Korvettenkapitän Frank Thiede, Kommandant des Unterseebootes U31 - S181 - im Bergen-Norwegen

http://www.marine.de/01DB070000000001/CurrentBaseLink/W26HGEXS416INFODE

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_212_submarine

The German Type 212A is an advanced design of non-nuclear submarine developed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (HDW). It features air-independent propulsion using nine 34-kilowatt Siemens hydrogen fuel cells, allowing the submarines to cruise under water for weeks without surfacing, silently, and with no exhaust heat. HDW is the first shipyard in the world to offer a fuel cell propulsion system ready for series production.

An initial order of four Type 212 submarines was placed by the German government in 1998. Because of significant updates to the design the designation was changed to Type 212A since then. They were built by the German Submarine Consortium at the shipyards of HDW and Thyssen Nordseewerke GmbH (TNSW) of Emden. Very similar to the way Airbus builds aircraft, different sections of the submarines were constructed at both sites at the same time and then half of them were shipped to the respective other yard so that both HDW and Thyssen Nordseewerke assembled two complete submarines each.

Salvatore Todaro, a Type 212A built by Fincantieri for the Marina Militare (Italian Navy), is scheduled to be commissioned in 2005, and her sister Sciré is under construction. Two more Italian Type 212s are planned.

Three Dolphin class submarines built for the Israeli Navy are of a similar design, but using conventional diesel-electric propulsion.

Contents [hide]
1 List of Ships
2 General characteristics
3 See also
4 External links



[edit]
List of Ships
Groundbreaking submarines
Drebbel's submarine (1620)
Turtle (1775)
Plongeur (1863)
Ictineu II (1864)
USS Holland (1897)
Type XXI Elektroboote (1943)
USS Albacore (1953)
USS Nautilus (SSN-571) (1954)
Zulu-class SSB (1955)
USS Narwhal (1967)
Alfa-class SSN (1977)
Type 212 submarine (1998)




Country Pennant
number Name Laid
down Launched Commissioned
Germany S181 U31 March 2002 October 19, 2005
Italy S526 Salvatore Todaro July 3, 1999 November 6, 2003 March 29, 2006
Germany S182 U32 December 2003 October 19, 2005
Germany S183 U33 September 2004 June 13, 2006
Italy S527 Sciré May 27, 2000 December 18, 2004 May 2006
Germany S184 U34 July 2006



[edit]
General characteristics
In dock at HDW/KielDisplacement: 1450 tons surfaced, 1830 tons submerged
Length: 56 m
Beam: 7 m
Draft: 6 m
Propulsion:
1 MTU 16V 396 diesel-engine, 3.12 MW
9 HDW/Siemens PEM fuel cells, 30-40 kW each (U31)
2 HDW/Siemens PEM fuel cells 120 kW (U32, U33, U34)
1 Siemens Permasyn electric motor, driving single seven-bladed skew-back propeller
Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h) submerged, 12 knots surfaced
Depth: over 250m (official), greater than 400 m (estimated)
Range:
8,000 nautical miles (14,800 km) at 8 knots (15 km/h) surfaced,
Endurance: 3 weeks without snorkeling, 12 weeks overall
Armament:
6 x 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes with 12 torpedoes
24 external naval mines (optional)
Countermeasures:
Torpedo defence system Tau, 4 launchers, 40 jammers/decoys
Sensors:
STN Atlas DBQS40 sonar suite:
TAS-3 passive low-frequency towed array sonar (deployed from sail)
FAS-3 passive Low-, and med-frequency hull-mounted flank array sonar
MOA 3070 mine detection sonar
Periscopes:
Carl Zeiss SERO 14, with FLIR and optical rangefinder
Carl Zeiss SERO 15, with laser range-finder
Kelvin Hughes Type 1007 I band navigation radar
EADS FL 1800U ESM suite
Complement: 27

Kommandant - Korvettenkapitän Frank Thiede

Visit to Bergen 18 April 2005 - Calibration of technology

http://www.cassiopaya.de/forums/index.php?showtopic=978&s=
http://cns.miis.edu/research/submarines/germany/
http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/type_212/
http://www.elsnorkel.com

COMMAND AND WEAPONS CONTROL SYSTEM

The Type 212 is equipped with a highly integrated Command & Weapons Control System which interfaces with sensors, weapons and navigation system. The system is based on a high-performance databus and a distributed computer system, the Basic Command & Weapons Control System (Basic CWCS) supplied by Konsberg Defence & Aerospace of Norway under the trade name MSI-90U.

TORPEDOES

There are six torpedo tubes in two groups of three. Type 212 is equipped with a water ram expulsion system for torpedo launch. The submarine is equipped with the DM2A4 heavyweight torpedo weapon system from Atlas Elektronik.

COUNTERMEASURES

EADS Systems & Defence Electronics and Thales Defence Ltd have been awarded a contract to develop the FL1800U electronic warfare system for the German and Italian navies' U212 submarines. The 1800U is a submarine version of the FL1800 S-II which is in service on the Brandenburg and Bremen class frigates.

