HMAS Collins ( SSG 73 ) HMAS " Collins " ( SSG 73 ) is the lead vessel of the six - submarine " Collins " class operated by the Royal Australian Navy ( RAN ) . Named for Vice Admiral Sir John Augustine Collins , " Collins " was laid down in February 1990 , and was the only submarine of the class to be partially constructed by Kockums ' Malmo shipyard . The boat was launched in August 1993 , but was not completed until ten months later . Numerous problems with the class were exposed by the lengthy sea trials period undertaken by the boat ; " Collins " was not commissioned into the RAN until mid - 1996 , eighteen months behind schedule , and the submarine was not cleared for operational deployments until 2000 . Construction . Collins was laid down in February 1990 . The two most complex sections of the first submarine were constructed by Kockums ' shipyard in Malmo , Sweden , while the other four sections and complete assembly of the submarine occurred at Australian Submarine Corporation ' s facility in Port Adelaide , South Australia . It was originally planned to construct the first submarine completely overseas , but by the time the tender was awarded , it had been decided to build all six submarines in Australia ; the increase in cost by not building the lead ship in the winning designer ' s home shipyard were believed to be offset by the additional experience provided to Australian industries . While the bow section of the first boat was being assembled in Sweden , multiple defects in the hull welding were discovered . Different reasons were given by different parties for the problems : the steel alloy used for the hull required different welding techniques to those normally used by Kockums ; the Swedish navy always requested partial penetration welds for their submarines , while the RAN wanted full penetration welding but failed to make this clear ; delays in delivering the steel plates to Kockums resulted in rushing the work and the resulting drop in quality . It was proposed that the section be kept by Kockums to repair the welds , but it was decided to accept the section as - is and repair the welds at ASC to minimise delays in the project . The launch of " Collins " was originally planned for 1994 , but was later set for August 1993 . The submarine was launched by shiplift on 28 August 1993 . Although launched on schedule , she was not complete : the design of the submarine had not been finalised , important internal pipes and fittings had not been installed , the components of the combat system had not been delivered , and some sections of ' hull ' were sheets of timber painted black so the submarine would appear complete in photographs of the launching ceremony . Within weeks of the launch , the boat was removed from the water , and it was not until June 1994 that she was completed . Work on the other submarines in the class was delayed by the extra effort put in for " Collins " to meet her launching date , and by the subsequent work to complete her . The submarines are covered in a skin of anechoic tile s to minimise detection by sonar : " Collins " was retrofitted with the tiles after the standard sonar signature of the submarine had been established , while the other five boats were covered during construction . " Collins " was named for Vice Admiral Sir John Augustine Collins ; famous for commanding during her Mediterranean deployment in 1940 — 41 , and becoming the first Australian to command a naval squadron in 1944 . Characteristics . The " Collins " class is an enlarged version of the Kockums " Västergötland " class submarine . At in length , with a beam of and a waterline depth of , displacing 3 , 051 tonnes when surfaced , and 3 , 353 tonnes when submerged , they are the largest conventionally powered submarines in the world . The hull is constructed from high - tensile micro - alloy steel , and are covered in a skin of anechoic tile s to minimise detection by sonar . The depth that they can dive to is classified : most sources claim that it is over , The submarine is armed with six torpedo tube s , and carry a standard payload of 22 torpedo es : originally a mix of Gould Mark 48 Mod 4 torpedoes and UGM - 84C Sub - Harpoon , with the Mark 48s later upgraded to the Mod 7 Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System ( CBASS ) version . Each submarine is equipped with three Garden Island - Hedemora HV V18b / 15Ub ( VB210 ) 18 - cylinder diesel engines , which are each connected to a 1 , 400 kW , 440 - volt DC Jeumont - Schneider generator . The electricity generated is stored in batteries , then supplied to a single Jeumont - Schneider DC motor , which provides 7 , 200 shaft horsepower to a single , seven - bladed , diameter skewback propeller . The " Collins " class has a speed of when surfaced and at snorkel depth , and can reach underwater . The submarines have a range of at when surfaced , at at snorkel depth . When submerged completely , a " Collins " class submarine can travel at maximum speed , or at . Each boat has an endurance of 70 days . Sea trials . Training . Assembly of the crew for " Collins " began in 1992 . Problems with the " Collins " trials began in mid - 1992 , when it was discovered that appropriate training materials and courses in the operation of the new submarine design had been poorly prepared , was inadequate , and often did not reflect the reality of operating the boats . Several causes were identified : the late completion of the design made preparing training materials difficult , subcontractors did not always provide detailed information on the operation of their equipment , the combat system training was based on the completed version of the software and not the partial system installed in " Collins " , and the training assumed that none of the systems would break down . The last problem was part of an overall attitude that the first boat would be perfect off the production line and that no breakdowns would occur , and as a result , early equipment manuals tended to be light on content , and " Collins " would be sent to sea with few spare parts . During sea trials , the submarine was often forced back to port because of equipment problems , where the Navy personnel found that ASC engineers would diagnose and repair systems using a combination of supplier data and diagnostic tools not available to the sailors . Problems with the training were compounded by an attitude from ASC that problems were always the fault of the Navy operators . However , most