Type 206 submarine

The Type 206 is a class of diesel-electric submarines

(U-boats) developed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche
Werft (HDW). Its design is based on the preceding
Type 205 submarine class. These small and agile
submarines were built during the Cold War to operate
in the shallow Baltic Sea and attack Warsaw Pact Type 206A-class profile
shipping in the event of military confrontation. The
pressure hulls were built out of non-magnetic steel to
counter the threat of magnetic naval mines and make
detection with MAD sensors more difficult. The low
emission profile allowed the submarines in exercises to
intrude even into well-protected opposing forces such
as carrier formations with their screen.[2]

Programme
Ten Type 205 submarines were constructed between
1962 and 1968 with hulls constructed of a new non- U15 at Kiel Week 2007.
magnetic steel. The early boats, however, suffered from
Class overview
cracking due to stress corrosion and an urgent
programme was initiated to develop a new steel which Builders Howaldtswerke-Deutsche
overcame these problems, which received much Werft
publicity at the time. The new high-strength, non- Nordseewerke
magnetic, austenitic steel has greater elasticity and good
dynamic strength, and has proved very satisfactory in Operators German Navy
service, thoroughly overcoming the doubts that were Colombian National Navy
raised by those early problems, although it has never [1]
been selected by IKL's many export customers and thus
remains unique to German Navy submarines. Preceded by Type 205 submarine
Subsequently, the Type 206 was designed by Ingenieur Succeeded by Type 212 submarine, Type
Kontor Lübeck (IKL) in 1964–65 and a production 209 submarine
order was placed on 7 June 1969 for eight from HDW
Subclasses Gal-class submarine
in Kiel and ten from Nordseewerke in Emden.
Built 1969–1975
Of the 18 submarines built for the Bundesmarine (West
In commission 1973–2011 (Germany)
German Navy), 12 were modernized in the early 1990s
and were re-designated as Type 206A; the others have 2012–present (Colombia)
been decommissioned. The current German Navy is Completed 18
starting to decommission some 206A vessels, with more
of the new Type 212 submarines being commissioned. Active 2
In June 2010 the Ministry of Defence announced that Retired 16
all six remaining vessels were to be retired from active Preserved 1
service immediately and to be decommissioned by the
General characteristics
Type Type 206A submarine
end of 2010 to cut costs. There are no type 206 Displacement 456 tonnes (449 long tons),
submarines left in active service with the German surfaced;
Navy.[3]
500 tonnes (490 long tons),
A slightly modified variant of the Type 206 (which submerged
includes the distinctive dome, or bulge, in the front of Length 48.49 metres (159 ft 1 in)
the boat), the Gal-class submarine for the Israeli Navy
was built to Israeli specifications as the Vickers Type Beam 4.58 metres (15 ft 0 in)
540 in the UK rather than Germany for political Draft 4.30 metres (14 ft 1 in)
reasons. Three such boats were built, the first being Installed 440 kilowatts (590 hp)
commissioned in 1976. When the Israeli navy received
power (diesel)
its new Dolphin-class submarines (also built by HDW),
the Gals were retired. As of 2006, one had been 1,100 kilowatts (1,500 hp)
scrapped and two had been sent to HDW in an attempt (electric)
to find a buyer for them. When no buyer was found,
Propulsion 2 MTU 12V 493, 4-stroke
one of the submarines was returned to Israel for display
in the Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum. diesel engines, each
coupled with an Asea Brown
Boveri-generator
Modernisation
1 Siemens-Schuckert-Werke
A major mid-life modernisation was conducted on electric motor driving single
twelve of these submarines, the boats concerned now five (Type 206) or seven
being officially designated Type 206A. The work (Type 206A) blade propeller
started in mid-1987 and completed in February 1992, Speed 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph),
being carried out by Nordseewerke, Emden; this
surfaced;
upgrade includes:
17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph),
The STN Atlas DBQS-21D sonar has been fitted, submerged
together with new periscopes, and a new weapon
Range 4,500 nautical miles
control system (LEWA). The ESM system has been
replaced and GPS navigation installed. The rebuilt (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 6
submarines are armed with new torpedoes (Seeaal), and knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph),
surfaced
228 nautical miles (422 km;
262 mi) at 4 knots
(7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph),
submerged
Test depth more than 200 m
Complement 22
Sensors and STN Atlas DBQS-21 (CSU83)
processing submarine sonar
systems Thomson-CSF DUUX 2
passive rangefinder sonar
Safare VELOX sonar
intercept
EDO-900 active mine
avoidance sonar
the propulsion system has been comprehensively Thomson-CSF Calypso II
refurbished, and improvements have been made to the surveillance and navigation
accommodation. radar
Electronic Thomson-CSF DR-2000U
List of units warfare ESM system
& decoys Thorn-EMI SARIE
Armament 8 × 533 mm torpedo tubes,
8 DM2A1 Seeaal (206) or
DM2A3 Seehecht (206A)
torpedoes;
24 mines can be carried
externally
 Pennant Call Commis- Decommis-
Name Laid down Launched Fate
number sign sioned sioned

