HMAS Ovens

HMAS Ovens (S 70) was an Oberon-class submarine of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The vessel was named for Irishman and Australian explorer John Ovens (1788-1825) and for whom the Victorian river Ovens was named. Ovens was the first RAN submarine to deploy with the ANZUK force.

Ovens became the first RAN submarine to fire an armed Mark 48 torpedo when she sank the decommissioned Bathurst-class corvette HMAS Colac in 1987. On her return to port, Ovens flew a ‘Jolly Roger’ to indicate a successful mission. The first time a RAN submarine had done so.

HMAS Ovens

• Name: HMAS Ovens
• Builder: Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company
• Launched: 1967
• Decommissioned: 1995
• Status: Museum ship
• Class and type: Oberon-class submarine
• Displacement: 2,030 tons surfaced: 2,410 tons submerged
• Length: 295.2 ft (90.0 m)
• Beam: 26.5 ft (8.1 m)
• Draught: 18 ft (5.5 m)
• Propulsion:
  • 2 × Admiralty Standard Range supercharged V16 diesel generators
  • 2 × English Electric motors 3,500 bhp, 4,500 shp
  • 2 shafts
• Speed:
  • 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) surfaced
  • 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) submerged
• Range: 9k nautical mi (17k km; 10k mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
• Test depth: 200 meters (660 ft)
• Complement: 8 officers, 56 sailors
• Torpedo tubes:
  • 6 × 21-inch (53 cm) bow tubes
  • 2 × short-length 21-inch (53 cm) stern tubes (later removed)
• 1996 payload: Mix of 20: Mark 48 Mod 4 torpedoes & UGM-84 Sub Harpoon missiles
• Museum: WA Maritime Museum

Highlights of the WA Maritime Museum

• Australia II
• HMAS Ovens
• American Whaleboat ‘Beetle’
• Ikara Missile
• Megamouth Shark
• The Dutch Galliot ‘t Weseltje
• Mariner’s Astrolabe from the Vergulde Draeck
• Parry Endeavour