The Dolgorae-class submarine (
Hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
: 돌고래급 잠수정) was a type of
midget submarine
A midget submarine (also called a mini submarine) is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, ...
designed and acquired for the
Republic of Korea Navy
The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN; ko, 대한민국 해군), also known as the ROK Navy or South Korean Navy, is the naval warfare service branch of the South Korean armed forces, responsible for naval and amphibious operations. The ROK Navy in ...
. All three units are now retired.
These midget submarines were the first South Korean submarines of any type. They were acquired primarily to obtain initial experience with the basics of operating a submarine force. The secondary mission to train surface ASW ships in the detection of North Korean midget submarines.
Replacement
In November 2011, South Korea unveiled plans for a new mini-sub designated KSS-500A. In September 2015, ''Jane's.com'' reported that
Hyundai Heavy Industries
Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (HHI; ) is the world's largest shipbuilding company and a major heavy equipment manufacturer. Its headquarters are in Ulsan, South Korea.
History
HHI was founded in 1972 by Chung Ju-yung as a division of the ...
started construction of a single long HDS-400 mini submarine for an unnamed naval customer.
Ships in the class
In November 2017, SSM-051 was opened as a
museum ship
A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...
in the new
Seoul Battleship Park
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
beside the
Han River in western
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
.
References
*''The information in this article is based on that in its
Korean equivalent''.
{{Republic of Korea Navy ships
Midget submarines
Submarines of the Republic of Korea Navy
Ships built by Hanjin Heavy Industries
Submarine classes