was to be sold to
15 Nov 28 Sep 19 Apr 26 Mar Indonesia as KRI
S192 U13 DRDG
1969 1971 1973 1997 Nagarangsang (403),
scrapped

was to be sold to
1 Feb 19 Apr 26 Mar Indonesia as KRI
S193 U14 DRDH 1 Mar 1970
1972 1973 1997 Nagabanda (404),
scrapped
15 Jun 17 Jul 14 Dec
S194 U15 DRDI 1 Jun 1970
1972 1974 2010

29 Aug 9 Nov Sold to Colombia for spare

S195 U16 DRDJ 1 Nov 1970 3 Mar 2011
1972 1973 parts

Will be preserved as a
10 Oct 28 Nov 14 Dec museum ship at the
S196 U17 DRDK 1 Oct 1970
1972 1973 2010 Technik Museum
Sinsheim.[4]

31 Oct 19 Dec Sold to Colombia for spare

S197 U18 DRDL 1 Apr 1971 3 Mar 2011
1972 1973 parts
was to be sold to
15 Dec 9 Nov 23 Aug
S198 U19 DRDM 5 Jan 1971 Indonesia as KRI
1972 1973 1998
Bramastra (405), scrapped

was to be sold to
16 Jan 24 May 26 Sep
S199 U20 DRDN 3 Sep 1971 Indonesia as KRI Aluguro
1973 1974 1996
(407), scrapped

was to be sold to
15 Apr 9 Mar 16 Aug Indonesia as KRI
S170 U21 DRDO 3 Jun 1998
1971 1973 1974 Cundamani (406),
scrapped
18 Nov 27 Mar 26 Jul 18 Dec
S171 U22 DRDP scrapped
1971 1973 1974 2008

25 May 2 May Sold to Colombia as ARC

S172 U23 DRDQ 5 Mar 1972 3 Mar 2011
1974 1975 Intrépido [1]

20 Mar 26 Jun 16 Oct 31 Mar Sold to Colombia as ARC

S173 U24 DRDR
1972 1973 1974 2011 Indomable [1]
23 May 14 Jun 31 Jan
S174 U25 DRDS 1 Jul 1971
1973 1974 2008 currently for sale[5]

14 Jul 20 Nov 13 Mar

S175 U26 DRDT 9 Nov 2005 scrapped
1972 1973 1975
21 Aug 16 Oct 13 Jun
S176 U27 DRDU 1 Oct 1971 scrapped
1973 1974 1996

22 Jan 18 Dec 30 Jun

S177 U28 DRDV 4 Oct 1972 scrapped
1974 1974 2004

10 Jan 5 Nov 27 Nov 31 Dec

S178 U29 DRDW scrapped
1972 1973 1974 2006
13 Mar 31 Jan
S179 U30 DRDX 5 Dec 1972 4 Apr 1974 scrapped
1975 2007

Notes:
 After its decommissioning, U21 had an ever-changing history: First it should have been sold
to Indonesia as Cundamani.[6] These plans were abandoned and U21 would have been
scrapped in Itzehoe, had HDW not taken it on for a planned company museum in Kiel. This
museum did not materialise, and U21 was gifted to the city of Eckernförde and towed there.
For a short time it operated as a tourist attraction/technology museum, but because of local
politics it was sold for scrap and broken up.
U13, U14, U19 and U20 were also to be sold to Indonesia. Their names would have been
Nagarangsang, Nagabanda, Bramastra and Alugoro.[6]
February/March 2010 the U26, U28 and U30 were towed by Polish tug Ikar to 's-Gravendeel,
Netherlands to be scrapped.[7]
U17 and U26 visited New York City for Fleet Week in 1992.

