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HMCS Windsor (SSK 877)
Encyclopedia
HMCS Windsor (SSK 877) is a long-range hunter-killer (SSK) submarine
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...
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...
, the second ship of the Victoria class. She is named after the city of Windsor, Ontario
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
. Windsor was purchased from the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, and is the former HMS Unicorn.
Design
HMCS Windsors displacement is approximately 2,200 tons surfaced and 2,400 tons submerged. Covered in anechoic tileAnechoic 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 metres long, 7.6 metres across the beam and has a deep diving depth in excess of 200 metres. 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.
HMCS Windsor has six torpedo tubes 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.
HMCS Windsors 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 Unicorn 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 13 March 1990. She was launched on 16 April 1992, and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 25 June 1993. She was the last ship built at Cammell Laird until construction began on HMS Queen Elizabeth in June 2010.
Transfer
Looking to discontinue the operation of diesel-electric boats, the British government offered to sell Unicorn 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 Unicorn and her three sisters. Unicorn was handed over to the Royal Canadian Navy on 6 August 2001, and was commissioned as HMCS Windsor on 4 October 2003.
Royal Canadian Navy
From September 27 to 30 2004, Windsor took reporters and photographers from Halifax and Windsor newspapers to document life aboard a submarine.During April 2006, the submarine was involved in Exercise Joint Express.
In 2007 the submarine entered Halifax for refit. Originally scheduled for completion in two years, the refit was still not complete as of early 2011. During the refit, rust was discovered which will restrict the maximum depth to which the submarine can safely dive.
According to the CBC, a number of unexpected problems have led to delays and cost overruns.
- The cost to refit one of Canada's trouble-plagued submarines is skyrocketing, according to documents obtained under an access to information request by CBC News.
- In the year 2010 alone, the RCN spent $45 million on repairs to HMCS Windsor. It had budgeted to spend just $17 million, the documents show.
- It appears that every system on the British-built submarine has major problems, according to the documents, including bad welds in the hull, broken torpedo tubes, a faulty rudder and tiles on the side of the sub that continually fall off.
- The refit of the Windsor is also taking much longer to complete than anticipated, the documents show. The refit started in 2007 and was scheduled to be completed in 2009. However, the documents indicate the Windsor won't be fully operational until almost 2013.
- Because the submarine has been in drydock in Halifax for so long, it has become a bird sanctuary. The navy spent thousands of dollars just trying to keep the pigeons from roosting in the vessel.