Submarine tender

USSFrank Cable(back of picture), one of two submarine tenders maintained by theUnited States Navy.Theattack submarineUSSSalt Lake City(SSN-716)is in the foreground.

Asubmarine tender,in British English asubmarine depot ship,is a type ofdepot shipthat supplies and supportssubmarines.

Development

Transfer of aPolarissubmarine-launched ballistic missilebetween the submarine tenderUSSProteus(AS-19)and theballistic missile submarineUSSPatrick Henry(SSBN-599)atHoly Loch,Dunoon,Scotland,in 1961.

Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally cannot carry large amounts of food, fuel,torpedoes,and other supplies, or a full array of maintenance equipment and personnel. The tender carries all these, and either meets submarines at sea toreplenishthem or provides these services while docked at a port near the submarines' operations zone. In some navies, the tenders were equipped withworkshopsfor maintenance, and as floating dormitories with reliefcrews.

With the increased size and automation of modern submarines, plus in some navies the introduction ofnuclear power,tenders are no longer as necessary for fuel as they once were.

Canada

Canada's first submarine depot ship wasHMCSShearwater.

Chile

The term used in theChilean Navyis "submarine mother ship", as for example the BMS (buque madre de submarinos)Almirante Merino.

China

China'sType 926 submarine support shipis capable of replenishing submarines and rescuing those in distress.

France

During the 1930s andWorld War II,theFrench Navyand later theFree French Naval Forcesoperated the submarine tenderJules Verne.

Germany

Unable to operate a significant number of conventional surface tenders duringWorld War II,Germany'sKriegsmarineusedType XIV submarines(nicknamedmilk cows) for replenishment at sea.

Japan

Prior to and during World War II, theImperial Japanese Navyoperated submarine tenders. It also operatedNisshin,aseaplane tenderdesigned and equipped to transport and support 12midget submarinesin addition toseaplanes,and a number of submarines designed to transport, launch, and recover midget submarines.

The Netherlands

TheRoyal Netherlands Navyhas one submarine support vessel,HNLMSMercuur(A900),commissioned in 1987, as a replacement ofHNLMSOnverschrokken(M886),then known as HNLMS Mercuur (A 856). Commissioned in 1956, as an ocean going Aggressive-class minesweeper, built in the US, and later used as a submarine tender.

Russia

TheRussian Navydecommissioned all itsDonandUgra-class tenders inherited from theSoviet Navyby 2001. The last remaining ship of this class wasINSAmba(A54),initially sold to theIndian Navyin 1968 for use with their fleet ofFoxtrot-classsubmarines.She was reportedlydecommissionedin July 2006.

United Kingdom

In theRoyal Navy,the term used for a submarine tender is "submarine depot ship", for exampleHMSMedwayandHMSMaidstone. List of Royal Navy submarine depot ships

• HMSAdamant(1911)
• HMSAdamant(A164)
• HMSAlecto(1911)
• HMSAmbrose(1903)
• HMSArrogant(1896)
• HMSBonaventure(1892)
• HMSBonaventure(F139)
• HMSCairo(1918)
• HMSCyclops(F31)
• HMSDolphin(1882)
• HMSForth(A187)
• HMSHazard(1894)
• HMSLucia(F27)
• HMSMackay
• HMSMaidstone(1912)
• HMSMaidstone(1937)
• HMSMedway(F25)
• HMSRosario(1898)
• HMSVulcan(1889)
• HMSWhitehall
• HMSWuchang(F30)

United States

Main article:List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy § Submarine Tenders (AS)

In theUnited States Navy,submarine tenders are consideredauxiliary ships,with thehull classification symbol"AS". As of 2017,the U.S. Navy maintains two submarine tenders,USSEmory S. Land(AS-39)andUSSFrank Cable(AS-40).

External links

• Media related toSubmarine tendersat Wikimedia Commons