Vice Admiral Lynn Mason on the Victoria class

Brigade Commander Nicholas Packwood has a very informative post about the Victoria class of submarines (formerly the Royal Navy's Upholder class), including a letter from Vice Admiral Lynn Mason:

When the nuclear submarine program was cancelled, the Navy went back to a diesel-electric program. In the early 90s, the top-flight programs that we looked at were the Dutch Walrus Class, the German 209s, the proposed Australian Collins Class, and the British Upholders. They were all considered excellent submarines, with the on-paper Collins Class seeming to be on top. Thank the fates that we didn't go the Collins route because that program has had significant problems. In those days, however, the Navy would have been happy to acquire any of the those classes of submarine. And it is noteworthy that the Upholder Class was not considered to be the least of the bunch. Accordingly, the Navy was ecstatic when, instead of an unaffordable program of 2 1/2 to 4 billion dollars, we were offered four slightly used Upholder Class submarines. Unfortunately, it took several years for the negotiations to be completed and the Canadian Government to be convinced. That delay caused the reactivation program to become increasingly problematic. Even so, it is hard to imagine a build-new program that would have made submarines available more quickly.

As I've said in other posts, I'm not a former Navy person, so my knowledge of the situation is neither broad nor deep. I'm moderately well-read on naval mattters, but that's the limit. On that basis, I thought the purchase of the Upholder subs was a brilliant solution for both the Canadian and Royal Navies: we got a heck of a deal and they got the subs off their inventory. It really did look like a win-win, and both sides thought they'd gotten the better of the bargain.

In the long run, this may still turn out to be true. I certainly hope so.

As several others have noted, until we find out exactly what happened on HMCS Chicoutimi, we can't make any determination about whether the subs are going to be safe and effective vessels for our navy. And, as Bruce R. pointed out the other day, if we want to retain any claims of sovereignty over the coastal waters of this huge country, we need those subs in the water now.