*British, WW2, HMS Oberon - Original Photograph and Large Brass Model of Odin-Class Submarine*
Approximate Dimensions:
Model: 28.2cm x 3cm wide x 3.6cm tall
Wooden Base: 31.9cm x 7.4cm wide x 1cm deep
Model + Base: 6cm tall overall
Original Photograph: 17.9cm x 12.2cm
A large unnamed WW2 brass model of a Submarine, likely Odin Class on a wooden base with ball feet. Accompanied by an original photograph of HMS Oberon a British Odin-class submarine. This photograph originally formed part of the Lou Britton British Submarine Collection, which was acquired by the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport in 2007.
HMS Oberon was the prototype for the Odin-class submarines, designed for long-range patrols in the Far East after the 1922 end of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. Initially named O1, she was renamed in 1924, becoming the first named British submarine.
Laid down in 1924 and commissioned in 1927, Oberon was larger than her L-class predecessors, with a length of 270 feet and a beam of 28 feet. She carried a crew of 54 and was armed with a 4-inch naval gun, eight torpedo tubes, and 16 torpedoes. Powered by diesel engines and electric motors, she reached speeds of 13.75 knots surfaced and 7.5 knots submerged.
Equipped with asdic and hydrophones, Oberon underwent modifications during WWII, including the addition of an Oerlikon cannon and updated radar. Despite her design for Far East deployment, engine vibration issues kept her stationed in Portsmouth, the Mediterranean, and as a training vessel during the war. She was decommissioned in 1944 and scrapped in 1945.
Odin Class
The Odin-class (or "O class") was a series of nine submarines built for the Royal Navy in the 1920s. The prototype, Oberon, was followed by two boats initially ordered by the Royal Australian Navy but transferred to the RN in 1931, and six modified boats for the RN. Three modified boats were built for Chile in 1929.
Designed to replace the aging L-class, these submarines were intended for Pacific operations, with a depth capacity of 500 feet (though none exceeded 300 feet in testing). Armed with eight 21-inch torpedo tubes and a 4-inch gun, they featured saddle tanks for fuel, vulnerable to leaks after depth charge damage. These were the first British submarines equipped with Asdic and VLF radio.
*Condition*
Good used condition. Minor marks to the model commensurate with age and service. Please see photographs as part of the condition report.
