SUBMARINES

TYPE 206 CLASS

 

Type 206 Class submarine

The Type 206 is a class of diesel-electric U-boats developed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche-Werft AG (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 shipping if the war turned hot. 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.

Of the 18 submarines built for the Bundesmarine (West German Navy), 12 were modernized in the early 1990s and were re-designated as Type 206A; the others have been decommissioned. The current German Navy is starting to decommission some 206A vessels, with more of the new Type 212 submarines being commissioned.
 

TYPE 206 CLASS Specifications
Country of Manufacture Germany
Number in Service 11
Crew 25
Armament 8 x 533mm torpedo tubes, mines
Length 48.6m
Beam 4.6m
Draught 4.0m
Displacement 500 tons
Powerplant Two 600hp diesel engines each coupled to an 1100kW electric motor
Performance Speed 17 knots, range 4,500nm surface, 228nm submerged
First of Class 1973