hidden assets

3

4 evolut ion of the submarine

8 submarines in austra l ia

10 col l ins class pro ject

14 col l ins class submarines

16 submarine construct ion

18 ro le of submarines

20 re la t ive complexi ty of submarines

22 submarines of the future

contents

5

Whi le i t is wide ly cons idered that Wi l l iam Borne des igned the f i rs t submar ine in 1578, i t

was Leonardo da V inc i (1452-1519) who in i t ia l l y deve loped the idea of a mi l i tar y vesse l

that cou ld submerge under water to a t tack enemy sh ips. However, i t wasn’ t unt i l 1776

that the f i rs t submar ine to make an at tack on an enemy sh ip was bu i l t . Named the Tur t le ,

i t was des igned by Dav id Bushnel l and was bu i l t w i th the in tent ion of break ing the Br i t ish

nava l b lockade in New York Harbor dur ing the Amer ican Revo lut ion. Operated by Sergeant

Ezra Lee, the Tur t le made an unsuccessfu l a t tack on a Br i t ish sh ip on 7 September 1776.

Several more submarines were attempted over the years, but i t wasn’t unt i l the

beginning of the 20th century that modern day submarine warfare was born. At the

start of World War I , submarines were st i l l in their infancy. Considered to be

‘uneth ica l ’ and not f i t t ing in to the convent iona l ru les of war, few foresaw the

watershed in naval warfare that submarines were to bring about. Once their true

capabi l i t ies were real ised, submarines had a substant ia l impact on World War I :

s inking ships, lay ing mines, b lockading por ts and prov id ing escor ts to

t rans-At lant ic convoys.

During World War I I , submarine technology advanced signif icant ly. The Germans,

who were operat ing U-Boats in the At lant ic Ocean, deve loped the ‘snorke l ’

(a l lowing the boat to recharge i ts bat ter ies whi le s tay ing submerged) . The

Japanese were the f i rst nat ion to ut i l i se the ‘midget subs’ , most famously

when they launched the i r a t tack on Pear l Harbor ( in the Pac i f ic Ocean)

in 1941. These submar ines were a lso used to at tack shipping in Sydney

Harbour on 31 May 1942.

Main image:

Photo reproduced courtesy of the Royal Austral ian Navy.

Images left to r ight:

1776 - The Turtle.

1863 - The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley – credited with the f irst successful underwater attack.

1870 - The Intel l igent Whale, bought by the United States Navy, was never put into service.

of the submarineevolut ion

7

With the end of the Cold War, far fewer submarines were commissioned. In 2000, 47 nations

were operat ing more than 700 submar ines – over 300 of which were nuc lear-powered.

In 1982, Bri t ish submarines played a signif icant role in defeat ing Argent ina in the Falklands

War. Dur ing the conf l ic t , HMS Conqueror sunk Argent ina’s on ly cru iser, e f fect ive ly ending

the threat o f carr ier and sur face sh ips.

Dur ing the f i rs t Gul f War submar ines were used to launch a number of Tomahawk miss i le

a t tacks, but dur ing the second Gul f War the Uni ted States deployed far more submar ines

wi th greater capabi l i t ies . These were heav i ly invo lved in s t r ike miss ions.

The United States cont inued to bui ld more advanced submarines, able to operate weapons

in any sea condit ions: from under arct ic ice to operat ing in shal low water.

In 2004, the United States commissioned the f irst Virginia Class attack submarine, designed

spec i f ica l l y for l i t tora l and estuar ine waters . Th is submar ine does not have a per iscope,

but instead uses a high resolution digital camera. It is also capable of going to great depths,

gett ing in close to the shore in shal low water and launching unmanned submersibles. All of

these advancements have been designed with the added intention of f ighting terrorism.

Main image:

Photo reproduced courtesy of the Royal Austral ian Navy.

