Type 214 submarine
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USS Nimitz (CVN 68) is moored near of the ROKS Son Won-il (SS 072), a Type 214 submarine, in Busan Naval Base, Republic of Korea. |
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Class overview | |
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Builders: | Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft|HDW Hellenic Shipyards Co. Hyundai Heavy Industries |
Operators: | Hellenic Navy Republic of Korea Navy |
In service: | 2007 |
Building: | 3 3 |
Completed: | 4 |
Active: | S Papanikolis (S 120) S Pipinos (S 121) S Matrozos (S 122) S Katsonis (S 123) Son Won-il (SS 072) Jung Ji (SS 073) An Jung-geun (SS 075) |
General characteristics | |
Displacement: | 1700 t (surfaced) |
Length: | 65.0 m |
Beam: | 6.3 m |
Draught: | 6.0 m |
Propulsion: | low noise skew back propeller |
Speed: | 12 kt surfaced 20 kt submerged |
Range: | 12,000 miles surfaced 420 nmi @ 8 kt 1248 nmi @ 4 kt |
Complement: | 5 officers + 22 crew |
Armament: | (8) 533 mm torpedo tubes, (4) subharpoon-capable |
The Type 214 is a diesel-electric submarine developed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (HDW). It features diesel propulsion with an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system using Siemens polymer electrolyte module (PEM) hydrogen fuel cells. It is based on features of the Type 212, but as the export version of the more advanced Type 212 submarine it lacks the non-magnetic hull (to avoid detection) and other classified technologies. Also Type 214 is more similar to the very successful Type 209 submarine, while Type 212 was an independent project of the German Navy with significant changes to Type 209.
Contract to build three boats for Hellenic Navy was signed 15 February 2000 and a fourth one was ordered in June 2002. The first boat was built at HDW in Kiel, Germany and the rest at the Hellenic Shipyards Co. in Skaramangas, Greece. The Hellenic Navy calls the Papanikolis class.
South Korea has ordered three Type 214 boats, to be built in Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries, which will enter service from 2009.[1] ROK Navy calls the Son Won-il class.
Due to improvements in the pressure hull materials type 214 can dive more than 250 m (officially).[1]
Type 214 can carry food, fresh water and fuel for 50 days of operation.
Contents |
[edit] Operators
[edit] Greece
The Greece Papanikolis U214 class is equipped with a hoistable radar mast which does not penetrate the pressure hull of the submarine. In the top of the radar mast the radar transmitter is installed. This transmitter is part of the SPHINX Radar System supplied by Thales Defence Deutschland GmbH in Kiel. The radar sensor is a FMCW transceiver which can't be detected by ESM systems in medium terms. This technology is so called LPI radar, which means "Low probability of intercept". The transmitting power is lower than the power of a mobile phone but the resolution more precise compared to high power Pulse radar. Thales SPHINX radar is a tactical radar, designed for submarines.
[edit] South Korea
The South Korean Son Won-il U214 class is equipped with a SPHINX-D Radar System supplied by Thales Defence Deutschland GmbH. It uses an additional pulse transmitter in the top of the mast. The combination of high power pulse radar and a very low power LPI transmitter is very effective for submarines. During surface operations, the boat sails with an open pulse fingerprint for ESM systems, but within a secret mission the operator switches to LPI mode. The boat remains invisible for others.
[edit] Pakistan
The Pakistan Navy is reportedly negotiating for the purchase of 3 Type 214 submarines, all of which to be built in Pakistan. [2]
[edit] Turkey
The Turkish Navy is considering to buy 6 air-independent propulsion (AIP) submarines and regards to the Turkish knowledge on German class ships they probably be Type 214 class and will be built in Turkey.
