The boat could make headway at speeds of 12 knots when surfaced and, more importantly, 17 knots when submerged. Due to the diesel-electric nature of the class, these boats were required to surface aft a period of time to recharge battery stores and expel dangerous, built-up CO2 gasses. Aboard was a crew complement of 68 that included six officers and Type 186 and Type 187 sonar systems were carried as was an I-band surface-search radar unit. Installed armament encompassed 8 x 530mm (21") torpedo tubes at the bow with twenty-four reloads carried. With this considerable war load, the boat could wreak havoc on enemy shipping and other surface threats all the while holding the initiative.
HMS Onyx was the only conventionally-powered Royal Navy submarine to participate in the Falklands War of 1982 against Argentina. In the conflict, the boat was used to insert special forces operatives ashore due to her relatively compact size when compared to her larger nuclear-powered cousins then in service. The war, which ended as a decisive British victory, showcased the importance of a powerful naval arm (and logistics) when attempting to reach far-off parts of the globe - and HMS Onyx certainly played her part as intended.
In the post-war period, she used her torpedoes against Sir Gallahad, a 1960s landing / logistical vessel heavily damaged during the Falklands War, to create a protected war grave - this became the last notable actions for the boat. For budgetary reasons at the close of the Cold War, HMS Onyx was decommissioned from Royal Navy service in 1991 and began her retirement as a preserved floating museum at Birkenhead, UK before being purchase for display at The Submarine Heritage Centre at Barrow-in-Furness (Cumbria). Despite additional efforts made to preserve her further, the boat was taken over from the museum in liquidation and scrapped to satisfy debt relief.
The Oberon-class was succeeded in RN service by the Upholder-class as British boat numbers began to shrink in the late-Cold War period (the dissolution of the Soviet Empire now negated the need for large military numbers). As such, the British focus was placed on fewer, though far more powerful, nuclear-driven types instead of quantitative diesel-electric forms favored by most European powers.
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