HMAS Waller (SSG 75)
HMAS "Waller" (SSG 75) is the third of six "Collins"-class submarines operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Named for Captain Hector Waller, the boat was laid down in 1992, and launched in 1997. Despite the RAN initially refusing to accept the submarine for service, "Waller" has demonstrated the capabilities of the "Collins" class against surface and submarine targets during several international war-games. Construction. "Waller" was laid down by Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC) on 19 March 1992, launched on 14 March 1997, and commissioned into the RAN on 10 July 1999. During sea trials, the  number of problems and defects with "Waller" were significantly fewer that with the previous two submarines, indicating that problems with earlier submarines were being fixed in the latter boats during construction. Despite this, the RAN initially refused to accept "Waller" into service until all defects in the submarine were repaired, unlike "Collins" and "Farncomb", which had been provisionally accepted while defects were fixed. Although ASC believed that all problems with "Waller" had been rectified, the Defence Acquisition Organisation refused to accept the boat. In response, ASC began to charge the Australian Government A$100,000 a day over contract for the  delays. Despite legal opinion being that ASC did not have the right to make that claim, the Government eventually paid half of what was claimed. "Waller" was named for Captain Hector Waller, who commanded the five-ship 'Scrap Iron Flotilla' from 1940 to 1941, then commanded the cruiser until his death and the ship's loss on 1 March 1942 during the Battle of Sunda Strait. 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 tiles 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 tubes, and carry a standard payload of 22 torpedoes: 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. Operational history. In 1999, "Waller" reportedly operated in the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET) together with a second "Collins"-class boat providing escorts for transport ships and monitoring Indonesian communications. "Waller" had overtly docked in Darwin during the international naval buildup in September shortly before the Force sailed to East Timor. On 21 October, Navy clearance divers infiltrated into the Oecussi Enclave to conduct a covert beach reconnaissance and survey of an amphibious landing site for an amphibious landing by HMAS "Brunei" the following day reportedly inserting from a submarine believed  to be "Waller". In late May 2000, "Waller" became the first Australian submarine to operate as a fully integrated component of a United States Navy carrier battle group during wargames. "Waller"’s role was to search for and engage opposing submarines hunting the aircraft carrier , a role in which she performed better than expected. A few days later, as part of the RIMPAC 2000 exercise, "Waller" was assigned to act as an 'enemy' submarine, and was reported to have successfully engaged two USN nuclear submarines before coming into attacking range of "Abraham Lincoln". "Waller" performed similarly during the Operation Tandem  Thrust wargames in 2001, when she 'sank' two USN amphibious assault ships in waters just over deep; although the submarine was 'destroyed' herself later in the exercise. During a multinational exercise in September 2003, which was attended by "Waller" and sister boat "Rankin", "Waller" successfully "sank" a "Los Angeles"-class nuclear submarine, prompting claims from the USN that diesel submarines like the "Collins" class are one of the major threats facing modern navies. In 2006, the Mark 48 torpedoes carried by the "Collins" class were upgraded to the Mod 7 Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System (CBASS) version, which had been jointly  developed with the United States Navy. "Waller" was the first vessel of either navy to fire an armed version of the torpedo, sinking the decommissioned "Spruance"-class destroyer on 16 July 2008, during RIMPAC 08. In early 2009, battery problems aboard "Waller" forced the submarine to undergo emergency maintenance. This, combined with other factors affecting "Waller"’s sister boats, left as the only operational submarine in Australian service as of mid-2009. The boat was returned to service during the end of the year, but maintenance delays and malfunctions aboard other submarines during early 2010, meant that "Waller" was the only fully  operational submarine during February and March 2010. "Waller" was undergoing deep maintenance during 2012, and was due to return to service in 2013. On 27 February 2014, a fire broke out aboard the submarine while she was surfaced off the Western Australian coast. The fire was extinguished by those aboard, and there were no injuries, although four personnel who fought the fire directly were taken ashore for medical observation. "Waller" was docked for repairs, which were due to be completed by the end of 2015, with the submarine returning to full operational status in mid-2016. "Waller" was damaged by two  fires in an auxiliary machine space on 8 April 2021. At the time the submarine was alongside at HMAS "Stirling". Repairs were completed in September 2021.