| Career (South Africa) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | SAS Emily Hobhouse until 1994 when renamed SAS Umkhonto |
| Namesake: | Emily Hobhouse was an English humanitarian in South Africa during the Boer War. Umkhonto is the Zulu word for "spear" |
| Owner: | South African Navy |
| Operator: | South African Navy |
| Builder: | Dubigeon-Normandie |
| Launched: | 19 June 1962 |
| Commissioned: | 26 February 1971 |
| Out of service: | 2003 |
| Homeport: | Simon's Town |
| Identification: | S 98 |
| Fate: | Decommissioned in 2003 and scrapped in 2008 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Daphné class |
| Displacement: |
869 tonnes surfaced |
| Length: | 57.75 metres |
| Beam: | 6.74 metres |
| Draught: | 5.25 metres |
| Propulsion: | Diesel-electric, two shafts, 1,600 shp |
| Speed: | Submerged: 16 knots (30 km/h) Schnorcheling: 8 knots (15 km/h) Surfaced: 12 knots (22.2 km/h) |
| Range: | Surfaced: 10,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) at 7 knots (13 km/h) |
| Endurance: | 30 days |
| Test depth: | 300 metres |
The submarine SAS Umkhonto (S98), formerly the SAS Emily Hobhouse, was the second of three French-built Daphné class submarines ordered by the South African Navy in 1968. Laid down in December 1968 and launched October 24, 1969 and commissioned into the South African Navy under the command of Lt Cdr Lambert Jackson "Woody" Woodburne on February 26, 1971.[1] SAS Umkhonto was decommissioned in 2003 and scrapped in 2008.
The SAS Umkhonto was originally named SAS Emily Hobhouse after Emily Hobhouse, a Cornish humanitarian in South Africa during the Boer War who was later made an honorary citizen of South Africa. In 1994, with the end of Apartheid in South Africa, ships bearing names of noted figures of white South African rule were removed and renamed after geographical names and less controversial figures in South African history. "Umkhonto" is the Zulu word for spear.[2]
In 1982, the SAS Emily Hobhouse was part of a submarine officer commanding course exercise occurring 80 miles off Cape Point on February 17. Her mission was to pass through the security screen provided by the frigates SAS President Kruger (F150), and SAS President Pretorius (F145) and simulate an attack on the replenishment ship SAS Tafelberg (A23) which the frigates were protecting. The heavy seas were causing clutter on the radar screens and the execution of a WWII-era convoy maneuver in the rough seas ended in a collision at 4:23am between the Tafelberg and the President Kruger that resulted in minor damage to the Tafelberg and the sinking of the President Kruger on the morning of February 18 with a loss of 16 lives.[3]
The SAS Umkhonto was paid off in 2003 and scrapped in 2008.[4]