A Tour of a Cold War O-Boat (6th of 6)

 Here is a shot taken in 2012. The former HMCS Ojibwa is about to give birth to the Elgin Military Museum's submarine exhibit at Port Burwell on the north shore of Lake Erie--by making her way to her final (I can't help myself) berth.
(photo credit Phyllis Hinz) 

And here's how Ojibwa looked in 2013, when the able and welcoming staff in Port Burwell were working their magic, preparing the cold warrior for her public debut.

Port Burwell and Ojibwa are well worth a visit, for submariners and civilians alike.


And for a "gripping adventure in the grand trradition of sea sagas" (Ian Weir), beg, borrow or steal a copy of "Terror on the Alert".

A Tour of a Cold War O-Boat (5)

 Continuing our tour aft on board HMCS Ojibwa, we have passed through the accommodation space with its assorted messes and berths. The photo to the left is part of the starboard side of the control room, featuring the chart table, a prominent red light bulb, various communication outlets, a clock, etc.

And to the right is an image of part of the port side of the control room under red lighting conditions.
The red lighting is switched on at dusk and off at dawn, even when running at great depth, in case it is necessary to surface in a hurry. Also, if at periscope depth, it allows the periscope watchkeeper's eyes to be adjusted for night vision.

Not shown in either photo are the periscopes, which are on the centre-line of the boat, with the attack (monocular) periscope forward of the search periscope, which is binocular.

A Tour of a Cold War O-Boat (4)

 We are continuing aft on board HMCS Ojibwa, as she rests in her permanent berth ashore in Port Burwell, Ontario. We have passed through the watertight door into the accommodation spaces. On the left is a shot of a couple of bunks and some lockers. My memory fails me as to whether this is in the crew's quarters, or the chiefs and petty officers mess. Can someone help with a comment?

And here, on the right, we have the rather palatial commanding officer's cabin as seen from the passageway that threads its way the length of the boat. The lucky captain has hardwood to sleep on as opposed to a canvas sling. Not sure that would make it more comfortable.

Other features include a miniscule desk, a couple of drawers, and gauges and instruments so the captain can monitor the boat's progress. The cabin is very handy to the control room, so he can be there within seconds in case of an emergency or other development.

A Tour of a Cold War O-Boat (3)

 Following up on our tour parts (1) and (2), we've now climbed the stairs and entered the forward torpedo room in HMCS Ojibwa. We're looking forward in the cavernous space. The spot of bright light near the centre of the photo is the top of the new access door through which we've entered. The size of the space can be gauged by the figure of retired Admiral Dan McNeil, who can just be made out in the lower right corner. The rear doors of the three port torpedo tubes are between him and the access door.
Also visible on the left are parts of the torpedo racks which would hold spare torpedoes to be loaded using hydraulic rams as required. Before loading, the tube rear doors would have to be opened--once it was confirmed that the bow caps were shut and no water was in the tubes. A very important step.

To the right is a closer look at the top four of the six forward torpedo tubes. The rear doors are all shut, as they would be at sea, whether there was a torpedo in the tube or not. Sometimes the tubes were empty, depending on what task the boat was on.
The myriad of pipes, valves, and controls allow firing of a torpedo and the subsequent draining down of the now flooded tube so it can be reloaded.
It was not unknown for a boat to carry beer in an empty tube.

A Tour of a Cold War O-Boat (2)

Number 1 in this series of posts showed an unusual view of HMCS Ojibwa, the gorgeous museum piece in Port Burwell, Ontario.

 

(If pressed, I'll admit that "gorgeous" when referring to a submarine is all in the eyes of the beholder.)

At left is the Ojibwa as she appeared when the Cooking Ladies and I approached from the west and crossed the bridge into Port Burwell in 2013.

The boat was not then open to the public, but nearly so.

This shot of the port side of the boat shows the steps installed to allow tourists to access the newly-cut doorway into the forward torpedo room.

Looking like an earflap at the top of the stairs is the door, and above that is the port forward hydroplane. The hydroplanes, working in concert while controlled by the helmsman, determined the boat's depth and angle of dive.

