- HMS Onyx (S21)
The HMS "Onyx" was an "Oberon" class
submarine of theRoyal Navy . Originally ordered for theRoyal Canadian Navy , "Onyx" was transferred to the Royal Navy whilst under construction atCammell Laird shipbuilders inBirkenhead ,England . She was launched on August 1966 and commissioned into the Royal Navy in September 1967.The first commission of the "Onyx" saw her visit
Swansea in SouthWales for the investiture of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. She also attended the bicentennial celebrations of theUnited States of America in 1976.HMS "Onyx" was the only non-nuclear submarine of the Royal Navy to take part in the
Falklands War . The smaller displacement of "Onyx" compared to the nuclear submarines made her ideal for landing SAS and SBS troops close to the islands in shallow waters.Defence cuts in the UK saw the Royal Navy dispense with its diesel-powered submarines to concentrate on nuclear attack submarines. In 1991, the "Onyx" was decommissioned from the navy. She was then cared for by the
Warship Preservation Trust and was on public display alongside several other ships in Birkenhead, UK.In May 2006 HMS "Onyx" was sold to the
Barrow-in-Furness businessman Joe Mullen, for a reported £100,000 as a 'gift to the people of Barrow'. It left Birkenhead on13 June 2006 [ [http://www.photoboxgallery.com/MaritimeAviationNews/3211231 Photo: HMS Onyx leaves Birkenhead] Retrieved12 August 2007 ] to form the centrepiece of a new heritage museum inCumbria .See also
* "Oberon" class submarine
*British Naval Forces in the Falklands War References
External links
* [http://www.limewolf.com/?p=10 HMS Onyx pictures]
* [http://www.photoboxgallery.com/MaritimeAviationNews/3211231 Photographs of HMS Onyx being towed to Barrow 13th June 2006]
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