Design and Construction
The 295.2 feet (90.0 m) long Oberon class was based heavily on the preceding Porpoise class of submarines, which were in service from 1956 to 1988. Changes from the Porpoise design were primarily to improve the strength and stealth of the submarine. Instead of UXW steel, the hull was built from QT28 steel, which was easier to fabricate and stronger, allowing the submarine to dive deeper. Glass-reinforced plastic was used in construction of the casing.
Electronics, sonar, and radar systems were also upgraded to the latest standard. The submarines were equipped with a Type 1002 surface search and navigation radar, a Type 187 Active-Passive attack sonar, and a Type 2007 long range passive sonar.
The Oberons were constructed at a variety of shipyards in the United Kingdom: the six Australian and two Chilean submarines by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company (the latter were built after the Scott Lithgow merger); the three Brazilian submarines by Vickers-Armstrongs; and the three Canadian submarines at Chatham Dockyard. Construction of the British submarines was shared amongst four dockyards: the three mentioned above and Cammell Laird.
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