British Royal Navy HMS Opossum, S-19, the last of the Oberon`s   One of 13 Oberon class submarines completed for the Royal Navy, laid down by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead on December 21, 1961; launched on May 23, 1963; commissioned June 5, 1964.   Opossum was the first submarine to be fitted with one man steering. In March 1965 went the farthest North of any conventional submarine, surfacing in the Arctic pack-ice. Lt Cdr W.L. Owen was in command at the time   Paid off September 1993, last of her class to pay off. This marked the end of 90 years continuous submarine operations from HMS Dolphin-Gosport (Portsmouth) submarine base.   Back to History Index     Image Country Year Description Zambia 2001 HMS Opossum,S-19, 1963 (Obron class)