Exports
The Indonesian Navy intended to acquire five Type 206 submarines in 1997 to supplement its submarine
fleet, then consisted of two Cakra-class (Type 209/1300) submarines.[6] On 25 September 1997,
Indonesian Navy has taken over two Type 206 submarines and planned to refit them, to be followed by
three other submarines. Then in June 1998 Indonesia was running out of funds and the procurement
program was cancelled.[8] The vessels were already assigned with names and pennant numbers by the
Indonesian Navy by the time it was cancelled.[6]

The Colombian Navy purchased four decommissioned Type 206A submarines to boost its submarine
force.[9] Two submarines, named Intrépido (ex-U23) and Indomable (ex-U24) were commissioned into the
Colombian Navy on 28 August 2012. Two submarines (ex-U16 and ex-U18) were acquired to be
cannibalized for spare parts. On 5 December 2015, Intrépido and Indomable entered active service after a
lengthy refit in Germany.[10]

Gallery

U15 of the German U22 of the German

Navy Navy on a special
forces exercise

References
1. UBoote an Kolumbien übergeben (http://www.kn-online.de/Lokales/Kiel/UBoote-an-Kolumbi
en-uebergeben)
2. Lutz Nohse, Eberhard Rössler, Moderne Küsten-Uboote, München 1972, ISBN 3-469-
00390-4
 3. "Klasse 206 A aus der Fahrbereitschaft genommen" (http://www.marine.de/portal/a/marine/!u
t/p/c4/NYs9D8IwDET_kZ2gqlRsfKhSFxATlC1prWKpSSrjwMKPJx24k97y7vCBpdG9eXLKK
boZ79gPvPMfCE4gkyfJ8QXE8UmsFCH7lJRgY2qHt_U9Egwpkq4sA-XCSZwmgSWJzqvJI
sUAj9gbezqYrfnHfpu6Ol5b21Tdub3gEsL-ByJ6LTk!/). Deutsche Marine. Retrieved
2 September 2012.
4. "U-Boot U17 | Technik Museum Speyer" (https://www.technik-museum.de/de/u17?fbclid=IwA
R2_kOmipdaFXIpKFg81GJkwqdX7YfE79qKs3-1Vb75KRozA_Y6lARbZZPM).
5. https://www.vebeg.de/web/en/verkauf/browse.htm?
DO_SUCHE=1&SUCH_KAT=18&SHOW_AUS=1926290
6. "Kapal Selam Type 206 Class – Nyaris Jadi Arsenal Korps Hiu Kencana TNI AL" (https://ww
w.indomiliter.com/ks-type-206-nyaris-jadi-arsenal-korps-hiu-kencana-tni-al/). indomiliter.com
(in Indonesian). 10 January 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
7. Weekblad Schuttevaer of 20 March 2010
8. Sharpe, Richard (2004). Jane's Fighting Ships 2000-2001. Jane's Information Group. p. 311.
ISBN 978-0710620187.
9. "Colombia buys submarines in anti-drug war" (http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-I
ndustry/2012/02/27/Colombia-buys-submarines-in-anti-drug-war/UPI-31111330375956/). 27
February 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
10. "Presidente Santos activó dos submarinos de la Armada Nacional" (http://wp.presidencia.go
v.co/Noticias/2015/Diciembre/Paginas/20151205_05-Presidente-Santos-activo-dos-submari
nos-de-la-Armada-Nacional.aspx). Retrieved 7 December 2015.

Bibliography
Karr, Hans (2014). Deutsche Uboote seit 1956 (in German). Stuttgart: Motorbuch.
ISBN 9783613037083.

External links
Media related to Type 206 submarine at Wikimedia Commons

"Unterseeboot Klasse U206A" (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/u206.ht

m). GlobalSecurity.org. Global Security.
Jane's Major Warships 2003

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