[edit] Boats
Country | Pennant | Name | Laid down | Launch Date | Commission Date |
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Greece | S 120 | Papanikolis | 27 February 2001 | April 2004 | postponed |
S 121 | Pipinos | February 2003 | November 2006 | postponed | |
S 122 | Matrozos | February 2004 | November 2007 | postponed | |
S 123 | Katsonis | 2005 | 2007 | postponed | |
South Korea | SS 072 | Son Won-il | October 2002 | 9 June 2006 | 27 December 2007 |
SS 073 | Jung Ji | 2004 | 13 June 2007 | November 2008 | |
SS 075 | An Jung-geun | 4 June 2008 |
[edit] General characteristics
- Displacement: 1700 t surfaced / 1980 t submerged(GR) / 1860 t submerged(SK)
- Dimensions: length 65 m / beam 6.3 m / draught 6 m
- Pressure hull: austenitic steel
- Armament: 8 533 mm torpedo tubes, 4 subharpoon-capable
- Propulsion: low noise skew back propeller
- Diesel engines: 2 MTU 16V 396 (6.24 MW)(GR) / 1 MTU 16V 396 (3.12 MW)(SK)
- AIP system: 2 HDW PEM fuel cells (240 kW)(GR) / 9 HDW PEM fuel cells (306 kW)(SK)
- Electric motor: 1 Siemens Permasyn (2.85 MW)
- Speed: 12 kt surfaced / 20 kt submerged
- Speed on fuel cells: 2-6 kt estimated
- Range surfaced: 12000 miles
- Range submerged: 420 nmi @ 8 kt
- Range on fuel cells: 1248 nmi @ 4 kt
- Mission endurance: 12 weeks
- Submerged without snorkelling: 3 weeks
- Operating depth: more than 250 m officially, 400 m estimated
- Complement: 5 officers + 22 crew
[edit] Greek Navy orders
The Hellenic Navy is procuring four Type 214 submarines to be known as the "Katsonis-class". The first, Papanikolis, was built in Germany; the following three were scheduled for construction at HDW's Hellenic Shipyards in Greece.
In December, 2006, StrategyPage reported that Papanikolis was found to have numerous technical problems.[3] Among the reported problems with the submarine were excessive propeller cavitation, overheating of the air-independent propulsion system's fuel cells, and excessive rolling in bad weather when surfaced. Seapower magazine reported the Hellenic Navy refused to accept Papanikolis; additional problems noted were inadequate air-independent propulsion system output power, inappropriate periscope vibration, sonar flank array problems and seawater leakage into the ship's hydraulics.[4]
TKMS, the German shipbuilder of Type 214, has asserted that it solved all the boat's technical problems 2006 and claims continued Greek Navy complaints about the Papanikolis' technical condition are just a ploy to justify a price reduction. Therefore, TKMS has refused to deliver the boat to the Greek Navy until all debts are paid and the Papanikolis has been lying in Kiel harbor ever since 2006.[5]
The second boat, Pipinos, was officially launched in February 2007 and is at present going through Greek harbour acceptance trials in Piraeus.
[edit] Korean Navy orders
In March, 2008, the largest newspaper in Korea, Chosun Daily, reported [6] that the first type 214 submarine delivered to the Republic of Korea Navy in December 2007 had critical defect related to excessive noise. It is rumored that this is the same cavitation noise problem that Greek navy discovered with their Type 214s. The excessive noise problem was noted prior to the delivery and the German firm, HDW, promised to repair the problem in near future and posted $5M cash bond to convince the Korean navy to accept the delivery.
[edit] See also
- Type 212 submarine, the new submarine class of the German Navy
- Type 206 submarine
[edit] References
- ^ Type 212. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
- ^ U-boat-Deal with Pakistan contrived (German). Retrieved on 2007-04-21.
- ^ "Type 214 Stumbles Into Greece", StrategyPage.com, 2006-12-11. Retrieved on 2007-11-30.
- ^ "Greece Refuses Delivery Of First Type-214 Submarine", Seapower, Navy League of the United States, December 2006. Retrieved on 2007-11-30.
- ^ "TKMS will not deliver the boats until all debts are paid", Segeberger Zeitung, March 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
- ^ "Newest submarine for Navy is defective", chosun.com, 2008-03-14. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.