HMS Olympus (S12): From Special Forces Swimmers to a TV Treasure Hunt

Built by Vickers-Armstrongs

HMS Olympus was built by Vickers-Armstrongs, her keel laid on 4 March 1960, launched on 14 June 1961 and entering Royal Navy service on 7 July 1962, an Oberon-class submarine measuring 241 feet between perpendiculars and displacing 2,410 tons submerged, capable of 17 knots underwater and armed with eight torpedo tubes, crewed by 68 officers and ratings.

Searching for a Downed Aircraft

In 1967, Olympus took part in the search for a downed French naval aircraft, exactly the kind of unglamorous but notably useful search and rescue work that submarines were sometimes called upon to perform alongside their more traditional duties.

Fitted for Special Forces

Olympus completed a substantial two-year refit in 1982 that added a five-man swim-out chamber, allowing special forces swimmers to exit and re-enter the submarine while fully submerged, a remarkably useful capability that made Oberon-class boats valuable platforms for covert operations throughout the Cold War.

A Cameo on British Television

In a rather more lighthearted turn, Olympus made an appearance on the popular British television game show Treasure Hunt in 1986, a fun and slightly surreal diversion for a Cold War attack submarine more accustomed to secrecy than the cameras.

A Long Wait in Canada

Olympus was transferred to Canadian Forces in 1989 to serve as a training vessel based in Halifax, but was, somewhat unusually, never actually commissioned into Canadian service, and spent years sitting in storage instead.

She finally arrived at International Marine Salvage in Port Maitland, Ontario on 28 July 2011 for scrapping, bringing to a close a long and eventful career that had, at various points, involved special forces training, a downed aircraft search and a spot on prime-time television.