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HMAS Rankin (SSG 78)
Encyclopedia
HMAS Rankin is the sixth and final submarine of the Collins class
Collins class submarine
The Collins class is a class of six Australian-built diesel-electric submarines operated by the Royal Australian Navy . The Collins class takes its name from Australian Vice Admiral John Augustine Collins; all six submarines are named after significant RAN personnel who distinguished themselves in...
, which are operated by the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
(RAN). Named for Lieutenant Commander Robert William Rankin
Robert William Rankin
Robert William Rankin was a Royal Australian Navy officer who was killed in action in World War II. He is one of six people to have a Collins class submarine named after him.-Naval career:...
, the boat was laid down in 1995, and commissioned into the RAN in March 2003, following major delays.
Early in her career, Rankin was the subject of a documentary series and a coffee table book
Coffee table book
A coffee table book is a hardcover book that is intended to sit on a coffee table or similar surface in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. They tend to be oversized and of heavy construction, since there is no pressing need for...
. She was the first submarine since 1987 to be awarded the Gloucester Cup
Gloucester Cup
The Gloucester Cup is the common name for three awards of the Australian Defence Force. Formally referred to as the Duke of Gloucester Cup, the three awards are presented to the most efficient infantry battalion of the Australian Army, ship of the Royal Australian Navy , and squadron of the Royal...
.
Construction
Rankin was laid down by Australian Submarine CorporationAustralian Submarine Corporation
The ASC, formerly Australian Submarine Corporation, is a wholly government-owned Australian naval defence company headquartered at Osborne in Adelaide, South Australia.-History:...
on 12 May 1995. The boat was launched on 7 November 2001. She was delivered to the RAN on 18 March 2003 and commissioned on 29 March 2003, 41 months behind schedule, after major delays in the completion and fitting out of the boat due to the diversion of resources to the "fast track" submarines and and repeated cannibalisation for parts to repair the other five Collins-class boats.
Rankin was named for Lieutenant Commander Robert William Rankin
Robert William Rankin
Robert William Rankin was a Royal Australian Navy officer who was killed in action in World War II. He is one of six people to have a Collins class submarine named after him.-Naval career:...
, who died when the ship he commanded, , engaged a force of five Japanese warships on 4 March 1942, to allow an Allied convoy to escape. The boat is nicknamed "The Black Knight".
Characteristics
The Collins class is an enlarged version of the KockumsKockums
Kockums AB is a shipyard in Malmö, Sweden owned by the German shipyard Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in Kiel. HDW itself is a subsidiary of the German ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems....
Västergötland-class submarine
Västergötland class submarine
The Västergötland class of diesel-electric submarines was introduced in 1987 by the Swedish Navy. The original four ships of her class, HMS Västergötland, HMS Hälsingland, HMS Södermanland and HMS Östergötland, were built between 1983 and 1988 by Kockums AB...
. At 77.42 metres (254 ft) in length, with a beam of 7.8 metres (25.6 ft) and a waterline depth of 7 metres (23 ft), displacing 3,051 tonnes when surfaced, and 3,353 tonnes when submerged, they are the largest conventionally-powered submarines in the world. The hull is constructed from high-tensile micro-alloy steel, and are covered in a skin of anechoic tile
Anechoic tile
Anechoic tiles are rubber or synthetic polymer tiles containing thousands of tiny voids, applied to the outer hulls of military ships and submarines, as well as anechoic chambers...
s to minimise detection by sonar. The depth that they can dive to is classified: most sources claim that it is over 180 metres (590.6 ft),
The submarine is armed with six 21 inches (533.4 mm) torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
s, and carry a standard payload of 22 torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es: originally a mix of Gould Mark 48 Mod 4
Mark 48 torpedo
The Mark 48 and its improved ADCAP variant are heavyweight submarine-launched torpedoes. They were designed to sink fast, deep-diving nuclear-powered submarines and high-performance surface ships.-History:...
torpedoes and UGM-84C Sub-Harpoon
Boeing Harpoon
The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile system, developed and manufactured by McDonnell Douglas . In 2004, Boeing delivered the 7,000th Harpoon unit since the weapon's introduction in 1977...
