''U-31'' (S181) is a Type 212A

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

of the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...

, and the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of her class. ''U-31'' was built by

TKMS ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems of Germany (often abbreviated TKMS) is a group and holding company of providers of naval vessels, surface ships and submarines. It was founded when large industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp acquired Howaldtswerke-Deutsc ...

, with construction taking place at the shipyards of

Thyssen Nordseewerke Nordseewerke Emden GmbH (sometimes abbreviated NSWE, in English: North Sea Company) was a shipbuilding company, located in the Emden Harbor of the north German city of Emden. Founded in 1903, shipbuilding ended in 2010, and the company was taken ...

Emden Emden () is an independent city and seaport in Lower Saxony in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia and, in 2011, had a total population of 51,528. History The exact founding date of E ...

and

Howaldtswerke Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (often abbreviated HDW) is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Kiel. It is part of the ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) group, owned by ThyssenKrupp. The Howaldtswerke shipyard was founded in Kiel in 183 ...

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

. Launched on 20 March 2002, ''U-31'' was commissioned alongside her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

''U-32'' by German

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

Peter Struck in

Eckernförde Eckernförde ( da, Egernførde, sometimes also , nds, Eckernför, sometimes also ) () is a German town in Schleswig-Holstein, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, on the coast of the Baltic Sea approximately 30 km north-west of Kiel. The population is ...

on 19 October 2005. ''U-31'' is propelled by one

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

and an

electric motor An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...

driven by nine

fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...

s, making the submarine virtually undetectable.

Korvettenkapitän () is the lowest ranking senior officer in a number of Germanic-speaking navies. Austro-Hungary Belgium Germany Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer rank () in the German Navy. Address The offici ...

Bert Petzold is the submarine's commanding officer.

History

''U-31'' was built in two sections, the stern and propulsion by

Nordseewerke Nordseewerke Emden GmbH (sometimes abbreviated NSWE, in English: North Sea Company) was a shipbuilding company, located in the Emden Harbor of the north German city of Emden. Founded in 1903, shipbuilding ended in 2010, and the company was taken ...

, Emden and the bow at

Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (often abbreviated HDW) is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Kiel. It is part of the ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) group, owned by ThyssenKrupp. The Howaldtswerke shipyard was founded in Kiel in 183 ...

, Kiel. The boats of the Type 212A class cost around 500 million euros to build. Equipped with fuel cell technology and stealth skin, they are almost undetectable, and are able to remain submerged for up to three weeks. The fuel cells are virtually emission free, with the exception of distilled water, resulting in less noise, heat and exhaust fumes. ''U-31'' and ''U-32'' were commissioned in a joint ceremony at

on 19 October 2005 by Defence Minister Peter Struck, in the presence of the

Inspector of the Navy The Inspector of the Navy (german: Inspekteur der Marine) is the commander of the Navy of the modern-day German Armed Forces, the Bundeswehr. Since the various bodies responsible for the high command of the German Navy were merged in 2012, the In ...

Vice- Admiral Wolfgang E. Nolting. They and their sister ships are stationed in Eckernförde and form part of the ''

1st Ubootgeschwader The (English: 1st Submarine Squadron) is a submarine squadron of the German Navy. It is based at Eckernförde, Schleswig-Holstein, and forms part of '' Einsatzflottille 1'', headquartered in Kiel. History The ''1st Ubootgeschwader'' (1st UG) w ...

'' (1st Submarine Squadron) in ''

Einsatzflottille 1 ''Einsatzflottille 1'' (EinsFltl 1 or EF 1) is one of the three brigade-level units of the German Navy, in addition to ''Einsatzflottille 2'' and the Naval Air Command. It is based in Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, and is under the head of the Navy Co ...

''.

References

* * ;Specific

External links

* Norddeutscher Rundfunk: "die nordstory: " (Video, German, English subtitles; 58:30 min). TV documentation about U-31 crossing the North Sea on a surface run during a

European windstorm European windstorms are powerful extratropical cyclones which form as cyclonic windstorms associated with areas of low atmospheric pressure. They can occur throughout the year, but are most frequent between October and March, with peak intensit ...

in 2014. Type 212 submarines of the German Navy Ships built in Emden Ships built in Kiel 2002 ships Submarines of Germany Attack submarines {{Germany-mil-ship-stub