HMAS Ovens

On 22 January 1963, with the Royal Navy (RN) intending to withdraw the Fourth Submarine Squadron from its base in Sydney, the Minister for the Navy, Senator John Gorton, announced Cabinet approval for the purchase of eight Oberon, or O, Class submarines for the RAN, though the order was later reduced to six. The Oberons were designed for both anti-surface and anti-submarine roles and had great offensive capability with eight torpedo tubes, six in the bow and two in the stern. They were equipped with a modern communications suite, were well designed for very quiet submerged running, and employed the ‘flying concept’ control system, which utilised a steering wheel, similar to an aeroplane’s ‘joystick’, and enabled one person (instead of five) to handle the submarine. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN)[2] Vice Admiral Mark Hammond. The Chief of Navy is also jointly responsible to the Minister for Defence (MINDEF) and the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF). The Department of Defence, which is a part of the Australian Public Service, supports the ADF, and ergo, the Royal Australian Navy.[