HMCS Onondaga (S73) is an that served in 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...

 and later the Canadian Forces

Canadian Forces

The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...

. Built in the mid 1960s, Onodaga operated primarily with the Maritime Forces Atlantic

Maritime Forces Atlantic

In the Canadian Forces, Maritime Forces Atlantic is responsible for the fleet and operations of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. The Commander of MARLANT is a two-star Rear Admiral....

 until her decommissioning in 2000 as the last Canadian Oberon.

Several plans for the disposal of the submarine were made and cancelled before the Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père

Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père

The Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père is a maritime museum located in Rimouski, Quebec, Canada, that displays 200 years of maritime history, and includes the only submarine open to the public in Canada, the .-Collection:...

 in Rimouski

Rimouski, Quebec

Rimouski is a Canadian city in the central part of Bas-Saint-Laurent region in eastern Quebec. It is located on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River at the mouth of the Rimouski River, north-east of Quebec City....

 purchased the boat for preservation as a museum vessel. The submarine was moved into location during 2008, and is open to the public.

Construction

Onondaga was laid down on 18 June 1964 at Chatham Dockyard

Chatham Dockyard

Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...

, Chatham and launched on 25 September 1965. She was commissioned into the RCN on 22 June 1967 with pennant number

Pennant number

In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers...

 73.

Operational history

Onondaga was assigned to Maritime Forces Atlantic

Maritime Forces Atlantic

In the Canadian Forces, Maritime Forces Atlantic is responsible for the fleet and operations of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. The Commander of MARLANT is a two-star Rear Admiral....

 (MARLANT) and served her entire career in the North Atlantic.

Decommissioning and preservation

Onodaga was decommissioned by Maritime Command

Canadian Forces Maritime Command

The Royal Canadian Navy , is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the unified Canadian Forces. Operating 33 warships and several auxiliary vessels, the Royal Canadian Navy consists of 8,500 Regular Force and 5,100 Primary Reserve sailors, supported by...

 on 28 July 2000. She was the last Oberon class submarine operational in Canadian service.

In 2001, it was planned to cut Onondaga into pieces and reassemble her inside the Canadian War Museum

Canadian War Museum

The Canadian War Museum is Canada’s national museum of military history. Located in Ottawa, Ontario, the museum covers all facets of Canada’s military past, from the first recorded instances of death by armed violence in Canadian history several thousand years ago to the country’s most recent...

. This plan was cancelled before the end of the year, because of the excessive cost.

In May 2005 the Halifax Chronicle-Herald

Halifax Chronicle-Herald

The Chronicle Herald is a broadsheet published in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The largest newspaper company in Nova Scotia, The Chronicle Herald is also the highest circulation newspaper in the Atlantic provinces and is currently the largest independently owned newspaper company in Canada...

announced that Maritime Command was looking to sell Onondaga for scrap metal, along with three other Canadian Oberons. MARCOM stated that the submarines were not in suitable condition to be used as museum ship

Museum ship

A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...

s, and predicted that each submarine would sell for between C$

Canadian dollar

The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...

50,000 and C$60,000.

Instead of being scrapped, the submarine was purchased by the Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père

Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père

The Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père is a maritime museum located in Rimouski, Quebec, Canada, that displays 200 years of maritime history, and includes the only submarine open to the public in Canada, the .-Collection:...

, Rimouski

Rimouski, Quebec

Rimouski is a Canadian city in the central part of Bas-Saint-Laurent region in eastern Quebec. It is located on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River at the mouth of the Rimouski River, north-east of Quebec City....

 in 2006, for C$4 plus tax. Onondaga was towed from Halifax to Rimouski by way of the Canso Canal

Canso Canal

The Canso Canal is a short canal located in Nova Scotia, Canada.-Canal location:The Canso Canal is located in the Strait of Canso, on the eastern side of the Canso Causeway, a rock-fill causeway which opened in 1955 to carry a 2-lane highway and railway tracks from Cape Breton Island to mainland...

 in July 2008. The transportation was featured in the 'Supersize Submarine' episode of the Monster Moves

Monster Moves

Monster Moves is a British documentary television series which began airing in 2005. A total 25 episodes have been produced across 5 seasons so far.-Format:...

documentary series.

After delays encountered bringing Onondaga ashore due to the ship rolling off of the ramp which had been built for it, she was finally secured at the end of November 2008 and modifications began to convert her into a museum ship

Museum ship

A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...

. she is now open to the public for viewing, and is described as the only publicly accessible submarine in Canada.