The Type 209-class is commercially the most successful submarine in the last 50 years.
Thanks to its flexible design, which allows being answered the individual requirements
of each customer, fourteen navies have preferred this submarine. Many countries have learnt
how to build a modern submarine by the Type 209-class. Now, we are investigating the Type
209-class and its five subclasses. Please don't forget to subscribe to our channel,
before we start and give us a thumbs up if you like our video. To be notified of our
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our channel. Today, no one can plan a naval operation on
many major waterways without taking the Type 209-class into account. These submarines are
patrolling around the Korean Peninsula, Malacca Strait, East Meditaerian, which are some of
the hottest spots in the world. They are the main underwater combat force of South America.
The Type 209-class is the only submarine in Sub-Saharan Africa.
To better understand this achievement, let's take a look at the history first.
Since the First World War, Germany has been one of the countries that invested the most
in submarines. Because it had to. Yes, before the Great War, the German Empire
had tried to build up a surface fleet, which could compete with the mighty Royal Navy.
But, building a vast number of Dreadnoughts was not enough.
The Brits knew how to fight on the seas better than the Germans.
After the Battle of Jutland, the Kaiserliche Marine had to accept this fact, and it decided
to fight underwater. So, the U-Boat legend began.
During the Second World War, the main naval warfare element of Germany was submarines.
The challenging conditions of the Battle of Atlantic sharpened the German submarine design
capabilities. The Type XXI-class was far superiors to its
counterparts in the world. But, it was too late.
Although it was never used in combat, the Type XXI-class was a huge success. Because
it changed the submarine designs. After the Second World War, even the Allies adopted
them for military and experimental purposes. After a long slience, in the 1960s, the German
U-boats began to shine again. After the Second World War, the USA had many
surplus submarines. So, the countries with good relations with Washington could have
the GUPPY-class submarines. Also, the USSR began to build a tremendous
amount of new submarines just after the Second World War. So, the countries with good relations
with Moscow could find a new submarine easily. So, until the late 1960s, the international
market for the submarines had been unprofitable. But, now, many countries needed to replace
their obsolete underwater fleets. This situation was most beneficial for Germany.
As the major Western naval powers, France, the UK, and the USA had focused on nuclear
submarines. Their main operational areas were the oceans.
However, due to its geographical conditions, Germany was still focusing on coastal diesel-electric
submarines. Also, France, the UK, and the USA had big
navies. They were creating a big market for their national shipbuilding companies. This
made them less aggressive in the international market.
On the contrary, Germany had a big shipbuilding capability, but its navy was comparatively
small. So, German shipyards had to be more aggressive in the international market to
survive. Under these circumstances, the German Ingenieurkontor Lübeck designed the Type
209-class for export purposes. It was based on the Type 206-class of the
German Navy. The reason why Germany did not prefer marketing
the Type 206-class was because it was too small and effective only shallow waters.
But, the world needed a submarine, which could be effective in both coastal and open waters.
Also, a bigger platform could be configurated more easily to answer the customer demands.
The hull design was offering good surfaced and submerged seakeeping capabilities as well
as a low acoustic signature. The Type 209-class could reach a range of 740 kilometres, in
other words, 400 nautical miles between two snorting periods. The single pressured hull
was made of HY 80 steel, which can be detected by anti-submarine warfare aircraft fitted
with MAD sensors. There was an option available to construct
the Type 209 of non-magnetic steel, but, as far as is known, no export customers have
yet preferred this option. The submarine's forward and aft trim tanks were making the
dive and surface manoeuvres easy. It was fitted with a snorkel and remote machinery control.
Greece became the first customer of the first variant of the submarine, the Type 209/1100.
The first boat of the class, HS Glavkos, was laid down in 1968, launched in 1970, and commissioned
in 1971. The Hellenic Navy had ordered four Type 209/1100-classes, which is also known
as Glavkos-class. But, while three were completed as Type 209/1100, HS Triton was completed
as Type 209/1200. Some sources claim that Peru acquired two
Type 209/1100-class submarines. But, according to Jane's, all six boats of the Peruvian Navy
are the Type 209/1200-class. Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador,
Egypt, Greece, India, Indonesia, Peru, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, and Venezuela
are the user of the Type 209-class. The complement of the Glavkos-class is 31-person.
The submarine has a length of 54.4 metres, a beam of 6.2 metres, and a draught of 5.5
metres. Its surfaced displacement is 1,100 tons, while its submerged displacement is
1,210 tons. The propulsion system consists of four 2,400 horsepower MTU 12V 493 AZ80
diesel engines and one 4,600 horsepower Siemens electric engine. Its maximum surfaced speed
is 11 knots, while its maximum submerged speed is 21.5 knots. The Glavkos-class can reach
a range of 18,500 kilometres, iın other words, 9,990 nautical miles at a speed of 10 knots.
It has eight 533mm torpedo tubes, and it can launch the SUT torpedoes.
Between 1993 and 1997, all Glavkos-class submarines were modernized, and they have gained the
capability of launch UGM-84 Sub-Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
Different from the previous variant, The Type 209/1200-class has trim tanks at the bottom
that keep the submarine at near-zero speed by making that precise trim adjustment. As
we mentioned before, HS Triton was completed as Type 209/1200. This boat was commissioned
in 1972. Also, Greece acquired four additional submarines of this class, called Poseidon-class.
The first boat of this class, HS Poseidon, was commissioned in 1979.