Images left to r ight:

Circa 1902 - John Holland designed the United States Navy’s f irst

submarine which was purchased on 11 Apri l 1900.

Electric Boat Corporation was established in 1899 to

bring to completion the design of the submarine.

This is one of Holland’s designs. (Photo reproduced

courtesy of Electric Boat)

1911 - USS Seal designed by Simon Lake. Lake is credited as

designing an escape trunk, conning tower, diving planes,

control room and a rotating, retractable periscope.

1917 - The United States Navy’s L-Class were the f irst

submarines to introduce an air purif ication system.

1923 - Many attempts were made to create a submarine that

doubled as an aircraft carrier. This is the US S-1.

evolut ion

of the submarine cont inued

From 1945 to 1991, the Cold War dictated much of the advancement in military capabilities.

Many features of the German U-Boats were incorpora ted into future designs of the

a l l ied forces. When the United States launched the f i rst nuclear powered boat in 1955

(USS Nauti lus), the submarine was transformed from a surface ship that could submerge

br ief ly, to a fu l ly underwater vessel which could stay submerged for extended per iods

of t ime.

Dur ing the Cold War, the Uni ted Sta tes’ st ra tegy re l ied heavi ly on i ts abi l i ty to contro l

the seas. Apart f rom performing t radi t ional ro les, submarines were a lso capable of

launching bal l ist ic missi les should the need arise. The United States was more dominant

in this underwater strategy than Russia, which proved vital in deterr ing the nuclear war

that had been a constant threat for more than 40 years.

9

The f i rs t Aust ra l ian submar ines, the AE1 and the AE2 , were commiss ioned in to the Roya l

Austra l ian Navy in 1914. They were deployed dur ing World War I , but both were lost dur ing

combat . The fa te of the AE1 has never been determined. The AE2 was the f i rs t submar ine

to break through the Turkish defences before sustaining i rreparable damage and sinking on

30 Apr i l 1915.

In 1919, s ix ‘J ’ C lass submar ines were commiss ioned in to the Roya l Aust ra l ian Navy. The

second-hand boats, received from the Royal Navy, were in such bad condit ion they were

immediately placed into ref i t on reaching Sydney. Even after extensive work, the boats

spent very l i t t le t ime in the water and, except for J7 , a l l were decommissioned in 1924.

Under the Royal Austra l ian Navy’s post Wor ld War I development program, two submar ines

– HMAS Otway and HMAS Oxley – were ordered f rom the Royal Navy. They arr ived in

Sydney in 1929, but due to maintenance problems and the depressed economy they were

returned to Br i ta in in 1931.

Dur ing Wor ld War I I , the Royal Austra l ian Navy obta ined the ex-Dutch

submar ine K9 , which was used for t ra in ing surface ships in

submar ine detect ion.

I t wasn’ t unt i l four in i t ia l Oberon Class submar ines were commiss ioned

that Austra l ia began to bui ld a strong submarine f leet. Whi le the Oberons

were not invo lved in any conf l ic t whi le in ser v ice, the i r presence was

inva luable to the Roya l Aust ra l ian Navy. They were bu i l t by Scot ts

Sh ipbui ld ing at Greenock in Scot land wi th the f i rs t o f the boats , HMAS

Oxley , commiss ioned in March 1967. Th is was fo l lowed by HMAS Otway ,

in March 1968; HMAS Ovens , in Apri l 1969; and HMAS Onslow , December

1969. Oxley’s ar r iva l in Sydney co inc ided wi th the commiss ion ing of the

submar ine base HMAS Platypus , a t Neutra l Bay, Sydney. In 1977 and 1978

two more submar ines were commiss ioned, HMAS Orion and HMAS Otama .

austral iasubmarines in

Above: The AE1, pictured in the United Kingdom before being commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy.

The Oberon Class submarines (far left) were slowly phased out during the 1990s to make way for the

Coll ins Class submarines.

Photos reproduced courtesy of the Royal Austral ian Navy.

