47-563: S61 may refer to: Naval vessels [ edit ] HMAS Orion (S 61) , of the Royal Australian Navy INS ; Sindhukirti (S61) , of the Indian Navy Spanish submarine Delfín (S61) Rail and transit [ edit ] S61 (Long Island bus) S61 (New York City bus) serving Staten Island S61, a line of
94-554: A number of other Oberon -class submarines, Orion carried out many special operation deployments during her service which qualified those crew members for the Australian Service Medal , with Special Operations clasp. Conducted between 1978 and 1992, these operations involved intelligence-gathering missions off the coasts of Vietnam , Indonesia , China and India , primarily targeting the Soviet Navy during
141-449: A target—at periscope depth to observe surroundings and record information during operations close to enemy waters. Batteries which powered the submarines would be recharged during the night and intelligence gathering took place during daylight hours. The submarine was equipped with passive sonar hydrophones which allowed it to record signatures from Soviet vessels, identifying the capabilities of each individual vessel. On 27 September 1980,
188-426: Is Commodore T. Phillips, RAN . The Royal Australian Navy's submarine service has been established four times since 1914. After the formation of the navy upon Federation, a period of uncertainty had followed as the size of the force to be established was determined. Eventually, this was set at 13 vessels, including three submarines. Initially, it had been intended to purchase three small submarines, but this order
235-571: Is contracted to provide the RAN's submarine rescue capability, has been based at nearby Henderson, Western Australia since June 2009. Under current Royal Australian Navy doctrine, the Submarine Service has the following responsibilities: In early 2007 it was reported that Submarine Service was experiencing severe shortfalls in personnel and had only 70% of its authorised strength of 500 sailors. These shortfalls were reported to have reduced
282-539: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages HMAS Orion HMAS Orion (S 61) was an Oberon -class submarine of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). One of six submarines ordered by the RAN during the 1960s, Orion , named after the constellation in a break from ship-naming tradition, was built in Scotland and commissioned in 1977. Orion
329-516: The Cold War . Orion paid off into reserve at Garden Island, Western Australia in 1996. She remained there for several years, until she was marked for disposal as scrap in September 2003. Efforts to hand her over to a state government for preservation as a museum ship or sinking as a dive wreck failed, and submissions for disposal companies were closed off on 6 August 2004. The submarine
376-482: The International Force for East Timor (INTERFET) providing escorts for transport ships, monitoring Indonesian communications, inserting special forces and had been collecting intelligence on East Timor for months. Two boats, Collins and Dechaineux , received the special forces upgrade providing the capability while submerged to release several swimmers and for their reentry, filling a capability gap
423-556: The Oberon -class submarines were based at HMAS Platypus , on Sydney Harbor. The Oberon s proved very successful and saw extensive service during the last decades of the Cold War . This service included conducting risky surveillance missions against India and Communist nations in South East Asia . These missions were cancelled in 1992 when an Australian submarine, believed to be Otama , became tangled in fishing nets and
470-459: The constellation Orion : although a name with strong links to the Royal Navy (with six vessels operating as HMS Orion ), this was a break from the RAN's traditional use of the names of explorers and pioneers for submarines. The submarine's motto of "Orbe Circumcincto" (Latin for "All around the world") refers to the visibility of the constellation from any point on Earth. Orion was
517-589: The 1990s. The final Oberon -class boat, HMAS Otama , was decommissioned on 15 December 2000. The six Collins -class submarines were the first Australian-built submarines, and the most expensive ships to have been built in Australia. The Collins -class submarines were built by the Australian Submarine Corporation at Adelaide, South Australia and entered service between 1996 and 2003 following extensive trials and modifications to
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#1732782702969564-641: The O-class boats proved to be unaffordable and were placed in reserve in 1930, before transferring back to the Royal Navy in 1931. As a result, the Royal Australian Navy did not operate any submarines during World War II, though the obsolete Dutch submarine K.IX was commissioned as HMAS K9 on 22 June 1943 and was used for anti-submarine warfare training purposes. Due to the boat's poor mechanical condition K9 saw little service with
611-427: The RAN and spent most of her time in commission under repair, before being decommissioned on 31 March 1944 due to a lack of spare parts. The Australian ports of Fremantle and Brisbane were important bases for Allied submarines during World War II. A total of 122 United States Navy , 31 Royal Navy, and 11 Royal Netherlands Navy submarines conducted patrols from Australian bases between 1942 and 1945. Fremantle
