If you travel to the Sassnitz on the Eastern coast of the island of Rügen, to visit the chalk cliffs (“Königsstuhl”) for example, then you may be surprised to find signs to “H.M.S. Otus”.

H.M.S.?  As in “Her Majesty’s Ship?”  Well, almost.  Actually it is an Oberon-class submarine that was launched in Scotland in 1962 and served with the Royal Navy until it was decommissioned in 1991.

H.M.S. Otus in Sassnitz harbour

After decommissioning she was towed to Stralsund on the Baltic coast, before being moored in the harbour at Sassnitz, where she is now a floating museum. [Read more…]