.gif)
HMCS Corner Brook (SSK 878)
Encyclopedia
HMCS Corner Brook (SSK 878) is a long-range hunter-killer submarine
(SSK) of the Royal Canadian Navy
. She is the former Royal Navy Upholder class submarine HMS Ursula (S42), purchased from the British at the end of the Cold War. She is the third ship of the Victoria class
and is named after the city of Corner Brook
, Newfoundland
.
is approximately 2,200 tons surfaced and 2,400 tons submerged. Covered in anechoic tile
s to reduce her detection by active sonar
, the submarine is 70.3 meters long, 7.6 meters across the beam and has a deep diving depth in excess of 200 meters. The main hull is constructed of high tensile steel sections stiffened by circular internal frames. Equipment located outside the main hull is covered by the casing, which also gives the crew a safe walkway when the submarine is surfaced. The fin, which helps support the masts, serves as a kind of keel and provides a raised conning position.
Corner Brook has six torpedo tube
s and can carry up to eighteen Mark 48 Mod 4 heavyweight torpedoes
for use against surface and sub-surface targets.
Corner Brooks sonar sets allow her to locate and track ships and other submarines passively: that is, without transmitting on active sonar and thus giving away her location. She is fitted with radar
for general navigation, attack and search periscopes (incorporating video recording and thermal imaging), and an electronic support measures suite.
The ship has two diesel generators, each capable of producing up to 1,410 kilowatts, and one main motor. The generators are used to charge two main batteries, each consisting of 240 battery cells. These batteries are used to power the submarine, which can reach a submerged speed of up to 20 knots (39 km/h).
's Birkenhead
yard on 10 January 1989. She was launched on 28 February 1991, and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 8 May 1992.
Problems were discovered with the piping welds on all four submarines, which delayed the reactivation of Ursula and her three sisters. Ursula was handed over to the Royal Canadian Navy on 21 February 2003, and was commissioned as HMCS Corner Brook on 26 June 2003.
The submarine participated in NATO exercise 'Noble Mariner' during May 2007. During the exercise, which occurred in the Baltic
region, Corner Brook successfully closed with the aircraft carrier without being detected. The submarine returned to Canada, and in August, she participated in Operation Nanook
, a sovereignty exercise held in and around Iqaluit and the Baffin Island Coastal and the Hudson Strait areas.
Between October 2006 and January 2008, Corner Brook was active for only 81 days.
In February 2008, Corner Brook departed from Halifax during a snowstorm for a three-month deployment to the Caribbean Sea. As part of the deployment, the submarine operated with the United States Joint Interagency Task Force South
, which attempts to counter drug trafficking, people smuggling, and piracy in the region. Corner Brook returned to Halifax in May.
In January 2009, Corner Brook was the 'target' for submarine detection exercises performed by and This was followed by a four-week, multi-ship training exercise in the North Atlantic during February and March, then participation in the UNITAS
multinational exercise off Florida during late April and early May. During August, the submarine was involved in Operation Nanook 2009
.
In June of 2011 the submarine ran aground during manoeuvres off Vancouver Island. Two submariners were lightly injured.
After the grounding incident civilian and military submariners began pre-maintenance work on the submarine, in expectation of a extended maintenance program. "How long that process will take and how much it will cost isn't known since the amount of work varies vessel to vessel. Work on each sub must be individually negotiated within a larger 15-year contract of up to $1.5 billion that the Department of National Defence awarded to the Canadian Submarine Management Group in 2008. Victoria Shipyards is a subcontractor on the project."
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
(SSK) of the Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
. She is the former Royal Navy Upholder class submarine HMS Ursula (S42), purchased from the British at the end of the Cold War. She is the third ship of the Victoria class
Upholder/Victoria class submarine
The Upholder/Victoria-class submarines, also known as the Type 2400 , are diesel-electric Fleet submarines designed in the UK in the late 1970s to supplement the Royal Navy's nuclear submarine force....
and is named after the city of Corner Brook
Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador
Corner Brook is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada....
, Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
.
Design
Corner Brooks displacementDisplacement (ship)
A ship's displacement is its weight at any given time, generally expressed in metric tons or long tons. The term is often used to mean the ship's weight when it is loaded to its maximum capacity. A number of synonymous terms exist for this maximum weight, such as loaded displacement, full load...
is approximately 2,200 tons surfaced and 2,400 tons submerged. Covered in anechoic tile
Anechoic tile
Anechoic tiles are rubber or synthetic polymer tiles containing thousands of tiny voids, applied to the outer hulls of military ships and submarines, as well as anechoic chambers...
s to reduce her detection by active sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
, the submarine is 70.3 meters long, 7.6 meters across the beam and has a deep diving depth in excess of 200 meters. The main hull is constructed of high tensile steel sections stiffened by circular internal frames. Equipment located outside the main hull is covered by the casing, which also gives the crew a safe walkway when the submarine is surfaced. The fin, which helps support the masts, serves as a kind of keel and provides a raised conning position.