658-522: The RAN on 15 June 1977. The submarine was due to enter service in 1975, but faulty high-power electrical cabling had been installed in Orion and sister boat Otama ; stripping out and replacing the cabling delayed each submarine's construction by two years. The delay meant that the two boats could be fitted with Micropuffs rangefinding sonar during construction, and have additional electronic surveillance equipment installed. Orion ' s name comes from
705-574: The Styria S-Bahn Other uses [ edit ] Blériot-SPAD S.61 , a French fighter aircraft Chopi language County Route S61 (Bergen County, New Jersey) Expressway S61 (Poland) S61: Avoid release to the environment. Refer to special instructions/safety data sheet , a safety phrase Sikorsky S-61 , an American helicopter S61, a postcode district in Rotherham, England [REDACTED] Topics referred to by
752-731: The Submarine Training and Systems Centre in June 1998. The Royal Australian Navy Submarine Force Element Group Headquarters, and all six of the Collins -class submarines, are at HMAS Stirling located on Garden Island , near Perth. The majority of the Navy's submarine support facilities are also located at HMAS Stirling , including the Submarine Escape Training Facility . The LR5 submersible , which
799-537: The boat had a company of 8 officers and 56 sailors, but by the time she decommissioned, the number of sailors had increased to 60. In addition, up to 16 trainees could be carried. A small number of non-RAN personnel, most often from the Defence Signals Directorate , were also present during some intelligence gathering missions. The main armament of the Oberon s consisted of six 21-inch (533.4 mm) torpedo tubes. The British Mark 8 torpedo
846-556: The boats were decommissioned in 1922, and were scuttled later in the decade. The Australian submarine service was established a third time in 1927, when the British O-class submarines HMAS Oxley and HMAS Otway were commissioned. These submarines sailed from Portsmouth for Sydney on 8 February 1928, but did not arrive in Australia until 14 February 1929; numerous mechanical problems delayed their delivery voyage. Due to Australia's poor economic situation ,
893-846: The cause unknown. Its whereabouts was a mystery until it was located by searchers southeast of the Duke of York Islands on 20 December 2017. AE2 remained in the South Pacific until December 1914, when she was ordered to the Mediterranean to support the British-led operations off the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. AE2 was the first Empire submarine to penetrate the Dardanelles , achieving this task on 25 April 1915 (the day of
940-436: The early boats in the class. The dedicated trials and submarine rescue ship HMAS Protector supported these trials between 1992 and 1998. Tests conducted on HMAS Collins after she was provisionally commissioned in 1996 revealed serious shortcomings in the submarine's performance, including excessive hull noise and an ineffective combat system. These problems were subsequently rectified. The second boat commissioned
987-459: The electricity for these was generated by two Admiralty Standard Range supercharged V16 diesel generators. The submarine could travel at up to 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) on the surface, and up to 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) when submerged, had a maximum range of 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph), and a test depth of 200 metres (660 ft) below sea level. When launched,
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#17327827029691034-604: The first ever Australian vessel to visit a German port. On her delivery voyage from Scotland in 1978, Orion recorded communications and any other signals emitted from Libyan Navy vessels around the ports of Tripoli, Benghazi, Darnah and Tobruk at the request of the United Kingdom and the United States. As Orion and Otama were fitted with specialist intelligence gathering equipment, they were regularly deployed on surveillance and spying operations, earning them
1081-967: The first landings at Gallipoli). AE2 operated in the Sea of Marmora for five days and made four unsuccessful attacks on Turkish ships before being damaged by a Turkish gunboat and scuttled by her crew on 30 April. These attacks are the only occasions an Australian submarine has fired in anger . The Australian submarine service was reformed in 1919, when the British government transferred six J-class submarines to Australia; HMA Submarines J1 , J2 , J3 , J4 , J5 , and J7 . These submarines arrived in Australia with their tender HMAS Platypus in April 1919 and were based at Osborne House , Geelong from early 1920. The boats were in poor mechanical condition, however, and spent most of their service in refit. Due to Australia's worsening economic situation, all of
1128-508: The former Oberon -class boat Onslow had provided. While the Collins -class submarines' performance has improved over time, their maximum diving depth was permanently reduced following the near-loss of Dechaineux when a pipe burst during a practice dive in February 2003. In 1998 the Royal Australian Navy became the fourth Navy in the world to permit women to serve on board submarines . The first female submariners began their training at
