Capitan O'Brien-class submarine (1928)
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image= Chilean submarine Simpson.jpg |Ship caption=Capitan Simpson }} {{Infobox ship class overview |Name=Capitan O'Brien class |Builders= Vickers |Operators={{navy|Chile}} |Class before= |Class after= |Subclasses= |Cost= |Built range=1928–1929 |In service range= |In commission range=1929–1958 |Total ships completed=3 |Total ships active= |Total ships retired=3 |Total ships scrapped= |Total ships preserved= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship type=Submarine |Ship displacement=*Surfaced - {{cvt|1540|LT|t|lk=on}}
|Ship length={{cvt|260|ft|m}} pp |Ship beam={{cvt|28|ft|m}} |Ship draught={{cvt|13|ft|6|in|m}} |Ship power= |Ship propulsion=*2 shaft diesel-electric
|Ship speed=
|Ship range= |Ship endurance= |Ship test depth= |Ship complement=54 |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament=
|Ship armour= |Ship notes= }} |
The Capitan O'Brien class were three submarines built for the Chilean Navy in the late 1920s. Designed and built in the United Kingdom, they were a modified design of the contemporary British {{sclass|Odin|submarine|1}}s. The lead boat, {{ship|Chilean submarine|Capitan O'Brien||2}}, was launched on 2 October 1928 and the other two on 15 January 1929. All three submarines entered service in 1929. The three vessels remained in service until being discarded in 1957–1958.
Background and design
The Capitan O'Brien class were three submarines constructed to a modified design based on the British Royal Navy's {{sclass|Odin|submarine|4}}.{{sfn|Scheina|1980|p=423}} The Odin class was the Royal Navy's leading submarine design in the post-World War I era, equipped with strengthened pressure hulls and fuel carried in the ballast tanks to improve rapid diving. They had extended surface range.{{sfn|Cocker|2008|p=60}} The Capitan O'Briens measured {{convert|260|ft|m}} long between perpendiculars with a beam of {{cvt|28|ft|m}} and a draught of {{cvt|13|ft|6|in}}. They had a displacement of {{convert|1540|LT|t|lk=on}} while surfaced and {{cvt|2020|LT|t}} submerged.{{sfn|Scheina|1980|p=423}} The submarines were propelled by two shafts powered by two Vickers diesel engines creating {{convert|2750|bhp|kW|lk=on}} while surfaced and two electric motors creating {{cvt|1300|hp}} while submerged. This gave them a maximum speed of {{convert|15|kn|lk=in}} surfaced and {{convert|9|kn}} submerged.{{sfn|Scheina|1980|p=423}} The builder's photograph of Capitan Simpson gives the dimensions as {{convert|272|ft|9|in|m|1}} long overall with a beam of {{convert|27|ft|6|in|m|1}} and a draught of {{convert|16|ft|6|in|m|1}} with a surface speed of 15 knots and {{convert|9.5|knots}} submerged.{{sfn|Vickers-Armstrongs Limited|1930|p=18}}
The Capitan O'Briens had a large conning tower that stretched one-third of the deck and mounted the 4.7-inch QF Mark IX & XII/45 deck gun in a turret. The submarines were also armed with eight British 21-inch torpedo torpedo tubes, with six located in the bow and two in the stern. The subs carried 14 torpedoes. Each submarine had a complement of 54 personnel.{{sfn|Scheina|1980|p=423}}
Ships
| class="wikitable" | |
| + Capitan O'Brien class construction data{{sfn|Scheina|1980|p=423}} | |
| Name
! Builder ! Launched ! Decommissioned | |
|---|---|
| {{ship|Chilean submarine|Capitan O'Brien | 2}}
| rowspan="3" align="center" | Vickers-Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness | 2 October 1928 | 1957 |
| {{ship|Chilean submarine|Almirante Simpson | 2}}
| 15 January 1929 | 1957 |
| {{ship|Chilean submarine|Capitan Thomson | 2}}
|15 January 1929 | 1958 |
References
{{reflist}}
Cited works
- {{cite book |last=Cocker |first=Maurice |year=2008 |title=Royal Navy Submarines: 1901 to the Present Day |publisher=Pen and Sword Books Ltd. |location=Barnsley, UK |isbn=978-1-84415-733-4}}
- {{cite book |last=Scheina |first=Robert L. |chapter=Chile |editor-last=Chesneau |editor-first=Roger |year=1980 |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=Greenwich, UK |isbn=0-85177-146-7 |pages=422–423}}
- {{Cite book |publisher=Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd. |author=Vickers-Armstrongs Limited |title=The Activities of Vickers-Armstrongs Limited, naval construction works, Barrow-in-Furness |location=London |date=1930 |oclc=13323843}}
{{British Odin class submarine}}
{{Chilean submarines}}