HMCS Corner Brook (SSK 878) is a long-range hunter-killer submarine (SSK) of the Royal Canadian Navy. She is the former Royal Navy Upholder-class submarine HMS Ursula (S42), purchased from the British at the end of the Cold War. She is the third boat of the Victoria class and is named after the city of Corner Brook, Newfoundland. The submarine was launched in 1989 and entered service with the Royal Navy in 1992. The Royal Navy laid Ursula up in 1994. In 1998, Canada acquired the submarine from the United Kingdom. The vessel entered service with the Canadian Armed Forces in 2003. Renamed Corner Brook, the submarine took part in several military exercises both internationally, such as NATO exercises and domestic, such as Operation Nanook. In June 2011, the submarine ran aground in Nootka Sound, damaging the vessel's bow. The submarine was sent for refit in 2014 to complete the repairs.
Design
As built the Upholder class was designed as a replacement for the for use as hunter-killer and training subs. The submarines, which have a single-skinned, teardrop-shaped hull, displace surfaced and submerged. They are long overall with a beam of and a draught of .
The submarines are powered by a one shaft diesel-electric system. They are equipped with two Paxman Valenta 1600 RPS SZ diesel engines each driving a GEC electric alternator with two 120-cell chloride batteries. The batteries have a 90-hour endurance at . The ship is propelled by a GEC dual armature electric motor turning a seven-blade fixed pitch propeller. They have a diesel capacity. This gives the subs a maximum speed of on the surface and submerged. They have a range of at and at snorting depth. They have a range of at . The class has a reported dive depth of over .
The Victoria-class boats are armed with six torpedo tubes. In British service, the submarines were equipped with 14 Tigerfish Mk 24 Mod 2 torpedoes and four UGM-84 Sub-Harpoon missiles. They could also be adapted for use as a minelayer. The submarines have Type 1007 radar and Type 2040, Type 2019, Type 2007 and Type 2046 sonar installed. The hull is fitted with elastomeric acoustic tiles to reduce acoustic signature. In British service the vessels had a complement of seven officers and 40 ratings.
Refits and Canadian alterations
During the refit for Canadian service, the Sub-Harpoon and mine capabilities were removed and the submarines were equipped with the Lockheed Martin Librascope Submarine fire-control system (SFCS) to meet the operational requirements of the Canadian Navy. Components from the fire control system of the Oberon-class submarines were installed. This gave the submarines the ability to fire the Gould Mk 48 Mod 4 torpedo. In 2014, the Government of Canada purchased 12 upgrade kits that will allow the submarines to fire the Mk 48 Mod 7AT torpedoes.
These radar and sonar systems were later upgraded with the installation of the BAE Type 2007 array and the Type 2046 towed array. The Canadian Towed Array Sonar (CANTASS) has been integrated into the towed sonar suite. The Upholder-class submarines were equipped with the CK035 electro-optical search periscope and the CH085 optronic attack periscope, originally supplied by Pilkington Optronics. After the Canadian refit, the submarines were equipped with Canadian communication equipment and electronic support measures (ESM). This included two SSE decoy launchers and the AR 900 ESM.
Construction and career
The submarine was laid down as HMS Ursula at Cammell Laird's Birkenhead yard on 10 January 1989. She was launched on 28 February 1991 and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 8 May 1992. Ursula was decommissioned on 16 October 1994.
Looking to discontinue the operation of diesel-electric boats, the British government offered to sell Ursula and her sister submarines to Canada in 1993. The offer was accepted in 1998. The four boats were leased to Canada for US$427 million (plus US$98 million for upgrades and alteration to Canadian standards), with the lease to run for eight years; the submarines would then be sold for £1.
Problems were discovered with the piping welds on all four submarines, which delayed the reactivation of ex-Ursula and her three sisters. The former Ursula was handed over to the Canadian Forces on 21 February 2003, and commissioned as HMCS Corner Brook on 29 June 2003.