scrapping her along with sister boats before a preservation effort by the Elgin Military Museum intervened. Notable Facts: After decommissioning she underwent "shock" testing that left a noticeable dent on her port side, a detail some modelers replicate for authenticity. She was towed to Port Burwell, Ontario in 2012 and opened to the public in 2013 as a museum ship under the Elgin Military Museum, making her Ontario's only publicly toured submarine, while sister boat Onondaga is similarly preserved at Pointe-au-Père, Quebec.