HMS Gotland (Gtd)
 HMS Gotland |
|
| Career (Sweden) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Gotland |
| Namesake: | Swedish island Gotland |
| Builder: | Kockums |
| Laid down: | 10 October 1992 |
| Launched: | 2 February 1995 |
| Commissioned: | April 1996 |
| Homeport: | Karlskrona, Sweden |
| Motto: |
Gothus sum, cave cornua |
| Fate: | Active in service |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1526 tons standard, 1647 tons submerged |
| Length: | 60.4 meters (198 feet 2 inches) |
| Beam: | 6.2 meters (20 feet 3 inches) |
| Draught: | 5.6 meters (18 feet 4 inches) |
| Propulsion: | two diesel engines (1,300 brake horsepower each), two Stirling engines (75 kilowatts each), one electric motor (1,800 shaft horsepower), one shaft |
| Speed: | 10 knots surfaced, 20 knots (37 km/h) submerged |
| Endurance: | over 14 days submerged without snorkeling |
| Test depth: | 500 ft (150 m) |
| Complement: | 20 officers, 15 enlisted |
| Armament: | four 533-mm (21-inch) torpedo tubes with 12 torpedoes, two 400-mm (15.75-inch) torpedo tubes with 6 torpedoes, 48 external mines |
HMS Gotland (Gtd) is an attack submarine of the Swedish Navy. It is the first of the Gotland class, which is the first operational submarine class in the world to use air-independent propulsion (AIP).
It was built by Kockums, launched in 1995 and subsequently commissioned in 1996. The AIP units use liquid oxygen with diesel as the propellant.
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In 2004, the Swedish government received a request from the United States of America to lease HMS Gotland – Swedish-flagged, commanded and manned, for a duration one year for use in anti-submarine warfare exercises. The Swedish government granted this request in October 2004, with both navies signing a memorandum of understanding on 21 March 2005.[1][2]
Gotland was loaded onboard the Norwegian semi-submersible heavy-lift ship, MV Eide Transporter, on 10 May 2005, for a month-long voyage over the Atlantic Ocean and through the Panama Canal to Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, California, where it arrived on 27 June 2005.[3][4][5] After a couple weeks of getting accustomed to the new environment, the exercises with United States 3rd Fleet began on 18 July 2005.[6] The lease was extended for another 12 months in 2006.[7][8][9]
Gotland managed to penetrate the massive defensive measures of a carrier battle group undetected and snap several pictures of the USS Ronald Reagan during a wargaming exercise in the Pacific Ocean, effectively "sinking" the aircraft carrier.[10] The exercise was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the US Fleet against modern diesel-electric submarines, which some have noted as severely lacking.[11][12]
In July 2007, Gotland departed San Diego for Sweden.[13]
[edit] Gallery
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HMS Gotland onboard M/V Eide Transporter in San Diego.
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HMS Gotland transits through San Diego Harbor with the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan following close behind during the “Sea and Air Parade” held as part of Fleet Week San Diego 2005.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "US Navy Leasing Swedish Gotland-Class Submarine". Deagel. http://www.deagel.com/news/US-Navy-Leasing-Swedish-Gotland-Class-Submarine_n000000395.aspx. Retrieved 2004-11-05.
- ^ "U.S., Swedish Navies Sign Agreement to Bilaterally Train on State-of-the-Art Sub" (Press release). United States Navy. 2005-03-23. http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=17621.
- ^ "Eide Transporter arrives San Diego" (Press release). Eide Group. 2005-06-22. http://www.eide-gruppen.no/nyheten.cfm?nyid=144&lang=1.
- ^ "Swedish Submarine HMS Gotland Arrives in San Diego". United States Navy. 2005-06-30. http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=18984. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
- ^ "Why is the U.S. Navy Leasing a Swedish Submarine?". The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. http://www.jinsa.org/articles/articles.html/function/view/categoryid/164/documentid/2873/history/3,2360,656,164,2873. Retrieved 2005-03-04.[dead link]
- ^ "Swedish Submarine Continues to Play Important Role in Joint Training" (Press release). United States Navy. 2005-12-20. http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=21464.
- ^ "US Navy to continue hunt for Swedish sub". The Local. 2006-04-18. http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=3574. Retrieved 2006-07-21.
- ^ "Gotland extends US stay for another year" (Press release). Kockums AB. 2006-06-13. http://www.kockums.se/News/060613gotland.html. Retrieved 2006-07-21.
- ^ "HMS Gotland’s Stirling propulsion system basis of success in the USA" (Press release). Kockums AB. 2007-05-09. http://www.kockums.com/News/070509gotland.html.
- ^ "Pentagon: New Class Of Silent Submarines Poses Threat". KNBC. 2006-10-19. http://www.knbc.com/news/10116514/detail.html?rss=la&psp=news. Retrieved 2006-07-21.
- ^ Polmar, Norman (March 2006). "Back to the Future". U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings 132 (3): 22–23. 0041-798X.
- ^ "US Navy Struggles to Recapture, Keep ASW Proficiency". The Nav Log. http://navlog.org/asw_feb06.html. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
- ^ "SSK Gotland Class (Type A19) Attack Submarine, Sweden". Naval Technology. http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/gotland/. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
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