HMS Gotland (Gtd)

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Career (Sweden) Swedish Navy Ensign
Laid down: October 10, 1992
Launched: February 2, 1995
Commissioned: 1996
Homeport: Karlskrona, Sweden
Motto:

Gothus sum, cave cornua

(I am Gothlander, watch out for my horns)
Fate: active in service
General characteristics
Displacement: 1526 tons standard, 1647 tons submerged
Length: 60.4 meters (198 feet 2 inches)
Beam: 6.2 meters (20 feet 3 inches)
Draught: 5.6 meters (18 feet 4 inches)
Propulsion: two diesel engines (1,300 brake horsepower each), two Stirling engines (75 kilowatts each), one electric motor (1,800 shaft horsepower), one shaft
Speed: 10 knots surfaced, 20 knots (37 km/h) submerged
Endurance: over 14 days submerged without snorkeling
Test depth: 500 ft (150 m)
Complement: 20 officers, 15 enlisted
Armament: four 533-mm (21-inch) torpedo tubes with 12 torpedoes, two 400-mm (15.75-inch) torpedo tubes with 6 torpedoes, 48 external mines
HMS Gotland transits through San Diego Harbor with the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) following close behind during the “Sea and Air Parade” held as part of Fleet Week San Diego 2005.
HMS Gotland transits through San Diego Harbor with the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) following close behind during the “Sea and Air Parade” held as part of Fleet Week San Diego 2005.

HMS Gotland is an attack submarine of the Swedish Navy. It is the first of the Gotland class, which is the first operational submarine class in the world to use air-independent propulsion (AIP).

She was built by Kockums, launched in 1995 and subsequently commissioned in 1996. The AIP units use liquid oxygen with diesel as the propellant.

[edit] Lease to the United States Navy

In 2004, the Swedish government received a request from the United States of America to lease HMS Gotland – Swedish-flagged, commanded and manned, for a duration one year for use in anti-submarine warfare exercises. The Swedish government granted this request in October 2004, with both navies signing a memorandum of understanding on March 21, 2005.[1][2]

HMS Gotland was loaded onboard the Norwegian semi-submersible heavy-lift ship, MV Eide Transporter, on May 10, 2005 for a month-long voyage over the Atlantic Ocean and through the Panama Canal to Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, California, where it arrived on June 27, 2005.[3][4][5] After a couple weeks of getting accustomed to the new environment, the exercises with United States 3rd Fleet began on July 18, 2005.[6] The lease was extended for another 12 months in 2006.[7][8][9]

HMS Gotland managed to penetrate the massive defensive measures of a carrier battle group undetected and snap several pictures of the USS Ronald Reagan during a wargaming exercise in the Pacific Ocean, effectively "sinking" the aircraft carrier.[10] The exercise was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the US Fleet against modern diesel-electric submarines, which some have noted as severely lacking.[11][12]

In July 2007, HMS Gotland departed San Diego for Sweden.[13]

[edit] References

  1. ^ US Navy Leasing Swedish Gotland-Class Submarine. Deagel. Retrieved on 2004-11-05.
  2. ^ United States Navy (2005-03-23). "U.S., Swedish Navies Sign Agreement to Bilaterally Train on State-of-the-Art Sub". Press release.
  3. ^ Eide Group (2005-06-22). "Eide Transporter arives San Diego". Press release.
  4. ^ "Swedish Submarine HMS Gotland Arrives in San Diego", United States Navy, 2005-06-30. Retrieved on 2008-04-06. 
  5. ^ Why is the U.S. Navy Leasing a Swedish Submarine?. The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. Retrieved on 2005-03-04.
  6. ^ United States Navy (2005-12-20). "Swedish Submarine Continues to Play Important Role in Joint Training". Press release.
  7. ^ "US Navy to continue hunt for Swedish sub", The Local, 2006-04-18. Retrieved on 2006-07-21. 
  8. ^ Kockums AB (2006-06-13). "Gotland extends US stay for another year". Press release. Retrieved on 2006-07-21.
  9. ^ Kockums AB (2007-05-09). "HMS Gotland’s Stirling propulsion system basis of success in the USA". Press release.
  10. ^ "Pentagon: New Class Of Silent Submarines Poses Threat", KNBC, 2006-10-19. Retrieved on 2006-07-21. 
  11. ^ Polmar, Norman (March 2006). "Back to the Future". U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings 132 (3): 22–23. 0041-798X. 
  12. ^ US Navy Struggles to Recapture, Keep ASW Proficiency. The Nav Log. Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
  13. ^ SSK Gotland Class (Type A19) Attack Submarine, Sweden. Naval Technology. Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
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