Type 212 (class)

Type 212 (Class) History

Germany now ranks ninth in the world in terms of defense spending, although it has a much smaller budget compared to the war money of the 1930s - and it does not currently engage in sustained armament with other European powers competition. The USS Nautilus, the first nuclear submarine built in 1954, started a new arms race mainly against the Soviet Union, although it urged other allies to start building nuclear/conventional drives.

Today, with all world powers constrained by defense budgets, the trend in shipbuilding is to produce smaller, multi-mission warships, such as the German Navy's Type 212A submarine. The Type 212A arose out of a joint German-Italian development effort in the 1990s that initially gave rise to the Type 212 designation, which was later updated to the Type 212A brand.

Type 214 is the export name.

The Type 212A replaced the Type 206 series launched in 1971, of which 18 were built (all after decommissioning). The Type 212 was based on the Type 209 diesel-electric Assault class, 61 of which were completed after its introduction in 1971. The Type 212 entered service in 2002 and officially entered service in 2005, with a total of eight ships (U-31, U-32, U-33, U-34, U-35, U-36) completed.

The Type 212A is also in service with the Italian Navy as Salvatore Todaro, Scire and two planned but not yet named ships (S528, S529).

The Type 212A is a traditional diesel powered boat, although it is one of the most advanced submarines in service today. The U-32 (S182) has a barrel length of 183 ft 7.3 in (56 m), a beam of 22 ft 9.7 in (7 m) and a draft of 19 ft 6.9 in (6 m). She had a surprisingly small crew of 5 officers and 22 seamen. Power comes from a single MTU 16V 396 diesel engine capable of cruising along the water at 20 knots (37 km/h) and underwater at 12 knots.

In addition to the diesel engine, there is an additional Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system that uses a Siemens Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) hydrogen fuel cell. The AIP system allows the submarine to switch from diesel powered flanking speeds to quiet and slow cruising speeds.

Hydrogen fuel cells can power the submarine for up to 21 days without surfacing, and combined with its prismatic hull, it's essentially invisible. The smooth connection of the sails to the hull supports her overall stealth characteristics.

The steel hull is made of anti-magnetic material, as are all the metal objects on the boat - even the dishwasher.

The use of hydrogen fuel cells was groundbreaking because at the end of World War II, the US Navy and the British Royal Navy took two German Type XVIIB submarines with experimental hydrogen peroxide propulsion systems as trophies. Due to the lethality of hydrogen peroxide, the U.S.

Navy abandoned the experiment when confined to a small space with the crew. However, its modern form as an air independent propulsion system (AIP) has been redesigned using a small amount of hydrogen in a sheltered, crew-safe environment.

There is a lot of interest in building or buying small submarines that can operate in brown and blue waters without the expense (and danger) of nuclear power. Nuclear power, however, can offer options that diesel power combined with AIP cannotenhanced armament or unlimited voyages with submersible time that conventionally powered ships lack.

The final decision is always the cost of the entire crew-scale weapon system, nuclear versus conventional, and now AIP. A country's overall military missionary principles, combined with the cost of developing nuclear power, have made many people reluctant to use nuclear power.

The German Navy claims that the U-32 (S182) is "the quietest submarine in the world". Conventional submarines use diesel generators to charge their battery packs, but running on batteries alone can drain the energy within a few days.

To recharge the submarine, the ship must climb close to the surface and raise the snorkel so that heat signatures and generator noise from the ship and other submarines can be detected. On this particular boat, engineers suspended the machinery onboard with plastic brackets to reduce hull vibrations. This doesn't completely reduce the noise or heat signature of the vessel in the water, but it certainly helps to delay its effects. Hydrogen fuel cells make no noise and produce water as a by-product.

Nine fuel cells combine hydrogen and oxygen in tanks outside the inner hull, producing enough electricity to power the boat's electric motors for weeks or to charge the boat's many batteries.

To increase the safety of the 212A, with only a small amount of hydrogen on board, the hydrogen tanks are mounted outside the inner hull and are designed to be dumped in and out of the crew area when needed. Although the fire risk is low, firefighters are trained and stationed on board to deal with hydrogen or diesel-related battery fires. Fuel cells have no moving parts and do not generate heat, so the Type 212A/U-32 does not require the cooling tanks that nuclear submarines require to reduce heat signatures. AIP also makes submarines harder to spot.

Underwater, the boat is capable of long silent patrols, keeping its batteries fully charged, and therefore capable of bursts of speed for extended periods of time. If the captain is careful, the boat can repeat this cycle several times over several weeks, allowing for longer dive times.

Vibration and noise reduction is aided by the use of a seven-bladed propeller designed to cut through the water without creating air bubbles or turbulence, and the 3 MW magnetic motor that powers the propeller is the quietest engine available.

The 212A class, in turn, carries many different types of sonar that can identify ships and submarines based on acoustic signatures. The TAS-3 low frequency passive towed sonar array is mounted in the sail so it is unaffected by the propeller when deployed.

The FAS-3 medium and low frequency passive sonar is installed on the hull, and the MOA 3070 minesweeping sonar is also double installed in different positions around the hull. The ship's radar is top notch, with a WASS hearing hydrophone unit and the addition of a Kelvin Hughes 1007 Type I tape radar to navigate depth.

An autopilot kit was also installed, as well as Avio GAUDI and hydraulic systems, as well as a weapon combat system for torpedoes and missiles (Kongsberg MSI-91 system).

The Type 212A features two decks for a unisex crew of 27. The extra sleeping and living space refers to the end of the "warm bunk" where two or three crew members are assigned to the same bunk.

Of course, the commander has his own cabin, although it is closed with a door instead of the old curtain method. The ship's torpedo bays are so spacious that there is no longer a need to divide the interior to reload weapons.

The main armament on board was the torpedoes - 6 torpedo tubes, 3 in each row, 3 in each row, 4 slightly to the left and two slightly to the right. The U-32 is equipped with a water slope launch system to launch torpedoes and missiles (if equipped).

The submarine is equipped with the Atlas Elektronik DM2A4 heavy torpedo weapon system. A common torpedo carried by the U-32 is the new wire-guided SEEHECHT DM 2A4 heavy torpedo - carrying 13 torpedoes, each armed with a 260kg PBX warhead.

The A184 Mod 3 Black Shark torpedo can also be carried with 24 externally mounted mines, optional depending on the mission. By 2014, the new IDAS missile is expected to be deployed in this class, a short-range missile capable of countering incoming air, ground and land-based coastal threats as needed. The rocket quads fit into the magazine, which can then be loaded into the torpedo tubes as usual.

In addition, German naval special forces could fire through torpedo tubes while wearing breathing apparatus. This ability to move special forces closer to shore makes the 212A class and its ilk ideal for modern navies seeking blue and brown water capable submarines.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

POWER

PERFORMANCE

ARMAMENT

AIR WING