Her Commanding Officer, appointed in November 1987, was Lt. Cdr G A R McCready, a recent MBE recipient who had previously served on a cruiser, a minesweeper, four conventional submarines and the first of class nuclear submarine HMS Swiftsure. As a qualified Russian interpreter since 1977 and Assistant Naval Attache Moscow and Warsaw from 1981-3, he was ideally suited to Upholder's intended deployment, silently patrolling the cold northern waters that formed the access corridor separating the Russian Naval Bases from the Atlantic, intercepting and interpreting their communications and reporting the intentions of Soviet submarines.
Upholder was only the second submarine to be raised by the shiplift at Barrow and the first to be traversed sideways onto the hardstanding and fully outfitted on North Quay.
Type 2400 Upholder Class SSK Specification
The Type 2400 features a single skin hull clad in elastomeric acoustic tiles, a 5-man Diver Lock-out in the fin, and a passage on 2 Deck enabling crew to pass from forward to aft without going through the Control Room.
Upholder's propulsion system comprised two high-speed diesel engines - Paxman Valenta 1600 RPA-200S -marinised versions of those employed in the latest diesel railway locomotives of that era. Each of these was coupled to a 1.4MW generator and a double-armature main motor that drove the single propeller. The generators could be used either to provide power to the main motor directly or to charge the boat's main batteries.
Upholder had six bow-mounted weapon discharge tubes, no longer called torpedo tubes because they would also be used to launch sub-surface missiles. She was fitted with a positive air turbine pump discharge system capable of firing a total of 18 dual-purpose wire-guided Tigerfish heavyweight torpedoes or Sub-Harpoon encapsulated anti-ship missiles, or mines. The traditional Torpedo Stowage Compartment (TSC) was now termed the Weapon Stowage Compartment (WSC).
A fully- integrated computerised sonar suite provided Upholder with long-range detection and attack capability. Information from the sensors was digitally processed and passed by link to a central Action Information Organisation (AIO) computer where it was displayed in coherent form for the Command Team. The Command System also processed visual data from the periscopes, information from the radar and ESM masts and manual inputs such as navigational data.
The external communications system provided Upholder with reception facilities across a wide spectrum of radio frequencies and transmission within the military, HF, VHF and UHF bands.
By making optimum use of remote control and automated surveillance systems, the ship's company was reduced from the 120 in a similarly equipped SSN Fleet submarine or the 75 needed in the more labour-intensive Oberon Class to just 47. This enabled the Type 2400 to be operated by 7 Officers, 16 Senior Rates and 24 Junior Rates.
The Type 2400 was purpose-designed with unallocated spaces to facilitate the introduction of alternative or additional equipments as they became available. The greatly reduced crew numbers arising from maximised automation gave adequate scope for greatly improved habitability. However, space is always at a premium in submarines and the luxury of 'available' space was quickly filled by the MoD with all manner of additional unplanned equipments which not only consumed the future growth margin but encroached to a limited extent on the intended spacious living and working environment.
Build Programme
1986 proved to be a turning point in the Upholder Build Programme. In January, the MoD ordered the next three Type 2400 boats. In May, the company was denationalised and privatised as VSEL in a successful management and workforce buyout and by the December, Upholder had been launched. A condition of the buyout was that the company should also take ownership of the other North West coast shipyard - Cammell Laird at Birkenhead, a famous yard of long standing which had suffered in recent years from prolonged industrial action and had little ongoing work and no orders in hand. As Cammell Laird had enjoyed a proven track record as an experienced submarine builder from 1916 to 1971, the build contracts for the remaining three ordered boats of the Upholder Class - SSK02 Unseen, SSK03 Ursula and SSK04 Unicorn - were all transferred by VSEL to their Cammell Laird yard with Barrow providing lead yard services and key personnel as necessary.
