H.M.S. Opossum. ‘Oberon-Class’ Submarine
Pennant Number: S19
Badge: An Opossum suspended by his tail from a tree trunk all proper.
Crest: Field:White.
Built By: Cammell Laird and Co Ltd, Birkenhead.
Laid Down: 21 December 1961.
Launched: 23 May 1963.
Commissioned: 29 February 1964.
Decommissioned: June 1993.
Displacement: 2030 Tons Surfaced, 2400 Tons submerged
Dimensions: Length: 295 ft. 3 in. Beam: 26 ft. 6 in. Mean Draught: 18 ft.
Crew: 6 Officers, 62 Ratings.
Propulsion: 2 x Sets Admiralty Standard Range Diesel Engines developing 3680 BHP
Armament: Eight 21-inch Six Bow and Two stern torpedo tubes (for Homing Torpedoes). 2 x Sets Electric Motors developing 6000 S.H.P. Twin Screws.
Range: 9000 Nautical miles at 12 Knots.
Max Speed: 15 Knots Surfaced, 17 Knots Submerged. Commanding Officers
Lt.Cmdr. W. L Owen (29 Feb 1964);
Lt.Cmdr. B. R Trussler (16 Aug 1965);
Lt.Cmdr. M. J Osborne (16 Apr 1968);
Lt.Cmdr. R. C Meyrick (12 Nov 1969 - 3 Feb 1971);
Lt.Cmdr. J. J. S Daniel (4 Feb 1971);
Lt.Cmdr. M. C Boyce (14 Jan 974);
Lt.Cmdr. J. McLees (26 Jul 1975);
Lt.Cmdr. C. L Wreford-Brown (10 Sept 1976);
Lt. A. M Poulter (11 Aug 1977);
Lt. T. J Austin (20 Jan 1979):.
Lt.Cmdr. E. R Ruscombe-King (28 Apr 1980);
Lt.Cmdr. D. R Charlton ( ); Joined the 1st Submarine Squadron, HMS DOLPHIN 1964.
11 April 1964: Sea trials began at Rothesay.
12 June 1964: Accepted into the Royal Navy.
18 June 1964: Sailed for Clyde - work-up. Estimated time of departure from Clyde,
12 August 1964: Estimated time of arrival in Portsmouth,
14 August 1964: Estimated time of departure from Portsmouth,
10 September : For Cape Wrath and 'EXERCISE TEAMWORK' with HMS/m's FINWHALE, DREADNOUGHT, OSIRIS, GRAMPUS, TOTEM, OTUS, RORQUAL, ALARIC and ONSLAUGHT,8 Minesweepers, 11 Coastal Minesweepers, 7 Escorts and 7 Frigates.
Estimated time of departure from Cape Wrath 2 October 1964.
Estimated time of arrival in Portsmouth 5 October 1964 for repairs.
Estimated time of departure from Portsmouth 13 October 1964.
14 - 15 October 1964: Portland.
17 - 22 October 1964: Visited Emden, Germany.
23 October 1964 : Portsmouth.
26 October - 27 November 1964 : Maintenance. thence Londonderry for exercises.
7 December 1964 : Departed Londonderry for Portsmouth.
11 January 1965 : Special equipment fitted at Portsmouth.
25 January - 16 February 1965 : Docking. Departed from Portsmouth.
17 February 1965 : For exercises returned Portsmouth
20 February 1965 - 22 February 1965 : Departed from Portsmouth with HMS/m FINWHALE for exercises in the Clyde area.
8 March 1965 : Returned to Portsmouth. Exercises with HMS/m FINWHALE (Date unknown).
Estimated time of arrival in Portsmouth 26 March 1965.
17 April 1965: Departed from Portsmouth.
19 April 1965: Arrived in the Clyde area.
28 April - 20 May 1965: Commenced 'EXERCISE RED KNIGHT' with HMS/m's OTUS, OLYMPUS, DREADNOUGHT, CACHALOT and 1 Escort.
22 May 1965: Portsmouth, repairs.
15 June 1965: Repairs completed.
16 June - 4 August 1965 : In home waters visiting Birkenhead, Londonderry, Clyde and Portsmouth.
6 - 11 August 1965 : Visited Heligoland, Germany. 13 August 1965 Portsmouth.
1 September 1965 : Departed from Portsmouth.
3 - 6 September 1965 : Gibraltar.
6- 10 September 1965: Commenced 'EXERCISE EMERALD GREEN' with HMS/m's FINWHALE, CACHALOT and 3 Escorts.
10 - 19 September 1965 : Gibraltar.
22 September 1965 : Portsmouth.
28 September - 8 October 1965 : Portland.
8 October 1965 Portsmouth.
11 - 26 October 1965 : Maintenance.
