Saturday, December 16, 2017

The German Navy Does Not Have One Working Submarine

Image: A submarine at the German shipyard Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH in Kiel. Reuters/Fabian Bimmer.

Sebastien Roblin, National Interest: Germany Does Not Have One Working Submarine

On October 15, the submarine U-35 was performing a diving maneuver off the Norwegian coast when one of the four fins on its X-shaped rudder struck a rock. The damage was severe enough it needed to be escorted back to Kiel by the testing ship Helmsand. The fifty-six-meter-long submarine would have to miss an international exercise in the Skagerrak Strait, scheduled for December.

Underwater collisions are a hazard of submarine operations. Both U.S. and Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarines have run aground in recent years. Repairs are often expensive and time-consuming. But spokesman Capt. Johannes Dumrese told a German publication in October that U-35’s accident had an extraordinary consequence.

On paper, the Deutsche Marine has six Type 212A submarines equipped with advanced air-independent propulsion, allowing ultraquiet operations submerged for over two weeks at a time.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: They many not have a working sub for the moment, but at least the German Navy has a cool frigate .... The Curious Case Of Germany's Massive New But Relatively Toothless Type 125 "Frigates" (Warzone/The Drive)

3 comments:

fred said...

Germany's national security council approved the sale of three more nuclear-capable submarines to Israel for a combined price of some $1.3 billion

James said...

That's some hawg!

Anonymous said...

They must have Audi building their subs...