| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | Howaldtswerke, Kiel, Germany |
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | Type XXIII U-boat |
| Succeeded by | Type 205 U-boat |
| Built | 1960–1962 |
| In commission | 1962–1967 |
| Planned | 12 |
| Completed | 3 |
| Cancelled | 9 |
| Active | 0 |
| Retired | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Coastal U-boat |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 42.40 m (139 ft 1 in) |
| Beam | 4.60 m (15 ft 1 in) |
| Draft | 3.80 m (12 ft 6 in) |
| Installed power | 880 kilowatts (1,180 hp) diesel generator |
| Propulsion | 1,100 kilowatts (1,500 hp) electric motor |
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Test depth | 100 metres (330 ft) |
| Complement | 21 |
| Sensors and processing systems | sonar, radar, periscope, GHG |
| Armament |
|
The Type 201 was Germany's first U-boat class built after World War II.
Design
They were built out of amagnetic steel to counter the threat of magnetic naval mines, but the material had been insufficiently tested and proved to be problematic in service with the Bundesmarine. Microscopic cracks in the pressure hull forced the cancellation of nine of the twelve ordered submarines and the rebuilding of the first two boats as Type 205 submarines. Responsible for the design and construction was the Ingenieurkontor Lübeck (IKL) headed by Ulrich Gabler.
The price per unit was around 12 million Deutsche Mark.
List of boats
| Pennant number |
Name | Shipyard | Laid down | Launched | Com- missioned |
Decom- missioned |
fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S180 | U-1 | Howaldtswerke | 8 June 1960 | 2 October 1961 | 20 March 1962 | 22 June 1963 | scrapped 1967 |
| S181 | U-2 | Howaldtswerke | 1 September 1960 | 25 January 1962 | 3 May 1962 | 15 August 1963 | scrapped 1967 |
| S182 | U-3 | Howaldtswerke | 12 October 1960 | 7 May 1962 | 20 June 1964 | 15 September 1967 | intentionally destroyed in trials in high pressure chamber "Dock C" (Marinearsenal Kiel 1971), scrapped |
U-3 was loaned to the Royal Norwegian Navy and served under the name Kobben from 1962 to 1964 before being commissioned in the German Navy.
References
- "Nieuwe Duitse Onderzeeërs" (PDF). Klaar Voor Onderwater (in Dutch). Vol. 37, no. 129. Den Helder: Onderzeedienst Reünistenvereniging. September 2014. pp. 13–17. ISSN 2214-6202.
Bibliography
- Karr, Hans (2014). Deutsche Uboote seit 1956 (in German). Stuttgart: Motorbuch. ISBN 9783613037083.
- Taucher.net (in German)
Further reading
- Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen; Budzbon, Przemysław, eds. (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
- Showell, Jak P. Mallmann (2006). The U-boat Century: German Submarine Warfare 1906-2006. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 9781861762412.
- Rössler, Eberhard (2001). The U-boat: The evolution and technical history of German submarines. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN 0-304-36120-8.
| Diesel-electric submarine classes of German origin after World War II | |
|---|---|
| Ship classes of the German Navy | |
|---|---|
| Destroyers | |
| Frigates | |
| Corvettes | |
| Fast attack craft | |
| Gunboats | |
| Mine warfare | |
| Submarines | |
| Training ships | |
| Auxiliary ships | |