were the result of equipment failure , and the problems caused by operator error could be attributed to poor training or a lack of training , both of which were the responsibility of ASC . To supplement this training , several officers and sailors assigned to " Collins " were sent to Sweden to train with the Swedish Navy aboard the " Västergötland " class submarines ; the class on which the " Collins " class design was based . Trials . Evaluation of the submarine was based on attaining a series of licenses , gradually testing the capabilities of " Collins " and those operating her from surface sailing to deep , unaccompanied dives . The main motor was started for the first time on 8 August 1994 , as part of a series of ' basin trials ' . " Collins " officially commenced sea trials at when she departed the ASC wharf at 10 : 00 on 31 October 1994 . By the time the submarine had exited Port Adelaide , two of the three diesel generators had broken down . The submarine submerged for the first time on 9 November , remaining underwater for twelve hours . The submarine was removed from the water at the end of 1994 to allow ASC to further complete the fitting out of the boat and perform repairs to the hull . Although sea trials resumed in early 1995 , " Collins " did not dive again until 9 June , when it was decided that the status of the combat system drop was sufficient to allow further underwater tests of the submarine . The tests went without difficulty until the next day , when the anchor cable snapped in poor weather , forcing " Collins " to return to port . When approaching the ASC wharf , a programming problem with the propulsion switchboard caused the main motor to cut out . " Collins " drifted into the wharf , hitting the construction facility ' s shiplift at . The backup motor then belatedly engaged , causing the submarine to collide with , the ship assigned to assist in the submarine ' s sea trials . Repairs to the sonar dome cost A $ 250 , 000 . Deep diving tests were delayed until the acquisition of the submarine rescue vessel " Remora " in December 1995 . " Collins " performed her first deep dive on 19 January 1996 without any problems . However , during a later deep dive trial , the propeller shaft seal began to leak excessively . Although designed to leak at an hour , the seal had previously shown itself to be faulty , with an hourly leak rate in the hundreds of litres . On this occasion , the water pressure meant the flow rate was significantly greater , to the point where the aft bilge pump was barely keeping up . When the senior engineer entered the compartment , he found personnel trying to stem the flow , including one sailor who was underneath the shaft , attempting to tighten the seal manually . The engineer instructed the commander to take the submarine to the surface as quickly as possible , but keep the boat level — had the engineer instead informed the commander that the submarine was flooding , " Collins " would have blown all ballast and driven for the surface at a steep angle , likely drowning the sailor under the shaft . " Collins " reached the surface without further incident . Modified seals were fitted to all submarines to bring the leak back to the accepted rate . It was later calculated that the submarine was taking on water at over a minute . Multiple mechanical problems appeared during the sea trials . Many of the problems encountered in " Collins " were quickly repaired , and did not occur again or in the other five submarines . Recurring issues were usually associated with diesel engines , propeller shaft seals , periscopes and masts , hydraulic couplings , and the combat system . At the same time , many of the systems worked with few or no problems , with the submarine meeting or exceeding design specifications for maximum speed , manoeuvrability , and submerged endurance , particularly at low speeds . The ship control system , which had been a major concern during development of the class , functioned beyond positive expectation . The submarine ' s autopilot ( which aboard " Collins " was nicknamed ' Sven ' ) was found to be better at depth keeping during snorting than many of the operators . " Collins " was due to be commissioned in November 1995 . The submarine was not commissioned into the RAN until 27 July 1996 ; eighteen months behind schedule , because of several delays and problems , most relating to the provision and installation of the combat data system software . " Collins " was not approved for operational deployments until 2000 . Operational history . In May 1997 , two groups of six female sailors were posted to " Collins " and " Farncomb " as a test on the feasibility of mixed - sex crews aboard submarines . Following the trial ' s success , eleven female sailors and one female officer commenced training for the submarine service in 1998 . In mid - 2000 , " Collins " was sent to Ketchikan , Alaska for noise testing with the United States Navy . Although noise testing in Australia was believed to have been affected by natural background noise , the Alaskan tests confirmed the Australian results . Low - speed testing showed that the " Collins " class was almost undetectable at patrol speed . In August 2000 , " Collins " became the first of her class to fire a Harpoon missile . When " Collins " returned to the ASC facility in April 2001 for a year - long maintenance docking , multiple welding defects were found in both the bow and escape tower sections of the submarine — the two sections constructed by Kockums , while almost no problems were found in the welding of the four Australian - built sections . Repairing these welds quadrupled the time " Collins " spent in dock . In July 2009 , while exercising in the Great Australian Bight , two of the three diesel generators aboard " Collins " failed , forcing the submarine to limp back to base . The cause was believed to be errors during the submarine ' s last refit , with the boat undergoing major maintenance as of December 2009 . Althougn back in service by February 2010 , the boat was limited in her duties , but was predicted to be fully operational by May 2010 . The Australian government is seeking A $ 5 million in compensation from ASC for the error . During the first part of 2012 , " Collins " participated in numerous naval exercises , before commencing a full - cycle maintenance docking . The submarines are predicted to have an operational life of around 30 years , with " Collins " to be decommissioned around 2025 .