The U212 : The Skinny
Name:
Deutche Unterseeboot U212
Type of Equipment:
Submarine
Killer Features:
Submerged operation capability far superior to that of older diesel-electric submarines.
Capable of remaining submerged for 3 weeks.
Anti-ship torpedoes have a range of more than 50km.
Newest non-nuclear submarine currently in production.
First submarine to field a functional and effective AIP system
It can lay silently submerged for weeks (to better watch you); it uses an integrated DBQS-40 sonar system (to better hear you); and, it is equipped with a heavyweight torpedo weapon system (to better hurt you). As the newest non-nuclear submarine currently in production, the Deutche Unterseeboot U212 is one "wolf" Little Red Riding Hood would never confuse with her grandmother.
Like any tall tale, the capabilities of the U212 seem far-fetched. For starters, it is capable of being underwater for up to three consecutive weeks -- THREE WEEKS! You try holding your breathe that long!
The secret behind the U212's underwater endurance lies in its air-independent propulsion (AIP) system. Developed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (HDW), the U212's AIP system uses a silently operating fuel cell plant. The plant, running on nine 34-kilowatt Siemens polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) hydrogen fuel cells , allows the submarine to remain submerged for weeks at a time without surfacing, ideal for extended underwater/ low speed operations. Without a need to snorkel, the AIP system also allows the U212 to operate silently without emitting exhaust heat, reducing detection.
The U212 also uses a state-of-the-art sensory system (As good ol' granny would say, "To better hear you with."). An integrated DBQS-40 sonar system aboard incorporates the following: a cylindrical array for passive medium-frequency detection; a TAS-3 low-frequency towed array sonar; a FAS-3 flank array sonar for low/medium frequency detection; a passive ranging sonar; a hostile sonar intercept system; and, an active high-frequency mine detection sonar - the STN Atlas Elektronik MOA 3070.
So, it can pounce like a wolf and hear like a wolf, but how strong is its bite?
Much like a wild animal, you wouldn't want to anger a U212. Besides carrying up to 24 sea mines externally, the submarine is armed with the DM2A4 torpedo from STN Atlas Elektronik. The DM2A4 -- aka Seahake Mod 4 -- is an electrically-driven torpedo that has a range of more than 27 nautical miles (50km) and a speed of approximately 50 kts. The DM2A4 uses new, conformal acquisition sonar, featuring 38 staves (152 transducers), which produce pre-formed, wide-angle beams. In addition, the Seahake utilizes a 250kg hexagon/RDT/aluminum high-explosive warhead (equivalent to 460kg of TNT) with magnetic influence and contact fuzes, as well as a wake sensor to improve torpedo counter-countermeasures capabilities.
Additionally, the U212's torpedo launchers have something most other submarines do not have -- a water ram expulsion system. Don't you wish you had one? Whereas the 688 Los Angeles class launches torpedoes using "noisy" compressed air, the Type 212's water ram expulsion system ejects the torpedo from the tube without the launch "transient" associated with using compressed air. In other words, the 212 can fire torpedoes stealthily, reducing the possibility for a counter attack. (Can you hear the high praises of its 27-man crew, including the U212's 5 officers?)
To further protect itself, the U212 employs the TAU 2000 torpedo system. Used as a countermeasure, the TAU 2000 has four launch containers, each with up to ten discharge tubes equipped with effectors. Effectors are small underwater vehicles similar in appearance to a torpedo that act as decoys or jammers. When deployed in multiple numbers, effectors use hydrophones and acoustic emitters to counter torpedoes in re-attack mode. (The crew is on its feet!)
A successful endeavor: the U212.
CONCLUSION
Initially, an order of four Type 212 submarines was placed by the German government in 1998: two to be built by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) in Kiel and two by Thyssen Nordseewerke GmbH (TNSW) in Emden. Now, two submarines of the same design are being built by Fincantieri for the Italian Navy.
Overall, the U212 represents a leap in technology. From its air-independent propulsion system to its DM2A4 torpedoes, in the U212 the German Navy possesses the most advanced conventional submarine in the world. As the first submarines built for the Deutsche Marine since 1974, the U212 can be classified as a successful endeavor - an endeavor that once may have seemed far-fetched