A consortium lead by ATLAS Elektronik and ELAC are responsible for the development of the TAU 2000 torpedo countermeasures system. TAU 2000 has four launch containers, each with up to ten discharge tubes equipped with effectors. The effectors are small underwater vehicles, similar in appearance to a torpedo. The effectors are jammers and decoys with hydrophones and acoustic emitters. Multiple effectors are deployed in order to counter torpedoes in re-attack mode.

SENSORS

The submarine is equipped with an integrated DBQS sonar system which has: cylindrical array for passive medium-frequency detection; a TAS-3 low-frequency towed array sonar; FAS-3 flank array sonar for low/medium-frequency detection; passive ranging sonar; and hostile sonar intercept system. The active high frequency mine detection sonar is the Atlas Elektronik MOA 3070.

The search periscope is the Zeiss Optronik SERO 14 with optical rangefinder, thermal imager and global positioning system. The Zeiss SERO 15 attack periscope is equipped with laser rangefinder.

PROPULSION

The propulsion system combines a conventional system consisting of a diesel generator with a lead acid battery, and an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system, used for silent slow cruising, with a fuel cell equipped with oxygen and hydrogen storage. The system consists of nine PEM (polymer electrolyte membrane) fuel cells, providing between 30 and 50kW each.

For higher speeds, connection is made to the high-performance lead acid battery. An MTU 16 V- 396 diesel engine powers the generator from Piller GmbH for charging the battery installed on the lower of the two decks at the forward section of the submarine. The diesel generator plant is mounted on a swinging deck platform with double elastic mounts for noise and vibration isolation. The propeller motor is directly coupled to the seven-bladed screwback propeller.

TYPE 214

HDW is developing the Type 214 submarine, which is a further improvement on the Type 212. The Greek Navy has ordered three Type 214 submarines. The first, Papanikolis (S120), was built at the HDW Kiel shipyard and was launched in April 2004; it is scheduled for delivery in 2005. Hellenic Shipyards will build the second (Pipinos S121) and third (Matrozos 122) vessels at Skaramanga, for commission in 2008-09. Hellenic Shipyards was acquired by HDW in May 2002. A fourth vessel was ordered by Greece in June 2002.

South Korea has also ordered three Type 214, to enter service in 2007, 2008 and 2009. These will be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries.

The Type 214 will have an increased diving depth of over 400m, due to improvements in the pressure hull materials. Hull length is 65m and displacement 1,700t. Four of the eight torpedo tubes will be capable of firing missiles.

Type 214 submarines for the Hellenic Navy will be armed with the WASS (Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subaquei) Black Shark heavyweight torpedo. The Black Shark is a dual purpose, wire-guided torpedo which is fitted with Astra active / passive acoustic head and a multi-target guidance and control unit incorporating a counter-countermeasures system. It has an electrical propulsion system based on a silver oxide and aluminium battery.

Performance of the AIP system has been increased with two Siemens PEM fuel cells which produce 120kW per module and will give the submarine an underwater endurance of two weeks. A hull shape which has been further optimised for hydrodynamic and stealth characteristics and a low noise propeller combine to decrease the submarine's acoustic signature.

The Integrated Sensor Underwater System ISUS 90, from STN ATLAS Elektronik integrates all sensors, command and control functions on board the submarine. BAE Systems provides the Link 11 tactical data link. The sensor suite of the U214 submarine consists of the sonar systems, an attack periscope and an optronic mast. The submarine's electronic support measures system and Global Positioning System sensors are also installed on the optronic mast.


The Type 212 is equipped with a highly integrated Command & Weapons Control System which interfaces with sensors, weapons and navigation system. The system is based on a high-performance databus and a distributed computer system, the Basic Command & Weapons Control System (Basic CWCS) supplied by Konsberg Defence & Aerospace of Norway under the trade name MSI-90U.

TORPEDOES

There are six torpedo tubes in two groups of three. Type 212 is equipped with a water ram expulsion system for torpedo launch. The submarine is equipped with the DM2A4 heavyweight torpedo weapon system from Atlas Elektronik.

COUNTERMEASURES

EADS Systems & Defence Electronics and Thales Defence Ltd have been awarded a contract to develop the FL1800U electronic warfare system for the German and Italian navies' U212 submarines. The 1800U is a submarine version of the FL1800 S-II which is in service on the Brandenburg and Bremen class frigates.

A consortium lead by ATLAS Elektronik and ELAC are responsible for the development of the TAU 2000 torpedo countermeasures system. TAU 2000 has four launch containers, each with up to ten discharge tubes equipped with effectors. The effectors are small underwater vehicles, similar in appearance to a torpedo. The effectors are jammers and decoys with hydrophones and acoustic emitters. Multiple effectors are deployed in order to counter torpedoes in re-attack mode.