Submarine Follies--Elsewhere

The popular press loves to jump on the bandwagon and kick the Victoria-class Canadian submarines when they are down--and that happens far too often, I must admit.

HMCS Victoria

 From the time they first appeared in Halifax from England, where they had been allowed to deteriorate in salt water for years, the Victoria, Corner Brook, Windsor and Chicoutimi have had chequered careers. Indeed, Victoria suffered a fatality at sea and has only relatively recently become a reliable member of the fleet. But the Victorias are potent seagoing Canadian assets. For a glimpse of the potential effectiveness and usefulness of the boats, see an earlier posting, here, dealing with a live torpedo firing by Victoria.
Related stories have appeared at times regarding the difficulties and inevitable delays when new construction of ships is undertaken. Thus we see periodic reminders about the ongoing letting of contracts to build naval ships on the east and west coasts. Be that as it may, Canadian ship constructors can wipe their furrowed brows in relief when they see how bad things could be. Here is a story about a Spanish submarine that the most devil-may-care submariner would hesitate to board.