The O class was procured for the Royal Australian Navy but transferred to the Royal Navy when Australia faced financial pressure in 1931. The boats combined a large torpedo battery with ASDIC and very-low-frequency radio usable at periscope depth. Their saddle-tank arrangement carried fuel externally, which could leak after depth-charge damage and reveal a boat's position. Reliable radio mattered because it turned isolated submarines into forces that could report, receive direction, and coordinate across an operational area.
Chapter · 56:21-58:17
Interwar boats: endurance, radio, and fleet coordination
Interwar submarine design improved endurance and communications, laying foundations for coordinated operations in the next war.
AsdicCommand And ControlDepth ChargesFuel LeaksGreat DepressionInterwar Naval DevelopmentInterwar PeriodO Class SubmarinesRadio CommunicationsRoyal Australian NavyRoyal NavySaddle Tank SubmarinesSubmarine CommunicationsSubmarine CoordinationSubmarine DesignSubmarine ProcurementVery Low Frequency Radio