A Tour of a Cold War O-Boat (1)

Here is an unusual view of an Oberon-class submarine. To be more precise, the image is of the former HMCS Ojibwa, taken at her new home in Port Burwell, on the shore of Lake Erie, a couple of hours' drive east of Windsor.

Ojibwa is a major attraction in a rural area of Ontario. If it seems like an odd place for a submarine, you might want to talk to retired admiral Dan McNeil, who spearheaded the effort to land the Cold War boat above the Lake Erie shoreline.

This is Dan, pictured on board Ojibwa just before she opened to the public in 2013. Not exactly Dan's working uniform when he was in the Royal Canadian Navy, but more more typical of the hands-on work asked of his crew--and himself--as they laboured to restore the boat.

Watch for an ongoing series of posts about the Ojibwa and the Port Burwell project. And go see Dan--and Ojibwa--if you're in the area!

Memories of Cold War Submarine Service--and Tight Shorts

Readers of this site will know something of Project Ojibwa, the highly successful effort to land the former HMCS Ojibwa ashore at Port Burwell, Ontario. She is now open to the public.
Browsing the project's website, I came across a couple of interesting photos.
In the June archive is a shot of me, along with my sister and her "Cooking Ladies" partner, when we did a walk-through of the Ojibwa. And in July, the first photo shown is of Ron Pearks, who commanded the boat 1972 to '74.
Ron came to my rescue in 1967, when I was serving as a junior officer in HMS Alderney. We were scheduled to do a cruise to Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, and since it was summer, tropical white uniforms were the rig of the day. That included white shorts, which I did not own. Ron loaned me a pair. Alas, I had put on some excess weight, what with the nonexistent submarine fitness program and the effects of good British beer. When I put on the shorts to step ashore in Gibraltar in all my glory, I had to leave the top button undone and fold down the waist in order to look barely presentable.
I am grateful there are no photos that record that particular rig.

New Ojibwa's Crew, prepping for the big day

 Among the hard-working folks labouring to get Ojibwa ready for opening day July 6th is retired admiral Dan McNeil, project coordinator. Dan retired from the Royal Canadian Navy in 2006 and came on board to assist Project Ojibwa shortly after. Here, he poses beside his charge's rudder, after planes, and once-secret propellers.




 
 
Much of the day-to-day running of Project Ojibwa will fall on the shoulders of (left to right) Melissa Raven, media and communications; Amanda Laurie, tour coordinator; and Catherine Raven, webmaster.
Behind them, the Ojibwa, in her recently-painted glory, showing the stairs and access door cut into her forward torpedo room.





And here is reality, even if you are a retired rear-admiral. When this photo was taken, Dan had his flashlight on his belt, his toolkit at his feet, and had just finished wiring some new lighting in the boat.

Strange Sights in Port Burwell

Can you honestly say you would know what this photo depicts, with no other information? If so, you are either a) a submariner, past or present; b) a very imaginative person; or c) you have visited Port Burwell, Ontario, and spotted HMCS Ojibwa. Ojibwa, who has emerged from the depths one last time to inch her way up Highway 472, to become the second Oberon-class Canadian submarine to be so preserved.
The big day for the Ojibwa is July 6th, when she officially opens to the public. If you are there, you will join with many former submariners and retired Admiral Dan McNeil as the Ojibwa is launched on the next phase of her service. See www.projectojibwa.ca.

 Here is another view of the Ojibwa, showing an access door that was never there when she was in active service. It has been cut into the after ends to allow visitors to exit--stairs yet to be added!