27 October - 20 November 1965 : In home waters visiting Portland and Portsmouth.
20 November 1965 : Departed Portsmouth for NW Approaches.
2- 10 December 1965: Commenced 'EXERCISE CALPURNIA' with HMS/m's ALARIC, OTUS, OPPORTUNE, OCELOT, OSIRIS, with 5 Frigates, 4 Escorts and 1 Cruiser.
9 December 1965 : Departed Londonderry.
11 December 1965 : Portsmouth.
30 December 1965 - 10 January 1966 : Docking.
24 January 1966: Departed from Portsmouth.
29 January 1966: Blyth.
5 February 1966: Portsmouth.
9 February 1966: Birkenhead (Cammel Laird) for repairs.
9 May 1966 : Repairs completed.
9 May 1966: Left Birkenhead.
21 May 1966 : Arrived in Portsmouth for maintenance.
29 May 1966: Maintenance completed.
30 May - 27 July 1966 : In home waters visiting Plymouth, Portland and Portsmouth.
27 July 1966 : Commenced Emergency Docking at Portsmouth.
11 August 1966 : Docking completed.
Estimated time of departure from Portsmouth 13 August.
18 - 19 August 1966 : Visited Rota, Spain.
19 August 1966: Gibraltar.
22 August 1966: Departed from Gibraltar.
26 August 1966: Malta.
16 - 19 September 1966: Visited Taranto, Italy.
20 - 23 September 1966: Malta practice area.
24 - 30 September 1966: Commenced 'MEDTACEX 6' with 3 Frigates.
2 - 17 October 1966 : Malta for maintenance.
17 - 18 October 1966: Commenced 'CANEX' with 2 Frigates.
19 October 1966 : Malta.
25 - 30 October 1966: Visited La Spezia, Italy.
1 - 8 November 1966: Toulon, France.
11 November 1966 : Malta.
17 - 21 November 1966 : Visited Corfu.
22 - 26 November 1966: Commenced 'MEDSUBEX'.
29 November - 2 December 1966 : Visited Izmir, Turkey.
3 - 6 December 1966: Commenced 'MEDTACEX 7' with 2 Frigates.
11 - 12 December 1966 Gibraltar.
Estimated time of departure from Gibraltar 14 December 1966.
18 December 1966 : Portsmouth. 9 January 1967 : Departed from Portsmouth.
11 - 21 January 1967: Lorient Exercise areas.
22 - 25 January 1967: Lorient, France.
26 January - 13 March 1967 : In home waters visiting Dartmouth, Portland and Portsmouth.
14 - 20 March 1967: Visited HMS GANGES the Juniors Training Establishment, Shortly Gate, Ipswich.
27 - 31 March 1967: Portland.
1 April 1967 Portsmouth.
1 May 1967 : Departed Portsmouth for trials in SW Approaches.
16 May 1967 : Returned to Portsmouth.
17 - 19 May 1967 : Visited Lorient, France.
20 May 1967: Portsmouth.
24 - 29 May 1967 Visited Fredrickshavn, Denmark.
31 May 1967 Returned to Portsmouth.
9 - 14 June 1967 Barrow.
16 June 1967 Portsmouth.
20 June 1967: To Devonport to prepare for refit (3 July).
13 September 1968 : Refit completed.
5 October 1968 HMS/m OPOSSUM became re-operational and rejoined the 1st Submarine Squadron, HMS DOLPHIN.
7 October 1968 Faslane.
3 December 1968 Departed from Faslane.
6 December 1968: Portsmouth.
9 - 31 December 1968 : Due maintenance. 14 January - 20 February 1969 In home waters visiting Plymouth exercise area, Portland, Portsmouth, Londonderry and SW Approaches.
20 February 1969 : HMS/m's OPOSSUM and ALCIDE arrived at Newport's North Dock to begin a 5 day visit to the town.
24 February - 6 May 1969 In home waters visiting Plymouth exercise area, Portsmouth for maintenance, Moray Firth, Dundee and Portland exercise area.
6 - 8 May 1969: Commenced BRITEX with 3 Training ships.
9 - 11 May 1969 : Visited Brest, France.
3 May - 2 September 1969 In home waters visiting Portland, SW Approaches, Portland exercise area, Portsmouth (for docking 23 May - 16 June 1969),Devonport, Londonderry, Loch Ewe, Faslane, NW Approaches, Portsmouth (docks 4 - 13 August 1969) and Gosport.
2 September 1969 : Departed from Gosport.
11 September 1969 : Arrived in Malta for exercise.
16 September 1969: LRO C Wood serving on board HMS/m OPOSSUM, was drowned while swimming at Comino Island in the Mediterranean.