Corner Brook has six torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
s and can carry up to eighteen Mark 48 Mod 4 heavyweight torpedoes
Mark 48 torpedo
The Mark 48 and its improved ADCAP variant are heavyweight submarine-launched torpedoes. They were designed to sink fast, deep-diving nuclear-powered submarines and high-performance surface ships.-History:...
for use against surface and sub-surface targets.
Corner Brooks sonar sets allow her to locate and track ships and other submarines passively: that is, without transmitting on active sonar and thus giving away her location. She is fitted with radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
for general navigation, attack and search periscopes (incorporating video recording and thermal imaging), and an electronic support measures suite.
The ship has two diesel generators, each capable of producing up to 1,410 kilowatts, and one main motor. The generators are used to charge two main batteries, each consisting of 240 battery cells. These batteries are used to power the submarine, which can reach a submerged speed of up to 20 knots (39 km/h).
Construction
The submarine was laid down as HMS Ursula at Cammell LairdCammell Laird
Cammell Laird, one of the most famous names in British shipbuilding during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, came about following the merger of Laird, Son & Co. of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co. of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century.- Founding of the business :The Company...
's Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
yard on 10 January 1989. She was launched on 28 February 1991, and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 8 May 1992.
Transfer
Looking to discontinue the operation of diesel-electric boats, the British government offered to sell Ursula and her sister submarines to Canada in 1993. The offer was accepted in 1998. The four boats were leased to the Canadians for US$427 million (plus US$98 million for upgrades and alteration to Canadian standards), with the lease to run for eight years; after this, the submarines would be sold for £1.Problems were discovered with the piping welds on all four submarines, which delayed the reactivation of Ursula and her three sisters. Ursula was handed over to the Royal Canadian Navy on 21 February 2003, and was commissioned as HMCS Corner Brook on 26 June 2003.
Royal Canadian Navy
During a refit in 2006, elevated levels of lead were detected aboard the submarine; these were believed to come from the lead-brick ballast blocks used aboard Corner Brook.The submarine participated in NATO exercise 'Noble Mariner' during May 2007. During the exercise, which occurred in the Baltic
Baltic region
The terms Baltic region, Baltic Rim countries, and Baltic Rim refer to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea.- Etymology :...
region, Corner Brook successfully closed with the aircraft carrier without being detected. The submarine returned to Canada, and in August, she participated in Operation Nanook
Operation Nanook (2007)
Operation Nanook 2007 was the 2007 annual joint exercise of Canada's Maritime Command and the Canadian Coast Guard to train for disaster and sovereignty patrols in the Arctic.Similar exercises were held in 2008 and 2009....
, a sovereignty exercise held in and around Iqaluit and the Baffin Island Coastal and the Hudson Strait areas.
Between October 2006 and January 2008, Corner Brook was active for only 81 days.
In February 2008, Corner Brook departed from Halifax during a snowstorm for a three-month deployment to the Caribbean Sea. As part of the deployment, the submarine operated with the United States Joint Interagency Task Force South
Joint Interagency Task Force South
Joint Interagency Task Force South is a multiservice, multiagency national task force based at Naval Air Station Key West , Key West, Florida....
, which attempts to counter drug trafficking, people smuggling, and piracy in the region. Corner Brook returned to Halifax in May.
In January 2009, Corner Brook was the 'target' for submarine detection exercises performed by and This was followed by a four-week, multi-ship training exercise in the North Atlantic during February and March, then participation in the UNITAS
UNITAS
UNITAS are sea exercises and in port training involving several countries in North, South and Central America, conducted by the USA since 1959 in support of the U.S. policy.-External links:* * - Globalsecurity.org...
multinational exercise off Florida during late April and early May. During August, the submarine was involved in Operation Nanook 2009
Operation Nanook (2009)
Operation Nanook 2009 was the 2009 annual joint exercise of Canada's Maritime Command and the Canadian Coast Guard to train for disaster and sovereignty patrols in the Arctic.Similar exercises were held in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011....
.
In June of 2011 the submarine ran aground during manoeuvres off Vancouver Island. Two submariners were lightly injured.
After the grounding incident civilian and military submariners began pre-maintenance work on the submarine, in expectation of a extended maintenance program. "How long that process will take and how much it will cost isn't known since the amount of work varies vessel to vessel. Work on each sub must be individually negotiated within a larger 15-year contract of up to $1.5 billion that the Department of National Defence awarded to the Canadian Submarine Management Group in 2008. Victoria Shipyards is a subcontractor on the project."