Type 209 (class)

History

The

209-class diesel-electric attack submarine was West Germany's export-oriented Cold War product, providing budget-conscious navies around the world with fully modern attack-class submarines. This compact submarine design cleverly combines cost effectiveness, noise reduction practices, firepower and underwater performance to provide any discerning customer with an instantly useful dark blue patrol underwater weapon. Initially 64 ships were completed for the course, but only 61 of them were completed, 3 of which were cancelled.

As of 2014, the class still had 59 ships in service.

The Type 209 was number 18 after the Type 206 series built from 1968 to 1975. The Type 209 itself has been replaced by the new Type 214, which was launched in 2007.

Nine of the fifteen ships planned for this class have been completed (2014) and serve Greece, Portugal and South Korea, with Turkey signing up six ships in 2011.

Type 209 operators include Argentina and Brazil. Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Greece, India, Indonesia, Peru, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey and Venezuela. The first ship was commissioned in 1971, and many have been refitted and modernized to meet the threats of the new century.

The largest operator is Turkey with a total of 14 ships, the youngest of which was commissioned in 2007 (Birinci Inonu).

Due to its global reach, Type 209 submarines are allowed to be built by foreign shipyards under local licenses together with German shipyards in Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft and Nordseewerke. Builders include Brazil's Arsenal de Marinha, India's Mazagon Terminals Ltd., South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering and Turkey's Gorchur Naval Shipyard.

As a complete class, there are several variants in the Type 209 class, identified by models 1100, 1200, 1300, 1400 and 1500. They differ slightly in size, although they are all powered by a diesel-electric combination, with 4 diesel engines attached to a single shaft for surface operations and 4 120-cell batteries for underwater operations.

Shaft power is around 5,000 horsepower on all models except the 1500 model, which puts out 6,100 horsepower with a 4 x 132 battery array instead of the usual 120 batteries. Surface speeds are typically around 11 knots, underwater up to 22.5 knots, 11,000 nautical miles of range at snorkel depths, and a mission duration window of about 50 days before resupply is required. The boats were tested at a depth of 500 meters. Like all diesel-electric submarines, this class requires the vessel to surface to charge its battery pack and get a fresh supply of oxygen.

The total crew of ships ranges from 31 out of 1100 to 36 out of 1500.

The weapons of this class are consistent across all variants - a set of 8 x 533mm torpedo tubes with 14 reloads. The ships are also equipped to deliver mines, and optional equipment can support the launch of UGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles.

With many 209-class ships still in service today (2014), the group should remain a major player on the global stage for the foreseeable future. While not as capable or tactically flexible as their nuclear counterparts in the U.S., U.K., France, and Russia, they still provide much-needed undersea capability at cost without the inherent dangers (and environmental waste) of nuclear propulsion.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

WEIGHTS

POWER

PERFORMANCE

ARMAMENT

AIR WING