Greece decided to modernize its Type 209/1200s under the Neptune II Programme; however, only
HS Oceanos was modernized due to economic difficulties. An air-independent propulsion
system is integrated into the submarine, which has been extended the subamerine by 6.5 meters.
Argentina commissioned two Type 209/1200-class submarines, also called Salta-class, in 1974.
Argentina assembled them, but components were manufactured in Germany. However, due to technical
and economic difficulties, this study was not successful as desired. Today, only ARA
Salta is operational, but she is used for dockside training only. ARA San Luis was decommissioned
in 1997. Between 1974-1983, the Peruvian Navy commissioned
six Type 209/1200s, defined as the Casma-class first and the Angamos-class later. Today,
these submarines are modernized with the ability to launch the UGM-84 Sub Harpoon missiles.
The Colombian Navy has two Type 209/1200s and defines them as Pijao-class.
Turkey ordered six of these Type 209/1200s in 1974 and began to build these submarines
in its own naval shipyards after the first three. The Turkish Navy defines them as Ay-class.
In 2011, the Turkish Navy decided to modernized TCG Doğanay and TCG Dolunay of this class.
The submarines are being equipped with locally developed electronic support measure systems.
TCG Saldıray and TCG Atılay of this class were decommissioned in 2014 and 2016 respectively.
The final customer of the Type 209/1200-class is South Korea. The Republic of Korea Navy
has a total of nine submarines, and it defines them as Chang Bogo-class under the KSS I Programme.
The first boat was built in Germany, while the remaining boats were built in South Korea.
They can launch the Sub-Harpoon missiles. South Korea is working on Lithium-ion battery
power stacks for the submarines. Indonesia also acquired three Chang Bogo-class
submarines, and it defines them as Nagapasa-class. The submerged displacement of the Poseidon
and Pijao-classes is 1,285 tons. The Angamos-class is 1,290 tons.
The Ay-class is 1,185 tons. The Salta-class is 1.440 ton. A standard Type
209/1200 is 55.9 metres long. But, the Ay-class has a length of 61.2 metres.
After modernization, the Chang Bogo-class has a length of 61 metres and a submerged
displacement of 1,400 tons. The first Type 209/1300-class was commissioned
by Venezuela. The Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela defines them as Sábalo-class. Of these submarines,
originally planned to be four, only two were built due to economic difficulties. The Sábalo-class
has a length of 61.2 metres and a submerged displacement of 1,600 tons.
Two Ecuadorian Type 209/1300s, also known as Shyri-class, were commissioned in 1977
and 1978. They have a length of 59.5 metres and a submerged displacement of 1,390 tons.
Indonesia defines its two Type209/1300-class submarines as Cakra-class.
On April 21, 2021, KRI Nanggala of this class was missed during a torpedo drill. Her wreckage
was found three days later. Chile, the last user of this variant, commissioned
its two submarines in 1984 as the Thomson-class. Unlike other Type 209/1300s, the masts of
the Chilean submarines are 0.5 meters longer due to the extremely wavy nature of the region.
The Cakra and Thomson-classes have the same dimension and submerged displacement as the
Shyri-class. Brazil is the first customer of the Type 209/1400
variant. The Brazilian Navy defines them as Tupi-class and has five of them. The first
submarine was built in Germany, and the other four in Brazil.
Different from the first four boats, the last submarine, Tikuna, has a different nose that
reduces acoustic signature and a longer submerged range.
The Tupi-class has a length of 61 metres and a submerged displacement of 1,440 tons.
The Turkish Navy has eight Type 209/1400s. All of the submarines were built in Turkey.
The first four are defined as Preveze-class, while the last four as Gür-class. The main
differences between them are the torpedoes and electronic systems. The Preveze and Gür-classes
have a length of 62 metres and a submerged displacement of 1,586 tons.
Also, Egypt and South Africa preferred the Type 209/1400 variant.
South Africa defines its three submarines as Heroine-class.
The Portuguese U-209PN-class submarines are actually the Type 214-class.
Initially, India had planned to acquire six Type 209/1500-class submarines, defined as
Shishumar-class. The first two would be built in Germany and the last four in India. However,
due to major technical problems, the programme was terminated after a total of four boats
were built. The Shishumar-class has a length of 64.4 metres and a submerged displacement
of 1,850 tons. These submarines are equipped with the Gabler integrated escape sphere for
the full crew. All Type 209 variants can be operated for
50 days without replenishment. While the Shishumar-class can dive to a depth
of 260 metres, in other words, 850 feet, the other variants can dive to 250 metres, which
is 820 feet. The Type 209 users have preferred different
electronics, engines, and torpedoes due to their own operational requirements.
Argentina is the only country to use these submarines in combat. During the 1982 Falklands
War, ARA San Luis served for 36 days. She was one of the main concerns of the Royal
Navy. During the war, ARA San Luis sent her torpedoes on HMS Brilliant, HMS Yarmouth,
HMS Alacrity and HMS Arrow frigates, as well as an unknown nuclear submarine. But, due
to fire control computer failure, all attempts were fruitless.
Even it has not proved itself in a real war, the commercial success of the Type 209-class
is unmatched. Next September, the submarine will have completed its 50th year at sea.
Considering that Egypt and Indonesia have commissioned new Type 209s this year, it would
be no surprise that we will see them on active duty in the next 50 years. This undoubtedly
makes the Type 209-class a true legend. Thanks for watching our video. And please
don't forget to subscribe to our channel and give us a thumbs up if you liked our video.
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