HMS Otter (S15): The Only Oberon Built to Take a Torpedo Hit

Greenock-Built

HMS Otter was built by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, launched on 15 May 1961 and commissioned on 20 August 1962, an Oberon-class submarine measuring 295.2 feet overall, displacing 2,410 tons submerged and crewed by 68 officers and ratings.

Built to Be a Target

Otter held a properly unique distinction among her sister boats: she was the only Oberon-class submarine fitted with a reinforced mild steel casing, specifically designed to let her serve as a live target for practice torpedo attacks, a role that required her to be built tough enough to absorb the impact of exercise torpedoes without serious damage, a rather unglamorous but essential job in keeping the rest of the fleet's weapons crews sharp.

Nearly Three Decades of Service

HMS Otter served for close to three decades before being paid off on 31 July 1991 and broken up at Pounds' yard in Portsmouth by European Metal Recycling the following April, with parts from the stripped-down hull later sold on to Chile for use on the Chilean Navy's own Oberon-class boats, a fitting last contribution from a submarine that had spent her career helping other crews train.