HMCS Ojibwa, at Home in Port Burwell

About half way between the mega-cities of Toronto and Windsor-Detroit, the hamlet of Port Burwell, Ontario is nestled on the north shore of Lake Erie. Part of the Municipality of Bayham, Port Burwell has a rich history that includes fishing, farming, and recreational activities.
On a recent drive eastward along Nova Scotia Line and a swing south on Bridge Street toward the lake, a startling sight appeared as we crossed the bridge over Big Otter Creek. There on the right loomed a sight many would think of as foreign.
Retired Royal Canadian Navy Rear-Admiral Dan McNeil, project manager of Project Ojibwa for the Elgin Military Museum, would not agree. "HMCS Ojibwa belongs to all Canadians," he said. Dan has been instrumental in bringing Project Ojibwa to fruition.
The Ojibwa, a Cold War-era Oberon-class Canadian submarine, was retired from active service in 1998. The first of three such boats built for the RCN in Chatham, England, Ojibwa paved the way for sister vessels Onondaga and Okanagan. Onondaga is a museum-piece in Rimouski, Quebec, while the Okanagan, alas, went to the wreckers' yard. HMCS Ojibwa is undergoing last-minute installation and tiddlying-up for her grand opening to the public on July 6th. A magnificent sight, indeed.

HMCS Ojibwa, the first--and last--of her line.

 HMCS Ojibwa was the first of Canada's O-boats, built as all three of them were in Her Majesty's Dockyard in Chatham, England. OJ was launched in 1964, commissioned on 23 September 1965, and served in the Royal Canadian Navy for 33 years. Rescued in the nick of time from the breakers' yard, she was towed to Port Burwell, Ontario, where she is slated to be the star attraction in that town's naval museum. For more about the museum, click here.

Normally operating with a crew of 68, the Ojibwa set a sterling example for her sisters to follow. She spent most of her operational life in the Atlantic, with two brief deployments to the RCN's Pacific Command.

In the top photo, Ojibwa is at sea, displaying her earlier sonar on the bow as fitted out when she was built. At right, she comes ashore in Port Burwell, her entire hull visible.

Canadian Submarines—Ninety-nine Years and Counting (Part 1)

HMCS Ojibwa in a calm sea

There is a Canadian underground which only volunteers are eligible to join, and in which not all volunteers are successful. Little known outside the navy, submariners—a small band of men who have served beneath the waves, inherit memories and language from their forerunners.

Officers and men of the Royal Canadian Navy have served in British and American, but primarily Canadian, boats.

Fifteen undersea boats have flown Canada’s flag, first the white ensign up to the 1960’s and most recently the maple leaf. Our earliest boats, C1 and C2, were commissioned in the Royal Canadian Navy in August 1914 as CC1 and CC2. Next up were CH14 and CH15, interestingly enough built for the Royal Navy in the US during the First World War, but transferred to Canada on the Armistice being signed.

Two German U-boats surrendered to the RCN when hostilities ceased in 1945; they didn’t last long, and were never operational in any real sense.

Our close cousins in the United States Navy supplied two diesel-electric boats which became HMCS Grilse and HMCS Rainbow during the cold war. The British influence was re-exerted when Canada purchased three Oberon-class boats, HMC Submarines Ojibwa, Onondaga, and Okanagan. A new generation of formerly British boats has been transformed into the four Victoria-class: Victoria, Chicoutimi, Corner Brook, and Windsor.

Now stationed two on each coast, the Victorias are writing the latest chapters in Canada’s u-boat history. More details forthcoming in subsequent posts.
(Author's note: don't let the fact that Part 1 of this series is coming out after Part 2 throw you off. My mistake!)

Canada's Submarines--the Unknown Service

HMCS CC1

In all likelihood the typical Canadian, if there is such a person, does not know that Canada has a long history in what is often referred to as the "silent service".
Canada has had six main classes of submarines, starting in 1914 with the acquisition of CC1 and CC2. They were replaced by CH14 and CH 15 in 1921. The CH's were in commission only a couple of years between the wars.
Next up were two German U-boats that surrendered in May 1945 on the conclusion of the bloody Battle of the Atlantic. U-889 and U-190 were commissioned in the RCN for a short time.
HMCS Grilse was a former USN Balao class boat; she was leased for a five year period starting in 1961. She was followed by HMCS Rainbow, purchased from the United States in 1968.
Overlapping Rainbow's service on the west coast were Canada's three Oberon-class boats in the Atlantic. Ojibwa was the first, commissioned in September 1965. The O-boats were in service until near the turn of the century.
Canada's four Victoria-class boats are currently serving with two on each coast. The first, HMCS Victoria, was commissioned in the RCN in December 2000; they should be in service for at least another twenty years.
Subsequent posts will deal with each of Canada's classes of boats in more detail.