, with the Mark 48s later upgraded to the Mod 7 Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System (CBASS) version.
Each submarine is equipped with three Garden Island-Hedemora
Hedemora Diesel
Hedemora Diesel AB is a Swedish company in Hedemora, Dalarnas län and is a spinn off from Hedemora Verkstäder. The company used to produce diesel engines, to ships, locomotives, oil rigs and back up generators to hospitals...
HV V18b/15Ub (VB210) 18-cylinder diesel engines, which are each connected to a 1,400 kW, 440-volt DC Jeumont Schneider generator. These supply a single Jeumont Schneider DC motor, which provides 7,200 shaft horsepower to a single, seven-bladed, 4.22 metres (13.8 ft) diameter skewback propeller. The Collins class has a speed of 10.5 knots (20.6 km/h) when surfaced and at snorkel depth, and can reach 21 knots (11.4 m/s) underwater. The submarines have a range of 11000 nautical miles (20,372 km) at 10 knots (5.4 m/s) when surfaced, 9000 nautical miles (16,668 km) at 10 knots (5.4 m/s) at snorkel depth. When submerged completely, a Collins-class submarine can travel 32.6 nautical miles (60.4 km) at maximum speed, or 480 nautical miles (889 km) at 4 knots (2.2 m/s). Each boat has a endurance of 70 days.
Operational history
During a multinational exercise in September 2003, which was attended by Rankin and sister boat Waller, Rankin successfully "sank" a Singaporean anti-submarine warfare vessel.
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
in 2005 and depicting life aboard a submarine. The film crew was on board from February to April 2004, during which the boat completed pre-deployment trials, participated in the submarine rescue exercise Pacific Reach, and made a diplomatic visit to Kure, Japan. They later rejoined Rankin during the submarine's deployment to Hawaii for RIMPAC
RIMPAC
RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, is the world's largest international maritime exercise. Conducted biennially , it is hosted and administered by the United States Navy, with the United States Marine Corps, United States Coast Guard, and Hawaii National Guard forces under the leadership of...
04 in June and July. Later that year, Rankin was also the subject of the book Beneath Southern Seas. The coffee table book
Coffee table book
A coffee table book is a hardcover book that is intended to sit on a coffee table or similar surface in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. They tend to be oversized and of heavy construction, since there is no pressing need for...
, which encompasses the history of the Royal Australian Navy Submarine Service
Royal Australian Navy Submarine Service
The Royal Australian Navy Submarine Service is the collective name of the submarine element of the Royal Australian Navy. The service currently forms the Navy's Submarine Force Element Group and consists of six Collins class submarines....
, was primarily based on photographs and interviews of Rankin and those aboard taken by the authors during a twelve-day voyage from Sydney to Fremantle, concluding the six-month, 20000 nautical miles (37,040 km) voyage started during the filming of Submariners. The 20000 nautical miles (37,040 km) voyage—the longest undertaken by a Collins-class submarine to that date—began with workups in February, and saw the submarine visit Korea, Japan, and Hawaii, and participate in various multinational exercises before returning to Fremantle via Sydney. Rankin was at sea for 126 days, 80% of which was spent underwater.
On 10 June 2005, Rankin was presented with the Gloucester Cup
Gloucester Cup
The Gloucester Cup is the common name for three awards of the Australian Defence Force. Formally referred to as the Duke of Gloucester Cup, the three awards are presented to the most efficient infantry battalion of the Australian Army, ship of the Royal Australian Navy , and squadron of the Royal...
. Presented to the RAN vessel with the greatest overall efficiency over the previous twelve months, Rankin was the first Collins-class submarine to earn the Cup, and the first submarine to receive it since in 1987. The award was again presented to Rankin in 2008.
Rankin was docked for a long maintenance period in 2008, but workforce shortages and malfunctions on other submarines requiring urgent attention have drawn this out: RAN and ASC officials predict that she will not be back in service until 2013.