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.

Tools of The Trade (2)

 This Tool of The Trade is of course a pair of dividers, always to be found on or near the chart table in a submarine's control room. This handsome example is a replica of the style used by the Ships Master on board HMS Association, which was wrecked off the Scilly Isles on October 22nd, 1707.

The dividers in this photo are resting on a battered chart of the North Pacific,used during a cruise to Hawaii in 1980. The ketch Wise Eye made a safe but prolonged passage, but that's a longer story for another time.
Below, the dividers are used to measure the distance between two point on the chart; one minute of latitude equals one nautical mile.

Tools of the Trade (1)

 This rather odd-looking item is a wheelspanner. Ships' engineers and all submariners will be familiar with wheelspanners, as they are extremely useful for turning stubborn or jammed valve control wheels. (Think oversized garden faucet outlets.)
This particular one is somewhat unique. It is chromed--most were workaday hard steel tools. Also, the non-spanner end is shaped into a coarse screwdriver, perfect for screwing down deck fittings on an O-class submarine.


Each of the officers in the commissioning crew of HMC Submarine Okanagan was presented with one of these handy keepsakes by Her Majesty's Dockyard Chatham in 1968. Mine is on a shelf in front of me as I write, a constant reminder of those long-gone days.

HMCS Okanagan--Best Boat Ever!

On a recent visit to Victoria I had a very happy reunion with Mike Dalzell, RCN Ret'd. Mike and I served together in HMCS Okanagan, the third of Canada's O-boats.

Mike has since mailed me one of the OK's commissioning booklets, shown at left. It is a real thrill to be able to, in a sense, renew acquaintances with the boat and crew.

Later this year, I'll be in Halifax to say hello to more of the gang from the "best boat ever"! (And it's not just me that says so.)

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.