11

The Col l ins C lass pro ject was estab l ished by the Roya l Aust ra l ian Navy in 1982. The new

design was required to meet the unique needs of the Navy, which were dictated by, among

other th ings, Aust ra l ia ’s geographic locat ion. The submar ines would be requi red to t rave l

great distances, operate in varying environments, have state-of-the-art weapons systems

and perform tradit ional submarine functions using the most advanced technology avai lable.

The submar ines would a lso be requi red to protect Aust ra l ia through the i r ver y ex is tence,

act ing as a deterrent to any enemy forces.

I t was dec ided that large convent iona l submar ines would be acquired. The Col l ins Class is

the second largest non-nuclear powered submarine in the wor ld .

In 1987, the newly formed Austra l ian Submar ine Corporat ion (ASC) began the task of

des ign ing and bui ld ing the most sophis t icated, convent iona l submar ine in the wor ld . ASC

began construct ion of the f i rs t Co l l ins C lass submar ine in 1990 and de l ivered i t in 1996.

The s ix th and f ina l boat was de l ivered to the Roya l Aust ra l ian Navy in 2003.

col l ins c lasspro ject

13

The names of the Col l ins C lass submar ines commemorate the memory of s ix members

of the Roya l Aust ra l ian Navy who ser ved the i r countr y wi th d is t inct ion: V ice-Admira l

S i r John Col l ins KBE CB RAN, Rear-Admira l Haro ld Bruce Farncomb CB DSO MVO RAN,

Capta in Hector McDonald Laws Wal ler DSO RAN, Capta in Emi le Frank Ver la ine Dechaineux

DSC RAN, Ord inar y Seaman Edward Sheean and L ieutenant Commander Rober t ‘Oscar ’

Rank in RAN. The la t ter four d ied whi le ser v ing the i r countr y dur ing Wor ld War I I .

Due to the high level of ski l ls required to build and maintain such complex mil i tary systems,

ASC employs over 250 engineer ing and technica l spec ia l is ts f rom a l l over the wor ld ,

cover ing a broad range of technica l d isc ip l ines.

In 2003, ASC was awarded the 25 year, $3.5 b i l l ion Through-L i fe Suppor t contract , for

maintenance and enhancement of the Col l ins C lass over the i r l i fespan.

ASC is formal ly recognised as the des ign author i ty for the Col l ins C lass.

col l ins c lasspro jectcont inued

HMAS CollinsLaunched: 28 August 1993Commissioned: July 1996

HMAS FarncombLaunched: 15 December 1995Commissioned: January 1998

HMAS WallerLaunched: 14 March 1997Commissioned: June 1999

HMAS DechaineuxLaunched: 12 March 1998

Commissioned: February 2001

HMAS SheeanLaunched: 1 May 1999

Commissioned: February 2001

HMAS RankinLaunched: 7 November 2001Commissioned: March 2003

Main image:

Photo reproduced courtesy of the Royal Austral ian Navy.

Badges reproduced courtesy of the Royal Austral ian Navy.

With a determinat ion to bui ld the best convent ional submarine in the wor ld, ASC

sourced staf f and suppl iers f rom with in Austra l ia and overseas. ASC achieved 73.5%

Austra l ian content dur ing the bui ld phase. Overal l , of the $4.7 b i l l ion contract ,

$2.9 b i l l ion worth of work was undertaken by subcontractors.

