Type 201 submarine
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | Howaldtswerke, Kiel, Germany |
| Operators | |
| Succeeded by | Type 205 submarine |
| Built | 1960–1962 |
| In commission | 1962–1967 |
| Planned | 12 |
| Completed | 3 |
| Cancelled | 9 |
| Active | 0 |
| Retired | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Type 201 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) |
| Propulsion |
|
| 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 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 nine of the twelve 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 | 8 June 1960 | 2 October 1961 | 20 March 1962 | 22 June 1963 | |
| S181 | U-2 | Howaldtswerke | 1 September 1960 | 25 January 1962 | 3 May 1962 | 15 August 1963 | broken up |
| S182 | U-3 | Howaldtswerke | 12 October 1960 | 7 May 1962 | 20 June 1964 | 15 September 1967 | sunk in trials 1971 |
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
- Karr, Hans (2014). Deutsche Uboote seit 1956 (in German). Stuttgart: Motorbuch. ISBN 9783613037083.
- Taucher.net (in German)