HMCS Ojibwa--Soon to be on solid ground

Photo courtesy P. Hinz, one half of www.thecookingladies.com

This may be the day  the former HMCS Ojibwa is on solid ground for the first time since she was launched in 1964. Ojibwa has been high and dry in drydocks or lifts for refits, maintenance etc. over the years, but never actually ashore, to the best of my knowledge. "Project Ojibwa" and my confidential informants report she may come out of the water today.
Once ashore, cold warrior Ojibwa will make a stately trip of a few hundred yards to her permanent home at the Port Burwell Submarine Museum.
The weather today is reported as cold and windy--not that that would be a problem for a boat that spent virtually her entire working life in the North Atlantic.

HMCS Ojibwa's Last Landfall Only Hours Away

HMCS Ojibwa, the first of Canada’s Oberon-class submarines, is nearing her final resting place.

An ultra-modern diesel-electric submarine in her day, she was launched in February 1964. Originally the hull was destined to be HMS Onyx, but was transferred to the RCN, completed in HM Dockyard Chatham, England, and commissioned Her Majesty's Canadian Submarine Ojibwa on September 23^rd, 1965. Following workups, she spent her career with Maritime Command Atlantic out of Halifax, but for a brief sojourn in Esquimalt.

Ojibwa was paid off in May, 1998, after nearly thirty-three years of service.

In the next few days the boat will claim her last berth in Port Burwell, Ontario. She was scheduled to arrive on November 14^th via a special barge and tug, to be lifted into place as part of the Museum of Naval History. For more details, see

https://www.facebook.com/MuseumNH. According to the latest reports, Ojibwa should be making her last landfall at dawn, Tuesday, November 20^th. The site shows her updated position.

I never served in Ojibwa, but I feel a connection to her, the last of the O’s to respond to the motion of the seas passing under her keel.

HMCS Ojibwa's last cruise

HMCS Ojibwa, the first of Canada’s Oberon-class submarines, is nearing her final resting place after hitching a ride from Halifax to Lake Erie on board a barge.

courtesy readyayeready.com

An ultra-modern diesel-electric submarine in her day, she was launched in February 1954. Originally the hull was destined to be HMS Onyx, but was transferred to the RCN, completed in HM Dockyard Chatham, England, and commissioned on September 23^rd, 1965. Following workups, she spent her career with Maritime Command Atlantic out of Halifax, but for  a brief sojourn in Esquimalt.

Ojibwa was paid off in May, 1998, after nearly thirty-three years of service.

In the next few days the boat will claim her last berth in Port Burwell, Ontario. She is scheduled to arrive on November 14^th via  a specially-adapted barge and tug, and will be lifted into place as part of the Elgin Military Museum. For further details, see their website at www.elginmilitarymuseum.ca.

Perisher (Part III)

I have recently been in touch via the internet with a Scottish friend. We initially “met” because of a mutual interest in WW I and the cavalry. Since then, he has also taken an interest in my blog, which deals with submarine matters as well as the cavalry.

He recently referred me to a site that features a BBC documentary about the Perisher.

It provides a fascinating but brief look at what the course was like, and no doubt still is like. The stress under which the hopeful candidates labour is very evident.

I was particularly excited to see the footage because it features HMS Oracle, a diesel-electric O-boat of the same vintage as the now retired HMCS Ojibwa, Onondaga, and Okanagan, the latter being the only RCN submrarine in which I was lucky enough to serve. The footage of Oracle is brief, and right toward the end.

If any readers have other sites featuring footage of O-boats, A-boats etc I’d be very excited to hear from them.
Here is the site:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1wr8J-edbo&feature=youtube_gdata_player