17 - 22 October 1969 : Visited Civitavecchia, Italy.
25 October 1969: Gibraltar.
31 October 1969 Portsmouth.
20 November 1969 - 13 January 1970 In home waters visiting Dartmouth, Portland, SW Approaches and Portsmouth.
13 January 1970 : Due repairs.
23 March 1970 : Repairs completed.
Estimated time of departure from Portsmouth 4 April 1970 for 'EXERCISE STEEL RING' with HMS/m ARTEMIS, 4 Escorts from the Royal Canadian Navy, Atlantic Maritime Command, HMCS/m's 'Ojibwa' and 'Okanagan' and the operational support ship HMCS 'Protecteur'.
10 - 12 May 1970: At Halifax, Canada. 14 - 19 May 1970 Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
20 - 25 May 1970: Providence (Rhode Island), Massachusetts, USA.
5 June 1970 : Portsmouth.
1 July - 2 October 1970 : In home waters visiting Dartmouth, Swansea, Devonport, Portland exercise area, Portsmouth (docking and essential repairs 24 August - 14 September), Portland exercise area (again) and Portsmouth.
2 - 7 October 1970: Visited Halsingborg, Sweden with HMS/m OCELOT.
10 - 30 October 1970 : Portsmouth.
31 October - 4 November 1970 : Plymouth/Portland areas.
4 November 1970 : Portsmouth.
12 November 1970: HMS/m's OPOSSUM, ORACLE, ARTEMIS and ACHERON entered Latchford Lock, Warrington on their way up the Manchester Ship Canal to pay a courtesy visit to Manchester. They were opened to the public at Trafford Wharf.
18 November 4 December 1970 : In home waters visiting Plymouth exercise area, Plymouth and Portsmouth.
2 January 1971: Departed from Portsmouth.
4- 13 January 1971: Commenced 'EXERCISE VENDETTA' with HMS/m's ORACLE, CACHALOT, OCELOT, WARSPITE, NARWHAL, ONYX and AURIGA.
16 January 1971: Portsmouth.
20 - 25 January 1971 : Visited Oostende.
26 January 1971: Portland.
29 January 1971: Portsmouth.
1 - 5 February 1971: Plymouth exercise area.
3 February 1971 : Lt.Cmdr. RC Meyrick collapsed while his submarine HMS/m OPOSSUM was submerging during exercises. The submarine surfaced immediately and the assault ship HMS 'Fearless' which was also taking part in the exercises was diverted and a helicopter took its medical officer to OPOSSUM. A heart specialist from the Stonehouse Naval Hospital boarded the submarine at the breakwater. He gave Commander Meyrick heart massage but on arrival at hospital the Commander was dead. 5 February 1971: Portsmouth.
22 March 1971 - 7 January 1972 : In home waters visiting Clyde exercise area, Portland, Manchester, Dartmouth, Portland exercise area, Plymouth exercise area and Portsmouth.
7- 17 January 1972: Commenced 'EXERCISE VENDETTA' with HMS/m's OSIRIS, AENEAS, OCELOT and DREADNOUGHT.
18 January 1972: Campbeltown.
20 January 1972: Portsmouth.
14 - 17 February 1972: Portland.
18 - 22 February 1972: Le Havre, France.
23 February 1972: Plymouth exercise area.
24 February 1972: Portsmouth.
6 March 1972 : Biscay area.
8 - 17 March 1972 : In home waters visiting Portland exercise areas, Dartmouth and Portsmouth.
19 April 1972: Departed from Portsmouth.
24 April 1972: Arrived in Gibraltar.
30 June - 4 July 1972 : Visited Agadir, Morocco.
8 July 1972 : Portsmouth.
10 - 12 July 1972 : Portland.
12 July 1972 : Portsmouth.
10 August 1972 : Departed from Portsmouth.
11 - 15 August 1972 : Visited Den Helder, Netherlands. 17 August 1972 : Plymouth exercise areas.
18 - 22 August 1972 : Visited Nantes, France.
23 August - 27 November 1972 : In home waters visiting Plymouth exercise areas, Chatham, Falmouth, Dartmouth, Portland areas and Portsmouth.
27 November 1972 : At Chatham for refit.
9 August 1974 : Refit completed.
10 August 1974 : Portsmouth, defects. Faslane (Date unknown).
9 December 1974 : Portsmouth for docking and repairs.
19 January 1975 : Docking and repairs completed.
15 February 1975 : Departed from Portsmouth.
17 - 19 February 1975: North Sea exercise areas.
19 - 27 February 1975 : Commenced JMC 751 with HMS/m ONSLAUGHT, 4 Frigates, 2 Guided Missile Destroyers, 1 Mine Countermeasures, 1 Fast Patrol Boat and the Destroyer HMCS 'Algonquin' from the Royal Canadian Navy, Atlantic Maritime Command.