1175-598: The funding redirected to the Fleet Air Arm . This was the fourth time the RAN had attempted to establish a submarine branch . The submarine was 295.2 feet (90.0 m) long, with a beam of 26.5 feet (8.1 m), and a draught of 18 feet (5.5 m) when surfaced. At full load displacement , she displaced 2,030 tons when surfaced, and 2,410 tons when submerged. The two propeller shafts were each driven by an English Electric motor providing 3,500 brake horsepower and 4,500 shaft horsepower ;
1222-505: The initial three attempts being foiled by combat losses and Australia's economic problems. The modern Submarine Service was established in 1964, and has formed an important element of the Australian military's capacity since that date. While the Submarine Service has not seen combat since World War I, Australian submarines have conducted extensive surveillance operations throughout South East Asia . The current Director General Submarines
1269-556: The intervention of then-Senator John Gorton the Government instead approved the purchase of eight submarines to form a submarine strike force. Eight British Oberon -class submarines were ordered in 1964, to be built in Scotland in two batches of four boats. Only six boats were delivered; the seventh and eighth were cancelled in 1971 to fund the acquisition of ten A-4 Skyhawk aircraft for the Fleet Air Arm . The final Royal Navy submarine to be based in Australia, HMS Trump ,
1316-522: The new AUKUS security partnership. Three prototype autonomous underwater vehicles were ordered for the RAN in May 2022, designated the Ghost Shark . The first prototype was publicly revealed in April 2024. Australian sailors who qualify as submariners are awarded a badge depicting two dolphins and a crown. This badge (known as a sailor's 'dolphins') was designed by Commander Alan McIntosh RAN, and
1363-835: The nickname "Mystery Boats". Activities were part of the broader Western nations' intelligence-gathering apparatus, and included surveillance off the coasts of China, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia, tailing of Soviet Pacific Fleet units during operations in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and observation off the Soviet base at Vladivostok . These activities continued until the end of the Cold War in 1992, and most of Orion ' s activities and deployments during this period remain classified. The first captain of Orion, Commander Rob Woolrych MBE , stated that Orion and Otama conducted sixteen intelligence-gathering missions during their service between March 1978 to December 1992. Each mission
1410-672: The officers and crew of Orion were granted the Freedom of the City of Wollongong in perpetuity. In 1987, Orion was awarded the Gloucester Cup , for being the RAN vessel demonstrating the greatest overall efficiency over the previous twelve months. Orion was the last submarine to receive the Cup until 2005, when it was presented to the Collins -class submarine HMAS Rankin . Like
1457-410: The preceding Porpoise class of submarines, with changes made to improve the vessels' hull integrity, sensor systems, and stealth capabilities. Eight submarines were ordered for the RAN, in two batches of four. The first batch was approved in 1963, and the second batch (including Orion ) was approved during the late 1960s, although two of these were cancelled before construction started in 1969, with
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1504-448: The same term This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title formed as a letter–number combination. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=S61&oldid=1130858435 " Category : Letter–number combination disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
1551-568: The service's operational readiness and forced HMAS Collins to be temporarily withdrawn from service. The Collins -class submarines will begin to reach the end of their useful life from 2026. To meet the in-service date of 2026, advanced design work on the next generation of Australian submarines began in 2014. At this very early stage, it appeared that the submarines would be Australian-built conventional submarines equipped with air independent propulsion and advanced combat and communications systems. In September 2013 Rear Admiral Greg Sammut
1598-467: The submarine. In addition to the name, the cadet unit will use Orion ' s badge and motto. Royal Australian Navy Submarine Service The Royal Australian Navy Submarine Service is the submarine element of the Royal Australian Navy . The service currently forms the Navy's Submarine Force Element Group (FEG) and consists of six Collins class submarines . The Royal Australian Navy Submarine Service has been established four times, with
1645-498: The torpedo tubes. On entering service, two stern-mounted, short-length 21-inch (53 cm) torpedo tubes for Mark 20 anti-submarine torpedoes were fitted. However, the development of steerable wire-guided torpedoes made the less-capable aft-firing torpedoes redundant; they were closed off, and later removed during a refit. Orion was laid down by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Greenock, Scotland on 6 October 1972, launched on 16 September 1974, and commissioned into