The six-submarine class of HMAS Collins, HMAS Farncomb, HMAS Waller, HMAS Dechaineux,

HMAS Sheean and HMAS Rankin have a l l been del ivered to the Royal Austra l ian Navy

and are key elements of the Austral ian Defence Force, both as an intel l igence-gathering

platform during peace t ime and as a forceful opponent dur ing t imes of war.

thecol l insc lass

15

features

Diese l-e lect r ic propuls ion

High capabi l i t y bat ter y, long range and h igh endurance

High per formance hu l l form, automated contro ls and except iona l

manoeuvrab i l i t y

H igh shock res is tance, opt imal no ise suppress ion and low

magnet ic s ignature

State-of- the-ar t combat system

Eff ic ient weapons handl ing and d ischarge systems

The Col l ins Class has a d iameter of approx imate ly 8 metres wi th a d isplacement of

3,000 tonnes. They are designed to be as near noiseless as advanced technology

can achieve. The control and monitor ing of shipboard funct ions are handled by the

sh ip-wide in tegra ted sh ip contro l , management and moni tor ing system. The system

uses special and general purpose processors l inked by two sets o f redundant ser ia l

data buses. In addi t ion, the system prov ides a h igh leve l o f automat ion, thus

al lowing the crew size to be signif icantly smaller than other conventional submarines.

The Col l ins C lass’ manoeuvrab i l i t y funct ions inc lude four a f t contro l sur faces

ind iv idua l ly actuated to prov ide super ior manoeuvrab i l i t y and inherent redundancy.

The submar ines are deep d iv ing and can t rave l a t speeds greater than 20 knots

(submerged) and 10 knots (sur faced) .

The submar ines have s ix forward torpedo tubes and are ab le to carr y up to

22 torpedoes or ant i -sh ip miss i les , or up to 44 mines in p lace of torpedoes. They

are a lso ab le to employ sophis t icated countermeasures which prov ide automat ic

detect ion, d i rect ion f ind ing and ident i f icat ion of radar s igna ls . The Col l ins C lass

has some of the most technolog ica l ly advanced sonar systems, decoy methods

and radars.

col l ins class submar ines

specif icat ions

Length 78 metres

Diameter 8 metres

Disp lacement 3,000 tonnes

Propuls ion Diese l-e lect r ic

Crew 42, inc lud ing 6 of f icers and 36 submar iners

Weapons Mk48 torpedoes and sub-harpoon miss i lesReproduced with permission f rom the Commonweal th of Austra l ia (as represented by the Austra l ian Department of Defence) .

The Col l ins Class project required speci f icat ion, integrat ion and instal lat ion

of equipment and mater ia l f rom over 150 major contractors and hundreds

of smal ler suppl iers . Most modules of the submar ines were const ructed

of f-s i te and then sh ipped to ASC for in tegrat ion.

Key parameters for equipment included electrical power, cooling, noise,

shock resistance, weight and e lect romagnet ic character is t ics , a l l under

r igorous conf igura t ion management as data was distr ibuted between the

var ious suppl iers dur ing the des ign phase.

A completed submarine is a system of systems. A Col l ins Class submarine

contains 108 integrated systems which are l inked structural ly, mechanically,

electrically, hydraulically, pneumatically and electronically. All of these systems

need power and cool ing, and many need to communicate with each other in

order to achieve ful l operat ional capabi l i ty.

submarine outf i t t ing stat ist ics

P ip ing 23,500 metres

Major cab le lengths 7,000

Cable connect ions 200,000

Cable 75,000 metres

Bat ter ies 400 tonnes

submar ine construct ion

17

Section 400

Fin

Section500

Upper AccommodationSpace Platform

Control Room / Lower Accommodation

Platform

Domestic ServicesSpace Platform

Section 100

Main Motor

DieselGenerators

Section200

Electrical Equipment Space Platform

Section100

Section200

Section400 and 500

Section 300

Section 600

Casings

19

role o f submarines Submarines are the least v is ib le of a l l mi l i tary assets. Whi le this makes them high ly

secret ive in nature, i t a lso makes them h igh ly va luable. They prov ide severa l d i f ferent

funct ions to nav ies, many of which af fect o ther mi l i tar y operat ions.

