Interview with Captain (Ret'd) Dermot Mulholland on Submarines in the Royal Canadian Navy
Narrator: Mulholland, Dermot P.,1963 Interviewer: Austin Follestad. Interview Date and Location 20 March 2024, Victoria BC. Via Zoom. Synopsis: Dermot Mulholland was born in Dublin, Ireland, but immigrated to Canada in 1970 and grew up in Ireland. He remembers a consistent interest in the sea because his father was a merchant mariner. Once he graduated highschool he spent 4 years at Royal Roads military college. He had always been very interested in submarines, and mentioned his interest to the military. He remembers that one day, without any explanations to his classmates, he was taken away to submarine training. He remembers being drawn to submarines through books and TV, and thought of them as a challenge that was different than the rest of the navy. He called the submarines a ‘cowboy outfit.’ He remembers going on a ‘familiarization’ trip on HMCS Onondaga one summer and finding submarine life quite appealing. He explained how submarine crews operated in a way that was extremely unique within the navy. He remembers being derogatorily called a SPUT (surface puke under training) during his time training on a submarine, in which he spent 8-9 months in on-the-job training. He remembers serving with both Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy exchanges, and participating in an exchange himself to England, where he served as a Canadian navigator under an Australian captain on a British ship. He had very high praise for the Oberon-class submarines in Canadian service at the time. He remembers submarines being utilized as ‘clockwork mice’ by the navy, as he saw that they were reluctant to embrace the potential of submarine warfare instead of just Anti-Submarine warfare. He remembers participating in numerous CASEX (Combined Anti-Submarine Exercise) exercises which he recalls were quite restrictive. He also recalls participating in Operational Surveillance Patrols against Soviet missile submarines during the Cold War. He eventually rose through the ranks and was given the change to participate in the Perisher Submarine Command Course. He explained that Canada was instrumental in creating courses to help submariners pass, and eventually in taking over Perisher from the Royal Navy. He took the 2nd ever Perisher course run in Canada. He remembers during his first command of HMCS Okanagan he participated in recovery operations after the Swiss Air crash, in which they recovered the black boxes of the plane. He eventually retired from submarines, only to be pulled back in after the acquisiton of the Victoria-Class submarines, where he held two more commands before going back to surface ships. He was instrumental in implementing the SubSafe quality control system in Canadian submarines. He was part of the board of inquiry for the HMCS Chicoutimi fire, and remembers training Chris Saunders on a different submarine months before he was killed. He believes that the legacy of the incident still hangs over RCN submarines today. In his opinion some of the biggest changes in RCN submarines during his service were the introduction of SubSafe, Mk48 Torpedoes, and the rehabilitation of Perisher. 0:00 – 2:38 – Pre-miltiary life, Military college. 2:38 – 4:43 – Interest in submarine service, Selection for submarine service. 4:43 – 12:40 – Why choose submarines? First submarine experience. 12:40 – 21:10 – difference between surface ship service and submarine service. 21:10 – 26:33 – Training on a submarine. 26:33 – 30:19 – Exchanges with Commonwealth navies. 30:19 – 34:49 – Opinions on the Oberon-Class Submarines. 34:49 – 46:28 – Operations in the 80s and 90s. 46:28 – 49:43 – Moving up the ranks. 49:43 – 55:03 – Perisher Submarine Command Course. 55:03 – 58:32 – Commanding officer of HMCS Okanagan, Victoria-Class submarines. 58:32 – 1:00:23 – Shore Jobs, return to surface ships. 1:00:23 – 1:14:40 – HMCS Chicoutimi fire 1:14:40 – 1:18:02 – Opinion on the biggest changes in RCN submarines Suggested Clip(s) for Archive: 1:00:23 – 1:14:40 – Description of HMCS Chicoutimi fire incident, fallout
- In Collection:
- Interview #SC141_MD_905
- Torpedoes
- Oberon-Class
- Submarine fire
- SOSUS
- Anti-Submarine Warfare
- HMCS Chicoutimi
- HMCS Onondaga
- HMCS Windsor
- Royal Navy
- Mk48
- Royal Roads
- Cold War
- Victoria-Class
- GIUK gap
- Submarine Warfare
- Commonwealth
- Perisher
- OSPs
- SOCT
- Submarine Officer Continued Training
- Swiss Air 111
- Submarines
- CASEX
- Royal Canadian Navy
- Operational Surveillance Patrols
- SOUP
- HMCS Okanagan
- Royal Australian Navy
- O-Boats
- SubSafe
- 01:18:02
- FROM MICE TO SOUP TO DOLPHINS: UNDERSTANDING THE LEGACY OF THE CANADIAN SUBMARINE SERVICE TOWARDS THE END OF THE 20TH CENTURY.
- Canadian Military Oral History Collection
- Accession Number: 2025-002; Series 1; Item: 905
- Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection
- Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2024. Recorded in digital format by interviewer. Keywords supplied by interviewer. Metadata by KD.
- Rights
- This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca
- DOI