1692-692: The two nations. In the early 1960s, the British Government advised the Australian Government that reductions in the Royal Navy conventional submarine force meant that the 4th Flotilla was to return to the United Kingdom. The impending withdrawal of the British submarine flotilla sparked the fourth attempt to establish an Australian submarine service. While the Department of Defence advised the government that three to six submarines should be purchased for training purposes, following
1739-403: Was Farncomb (1998) followed by Waller (1999), Dechaineux (2001), Sheean (2001) and Rankin (2003). The Collins -class submarines currently rank among the most effective conventional submarines in the world. Like the Oberon class, the Collins -class submarines have conducted surveillance patrols. In 1999, it was reported that Waller and a second boat operated in support of
1786-439: Was appointed as Head Future Submarine Program. In 2016 France won a contract to build a conventionally powered variant of its Barracuda-class submarine for Australia. In September 2021 the Australian government announced that the deal with France had been scrapped, and that Australia would be working with the United States and United Kingdom to acquire at least eight conventionally-armed nuclear powered submarines as part of
1833-575: Was fitted with a four-man diving chamber for exit and reentry of SAS swimmers. As part of the Government's Two Ocean Navy policy submarines were homeported at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia from 1987 and the headquarters of the Australian Submarine Squadron moved to HMAS Stirling in 1994. The Oberon class boats were gradually decommissioned and replaced with new Collins -class submarines during
1880-709: Was forced to surface in the South China Sea . The Oberon class regularly conducted exercises with the Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) and to a lesser extent the 1st Commando Regiment and the Clearance Diving Branch . In 1980, the SAS was tasked to develop a maritime counter terrorist capability together with the clearance divers and conducted the first ever swimmer release from a submerged Australian submarine. Onslow
1927-563: Was initially carried by the submarine; this was later replaced by the wire-guided Mark 23 . Between 1977 and 1985, the Australian Oberons were upgraded to carry United States Navy Mark 48 torpedoes and UGM-84 Sub Harpoon anti-ship missiles. As of 1996, the standard payload of an Australian Oberon was a mix of 20 Mark 48 Mod 4 torpedoes and Sub Harpoon missiles. Some or all of the torpedo payload could be replaced by Mark 5 Stonefish sea mines, which were deployed through
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1974-549: Was later changed, and instead Australia's first submarines were the larger British E-class submarines AE1 and AE2 . These submarines were built in Britain and arrived in Australia in 1914. Following the outbreak of World War I, both boats took part in the occupation of Rabaul in German New Guinea in September 1914. During this operation, AE1 disappeared on 14 September off Cape Gazelle , New Britain with
2021-415: Was one of two Oberon-class submarines designed for intelligence gathering and conducted regular patrols in Soviet, Indian and Chinese waters to gather information regarding enemy capabilities. Orion was decommissioned in 1996, marked for disposal in 2003, and broken up for scrap in 2006. Several sections of the submarine remain intact as memorials and museum pieces. The Oberon class was based heavily on
2068-681: Was sold for scrapping , and was broken up by Tenix at Henderson, Western Australia in December 2006. The fin was given to the City of Rockingham and is now mounted as a permanent memorial at Rockingham Naval Memorial Park . The port propeller was donated to the Western Australia Maritime Museum . In November 2011, authorisation was granted to establish a new Australian Naval Cadets unit in Jindabyne, New South Wales , named New Training Ship (NTS) Orion after
2115-539: Was the second largest Allied submarine base in the Pacific Theatre after Pearl Harbor , Hawaii. Following World War II the Royal Navy's 4th Submarine Flotilla was based in Sydney from 1949 until 1969. The flotilla, which varied in size between two and three boats, was used to support the Royal Australian Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy in anti-submarine warfare training, with the operating cost split between
2162-719: Was under the command of the Chief of the Defence Force , authorised by the Minister for Defence and conducted with the knowledge of the Prime Minister . Regular patrols were conducted for six to eight weeks. On occasion, Orion and Otama would dock in British naval facilities in Singapore or Hong Kong for refuelling and maintenance. Orion and Otama would remain just off the horizon—around five nautical miles from
2209-410: Was withdrawn in 1969. The first Australian Oberon -class submarine, HMAS Oxley , was commissioned on 21 March 1967. She was followed by her sister ships; Otway (1968), Ovens (1969), Onslow (1969), Orion (1977), and Otama (1978). Orion and Otama were more capable than the previous four boats, as they were fitted with advanced communications monitoring equipment. All of
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