Des igned to be v i r tua l l y undetectab le, submar ines are able to patro l the wor ld’s oceans

– even in host i le terr i tor y. This a l lows them to gather inte l l igence, undertake survei l lance

and carr y out reconnaissance miss ions. They are ab le to moni tor the a i r, land and sea

(both above the sur face and be low) . Submarines act as force mult ipl iers: forcing foreign

mil i tary to launch several vessels in response to even the threat o f a s ing le submar ine.

During t imes of war, submarines are crucial in control l ing the seas. They detect and destroy

host i le submarines and surface ships, blockade foreign ports and restr ict ocean transport.

They prov ide in te l l igence and underwater protect ion for sur face sh ips and are ab le to

detect and lay mines more ef f ic ient ly than any other navy vesse l . Submar ines prov ide a

means to land Spec ia l Forces in host i le reg ions and, i f f i t ted wi th su i tab le weapons, are

ab le to s t r ike land targets .

While most commonly known for the role they play in navies, submarines are also used for a

variety of functions in the private sector. The most common are scienti f ic submarines, which

explore the wor ld’s oceans to further research and to locate sunken ships. Submarines can

also be used for tour ism, whi le unmanned submarines (which are very smal l and operated

remotely from the surface) are used to perform work which is too deep or too dangerous

for d ivers, such as on an o i l r ig.

The role of submarines is var ied, including: survei l lance (1) , mine lay ing (2) , locat ing and destroying host i le

surface ships (3) and landing Specia l Forces (4) (a l though not a l l ro les are undertaken a t the same t ime).

4

1

3

3

2

21

Weight ( tonnes) 30 250 3,600 3,000

Length (metres) 7 60 118 78

Number of systems 25 40 60 108

Number of suppl iers 600 550 600 1,600

Crew s ize 4 10 163 43

Number of par ts to assemble 14,000 100,000 170,000 500,000

Number of person hours to assemble 5,500 50,000 1,200,000 2,500,000

Construct ion t ime (months) 7 14 22 60

Pr ice (AUD $M) 4 300 600 1,000

P latform Batt le Tank Boeing Fr igate Col l ins Class Complexity Metr ics 777 Submarine

re lat ive complex i ty o f submarines The Coll ins Class submarines are the most complex mil i tary vessel built in Austral ia to date.

The submar ines are ten t imes more compl icated than a f r igate, even though both are

approx imate ly 3,000 tonnes displacement. Over 33,000 drawings and 5000 work orders

were produced before the build process began, and once work started, each submarine took

2.5 mil l ion hours to assemble.

Photos reproduced cour tesy of the Roya l Aust ra l ian Navy.

23

Submarine technology is constant ly evolv ing. Future advancements wi l l a l low

submarines of tomorrow to be far more eff icient and effect ive warships. While

designers are looking at ways to improve current models, entirely new concepts

are a lso be ing deve loped.

One of these concepts is a miniature submarine which is remotely operated

and equipped wi th sensors such as the per iscope and sonar system. Th is

min ia ture submar ine wi l l feed in format ion back to the ‘mothersh ip’ , which

can remain a safe d is tance away.

Other ideas inc lude: ways to accommodate for a greater var ie ty o f weapons,

sonar systems that a l low the submar ine to be fur ther away f rom i ts target ,

and a i r- independent propuls ion, which wi l l a l low submar ines to s tay

submerged for weeks at a t ime. Improvements to hul l strength are also being

researched in order to deve lop a des ign that can wi thstand a d i rect h i t f rom

today’s convent iona l weapons.

submarines of the future

acknowledgements

Bil l Hol las , DTO Manager, ASC

Andrew Mangnoson , South Austra l ian Mar i t ime Museum

Samantha McDonough , Aust ra l ian Mar i t ime Museum

Steve Middel , E lect r ic Boat Corporat ion

Special thanks to the Roya l Aust ra l ian Navy photographic branch

ASC Pty Ltd

Mersey Road, Osborne

South Austra l ia 5017

Telephone: +61 8 8348 7000

www.asc.com.au

www.navy.gov.au