Upholder/Victoria-class submarine

HMCS Victoria at US Naval Base Kitsap, December 2011
Class overview
Name	Upholder class (UK) Victoria class (Canada)
Builders	VSEL, Ltd and Cammell Laird Co.
Operators	Royal Navy  Royal Canadian Navy
Preceded by	Oberon class
In commission	RN: 2 June 1990–October 1994 CFMC/RCN: December 2000–present
Planned	12
Completed	4
Cancelled	8
Active	4
General characteristics
Type	Diesel-electric submarine (Hunter Killer SSK)
Displacement	2,455 t (2,416 long tons)
Length	70.26 m (230 ft 6 in)
Beam	7.2 m (23 ft 7 in)
Draught	7.6 m (24 ft 11 in)
Propulsion	Diesel-electric – 1 shaft 2 × Paxman Valenta 2,035 hp (1.517 MW) 1600 RPA SZ diesels 1 × GEC electric motor (5 MW)
Speed	12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) (surface) 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)+ (submerged)
Range	8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at 8 kn (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) 10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at snorkelling depth
Endurance	30 days
Test depth	Over 656.17 ft (200 m)
Complement	53
Sensors and processing systems	Sonar CN/BQQ-10 Active/Passive Sonar Suite Array[1] Type 2040 active/passive bow multibeam echo sounder Type 2041 micropuffs Type 2007 flank Type 2046/CANTASS MOD towed array, Type 2019 active intercept Fire Control: Lockheed-Martin Librascope SFCS Mk 1 Mod C Radar: Kelvin Hughes Type 1007
Armament	6 x 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes (18 Mark 48 torpedoes)

The Upholder/Victoria-class submarines, also known as the Type 2400 (due to their displacement of 2,400 tonnes), are a class of diesel-electric submarines built in the United Kingdom in the 1980s to supplement the nuclear submarines in the Submarine Service of the British Royal Navy.

The boats were originally named the Upholder class, after the most renowned vessel of the former U class. Their British service life was short, with the vessels being decommissioned in 1994. After an unsuccessful bid to transfer these submarines to the Pakistan Navy in 1993–1994, the Canadian government eventually purchased the submarines and a suite of trainers from the Royal Navy for Canadian Forces Maritime Command (renamed to Royal Canadian Navy in 2011) to replace their decommissioned Oberon-class submarines in 1998.

In Canadian service, the submarines are classified as the Victoria class. These submarines initially suffered from serious electrical problems and were beset by mechanical operational incidents that limited their active service and the scope of their deployments. These problems have largely been overcome and the subs have achieved full operational capability.