HSwMS Sjöbjörnen (Sbj)
HSwMS Sjöbjörnen (Sbj), Sw. meaning sea bear, was the third ship of the Swedish submarine class Sjöormen, project name A11.[1]
HSwMS Sjöbjörnen underway between 1970-1989. | |
History | |
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Name: | HSwMS Sjöbjörnen |
Ordered: | 1966 |
Builder: | Karlskrona naval base |
Launched: | 9 Junuary 1968 |
Commissioned: | 28 February 1969 |
Decommissioned: | 1997 |
Motto: | Nulli secundus ("Second to none") |
Nickname(s): | Sbj |
Fate: | Sold to Singapore in 1997 |
Name: | RSS Challenger |
Namesake: | Challenger |
Acquired: | 28 May 1999 |
Commissioned: | 2000s |
Decommissioned: | 11 March 2015 |
Homeport: | Changi Naval Base, Singapore |
Fate: | Scrapped |
General characteristics | |
Class and type: | Challenger-class submarine |
Displacement: |
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Length: | 50.5 m (165 ft 8 in) |
Beam: | 6.1 m (20 ft 0 in) |
Draught: | 5.8 m (19 ft 0 in) |
Propulsion: |
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Speed: | 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h) |
Complement: | 25 officers and enlisted |
Armament: |
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Development
The planning of the class included a number of different AIP-solutions including nuclear propulsion, however the ships where finally completed with for the time extremely large batteries. The ship was a single hull submarine, with hull shape influenced by the American experimental submarine USS Albacore (AGSS-569). The hull was covered with rubber tiles to reduce the acoustic signature (Anechoic tiles), at this time a pioneer technology. The Sjöormen-class also pioneered the use of an x-shaped (as opposed to cross-shaped) rudder as a standard (as opposed to experimental) feature.[2]
Service in Sweden
The submarine served in the Swedish Navy for almost 30 years and was then sold to Singapore in 1997 together with its four sister ships.
Service in Singapore
HSwMS Sjöbjörnen was renamed RSS Challenger and Singapore racquired the boat on 28 May 1999. She was commissioned on 26 June 2004 after a major refit. After 11 years in the Republic of Singapore Navy, she was decommissioned on 11 March 2015 and scrapped.[3]
Gallery
- HSwMS Sjöbjörnen being launched on 9 January 1968.
- HSwMS Sjöbjörnen surfacing in 1968.
- RSS Challenger undergoing session trials on 23 March 2010.
References
- "HMS Sjöbjörnen (Sbj)", Wikipedia (in Swedish), 2019-09-18, retrieved 2020-07-29
- "CHALLENGER CLASS SUBMARINE". Ministry of Defense Singapore. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
- "End of service for Singapore submarines | Strategic Bureau of Information". www.strategic-bureau.com. Retrieved 2020-07-29.