28 February - 1 March 1975 Rosyth.
3 March 1975 : Portsmouth.
12 March 1975 James Chapman (103 years old) from Wisbech visited HMS/m OPOSSUM in which he toured the length of the submarine, test fired 6 torpedoes and worked the 2 periscopes. The trip lasted 8 hours and traveled 100 miles. The submarine also dived 103 feet, 1 foot for every year of Mr. Chapman's life. Estimated time of departure from Portsmouth 24 March 1975.
27 March - 1 April 1975 : Visited Liverpool.
2 - 6 April 1975 Clyde exercise areas.
6 - 7 April 1975: Visited Faslane. 7 April - 11 May 1975 : Commenced 'COQC' exercise with HMS/m ONYX and 5 Frigates.
13 - 16 May 1975 Portland.
16 May 1975 : Portsmouth for docking.
4 June 1975 Departed from Portsmouth.
11 - 25 June 1975 : Gibraltar areas.
30 June -4 July 1975 : Portland.
4 - 14 July 1975 : Portsmouth.
18 - 23 July 1975 : Visited Kristiansand, Norway.
26 July - 27 September 1975 : In home waters visiting Portland, Portsmouth (Docking 27 August - 18 September) and Portland (again).
27 - 30 September 1975: Commenced 'EXERCISE HIGHWOOD' with HMS/m's ONSLAUGHT, SOVEREIGN, OCELOT, WARSPITE, ORACLE and RORQUAL.
1 - 3 October 1975: Moray Firth.
5 - 7 October 1975 North Sea exercise area.
8 October 1975 : Rosyth.
10 - 15 October 1975 Visited Fredrickshavn, Denmark.
18 - 22 October 1975: Moray Firth.
24 October 1975 Portsmouth.
8- 11 November 1975: Commenced 'EXERCISE MOBY DICK' with HMS/m's ONSLAUGHT and SOVEREIGN and 5 Frigates.
14 November 1975 Visited Inverary.
16 - 18 November 1975 On patrol.
22 November 1975: Portsmouth.
26 November 1975: Sailed Portsmouth for exercises returning Portsmouth 5 December 1975.
14 January - 12 February 1976 : In home waters visiting Portland, Manchester and Oban.
12 - 22 February 1976: Commenced 'EXERCISE GRATITUDE' with HMS/m's SWIFTSURE, COURAGEOUS, ONSLAUGHT, VALIANT and ORACLE.
23 - 25 February 1976 : Portland.
26 February 1976 Devonport.
27 February - 5 March 1976 : Biscay/Gibraltar areas.
6 - 23 March 1976 Gibraltar exercise areas.
29 March - 1 April 1976 Visited Ajaccio, Corsica.
7 - 12 April 1976 Genoa, Italy.
15 - 19 April 1976 : Gibraltar.
23 April 1976 Portsmouth for docking and essential defects.
12 July 1976 Docking and defects completed.
21 July - 20 December 1976 In home waters visiting Faslane, Portland, Aberdeen, Dartmouth, Portsmouth and Gosport.
29 August 1983: Took part in 'EXERCISE SEDGEMOOR' with HMS/m REVENGE. A total of 67 people were transferred between the 'distressed' submarine 'OPOSSUM 'and the mother submarine 'REVENGE' by means of a DSRV carried on board the 'REVENGE'.
9 April 1991 : HMS/m OPOSSUM returned to HMS DOLPHIN, Gosport after a 36,000 mile, 11-month voyage around the world. The voyage included stops at Tahiti, Pitcairn Island, Singapore and Sydney, Australia.
13 July 1993 : HMS/m OPOSSUM collided with the Irish Trawler 'Amber Rose' at 0500 in thick fog in the Clyde Exercise area. No one was injured and there was little damage. HMS/m OPOSSUM is thought to have had a fault on her radar.
Early August 1993 'OPOSSUM' visited the Russian port of Severomorsk, the first RN submarine to visit Russia since 1945.
26 August 1993 : HMS/m OPOSSUM Paid-off at HMS DOLPHIN and was taken out of active service. She carried out a last dive on the same day prior to her arrival.
24 September 1993 approx : Departed HMS DOLPHIN for Fareham Creek. Casualties:
• 16 September 1969: LRO C Wood drowned while swimming at Comino Island in the Mediterranean. • 3 February 1971: Lt.Cmdr. R C Meyrick collapsed and died while commanding 'OPOSSUM' on an exercise
N.B. HMS/m OPOSSUM was the last of the British Oberon-class submarines in the RN.
Disposal: June 2001 Pounds Shipbrakers at Tipner, Portsmouth.