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The Oberon class were a thirteen ship class of diesel-electric submarines of the Royal Navy, and were based on the successful Porpoise-class submarine. The Oberons were far more successful in the export market than their predecessor, with fourteen boats being operated by Australia(HMAS's Oxley, Otway, Onslow, Ovens, Orion and Otama), Brazil, Canada and Chile.

The class differed from the Porpoises in that they had fibre glass in the casing and other additional improvements helped the class become even more silent than the Porpoises. Additional new electronics and weapons, including in 1970 the Mk24 Tigerfish torpedo. The RAN O-boats were upgraded to fire Mk48 torpedos which could carry a nuclear ordinance. They were later updated to be equipped with the subsonic anti-ship Harpoon missile. HMAS Ovens was only the second conventional submarine in the world, and the first Oberon, to fire a sub-surface launched Harpoon missile. Consecquently, the boats designation changed from SS to SSG. This occurred off the island of Kawai in Hawaii in 1985, were the target was successfully hit from over the horizon. Like the previous Porpoises, the Oberons were far quieter than their American counterparts. They performed remarkably well in clandestine operations, performing surveillance and inserting special forces, vital during their heyday in the Cold War. These operations were primarily carried out by the British across arctic Europe, the Canadians across the arctic Pacific, and the Australians throughout S.E. Asia and as far north as the Sea of Japan.

The Oberons were arguably the best conventional submarine class of its time, with an astonishing reputation for quietness that allowed it to exist into the 21st century until replaced by newer classes such as the Collins and Victoria classes in Australia and Canada respectively. In fact, the ability of the O-boats to run in total silence enabled Australian submarines to successfully attack USS Enterprise, despite a huge number of supporting ships 'protecting' it. This led to the U.S. re-instating diesel boats into their fleet with the Los Angeles class SS.

The first of the class to be commissioned into the Royal Navy was Orpheus in 1960Events January-February January 1 Independence of Cameroon January 9 Aswan High Dam construction begins in Egypt January 11 Chad declares its independence. January 14 Ralph Chubb, the gay poet and printer, dies at Fair Oak Cottage in Hampshire. January 23, followed by the nameship in 19611961 (As MAD Magazine pointed out on its first cover for the year) was the first "upside-down" year i. one that looked the same upside down since 1881, and the last until 6009. Events January January 1 The farthing coin, used since the 13th century, cease. The last to be commissioned was Onyx in 1967Events January January 4 British motorboat racer Donald Campbell dies while attempting a water speed record in Coniston Lake. January 4 Algerian revolutionary Mohammed Khider is shot in Madrid. January 6 Vietnam War: USMC and ARVN troops launch " Operatio. Six were commissioned between 1967 and 1978 for the RAN. In 1982Events January January 6 William Bonin is convicted of being the "freeway killer". January 8 AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions January 11 Mark Thatcher, son of the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, disappears in the Sahara du, HMS OnyxThe HMS Onyx was an Oberon class submarine of the Royal Navy. Originally ordered for the Royal Canadian Navy, Onyx was transferred to the Royal Navy whilst under construction at Cammel Laird shipbuilders in Birkenhead, England. She was launched on August took part in the Falklands WarThe Falklands War or the Malvinas War ( Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas , was an armed conflict between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas between March and June 1982. Though surprised by an Argentine attac, the only conventional submarine of the RN to do so. All Oberons in service, including boats exported, have now been decommissioned; the last RN boats decommissioned were in 19931993 is a common year starting on Friday and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003 Events January January 1 Czechoslovakia divides. Establishment of independent Slovakia and Czech Republic..

Two ships have now become museum ships in the UK. HMS Onyx is now at BirkenheadThis article is about Birkenhead in northwest England. For other meanings of the word and places with this name, see Birkenhead (disambiguation Birkenhead is a town on The Wirral, Merseyside, on the left bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. The f, Merseyside, where another Falklands veteran, HMS Plymouth, is located. The other boat, HMS Ocelot, is located at Chatham. HMAS Ovans, an Australian Oberon, is now a museum-ship, located at the West Australian Maritime Museum at Fremantle.

Note, some sources quote the complement as 68.