Type 201 submarine

Class overview
Builders: Howaldtswerke, Kiel, Germany
Operators:  German Navy
Succeeded by: Type 205 submarine
Planned: 12
Completed: 3
Cancelled: 9
Active: 0
Retired: 3
General characteristics
Type: Type 201 U-boat
Displacement: ~450 t, submerged
Length: 42 m
Beam:   4.6 m
Propulsion:
Speed:
  • 10.7 knots (20 km/h), surfaced;
  • 17.5 knots (32 km/h), submerged
Range:
  • 3,800 nmi (4,800 km), surfaced;
  • 270 nmi at 3 knots, submerged
  • (500 km at 6 km/h)
Complement: 21
Armament:

The Type 201 was Germany's first class of military submarines built after World War II. 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 9 of the 12 ordered submarines and the early retirement of the three completed boats. They were replaced by the very similar Type 205 submarines, that were constructed with normal steel. Responsible for the design and construction was the Ingenieurkontor Lübeck (IKL) headed by Ulrich Gabler.

List of boats

Pennant
number		 Name Shipyard laid down Launched com-
missioned		 decom-
missioned		 fate
S180 U-1 Howaldtswerke 1962 March 20, 1962 1967 rebuilt to Type 205A standards
S181 U-2 Howaldtswerke 1962 May 3, 1962 July 1963 rebuilt to Type 205A standards
S182 U-3 Howaldtswerke 1962 June 20, 1964
S183 U-4 Howaldtswerke 1962 not completed

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

See also


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