The German Type 212 class (German: U-Boot-Klasse 212 A), also Italian ''Todaro'' class, is a diesel-electric submarine developed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) for the German and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

navies. It features diesel propulsion and an additional air-independent propulsion (AIP) system using Siemens proton exchange membrane (PEM) compressed hydrogen fuel cells. The submarines can operate at high speed on diesel power or switch to the AIP system for silent slow cruising, staying submerged for up to three weeks with little exhaust heat. The system is also said to be vibration-free, extremely quiet and virtually undetectable. Type 212 is the first fuel cell propulsion system equipped submarine series.

Development

At the beginning of the 1990s 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 ...

was seeking a replacement for the Type 206 submarines. Initial study started on a Type 209 improved design, with AIP capability, called Type 212. The final programme started in 1994 as the two navies of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

began working together to design a new conventional submarine, respectively to operate in the shallow and confined waters of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

and in the deeper waters of the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

. The two different requirements were mixed into a common one and, because of significant updates to the design, the designation has been changed to Type 212A since then. On 22 April 1996 a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) gave the start to the cooperation for building four vessels for

and four vessels for Italian Navy. Its main aim was the construction of identical boats and the start of a collaboration in logistic and life-cycle support for the two navies. The German government placed an initial order of four ''Type 212A'' submarines in 1998. The German Submarine Consortium built them at the shipyards of HDW and Thyssen Nordseewerke GmbH (TNSW) of Emden. Different sections of the submarines were constructed at both sites at the same time and then half of them were shipped to the respective other yard so that both HDW and Thyssen Nordseewerke assembled two complete submarines each. In the same year the Italian government placed an order of two ''U212A'' submarines built by

Fincantieri Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014 ...

for the Italian Navy (''Marina Militare'') at

Muggiano Lerici ( lij, Lerxi, locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of La Spezia in Liguria (northern Italy), part of the Italian Riviera. It is situated on the coast of the Gulf of La Spezia, southeast of La Spezia. It is known as the plac ...

shipyard, designated as the Todaro class. The German Navy ordered two additional, improved submarines in 2006, to be delivered from 2012 on. They will be 1.2 meters longer to give additional space for a new reconnaissance mast. On 21 April 2008 the Italian Navy ordered the optional second batch of submarine, in the same configuration of the original ones. Some upgrading should involve materials and components of commercial derivation, as well as the software package of the CMS. The intention is to keep the same configuration of the first series and reduce maintenance costs. The export-oriented

Type 214 submarine The Type 214 is a diesel-electric submarine developed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (HDW). It features diesel propulsion with an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system using Siemens polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) hydrogen fuel cell ...

succeeds the

Type 209 submarine The Type 209 is a class of diesel-electric attack submarine developed exclusively for export by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft of Germany. The original variant (Type 209/1100) was designed in the late 1960s. The class is exclusively designed for ...

and shares certain features with the Type 212A, such as the AIP fuel cell propulsion. Poland announced in December 2013 they will not buy, but only lease, two U212-A's, on account of not meeting "requirements of tactical and technical equipment developed by the military, including in particular the propulsion system, missile weapons and rescue system". On 22 December 2015 Admiral Giuseppe De Giorgi, Commander in Chief of the Italian Navy, announced plans to build another two U212A submarines. In October 2016, during the celebration of the commissioning of ''U36'', the German Navy announced the intent to procure another batch of two U212A within the next decade.

Type 212CD

In February 2017, it was announced that the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...

will procure four submarines based on Type 212. Initial plans envisaged service entry between 2025 and 2028. However, the Norwegian 2020 Defence Plan later envisaged service entry "around 2030". This "CD" (Common Design) variant of the Type 212 will consist of six submarines, with the German Navy ordering two new boats alongside the four Norwegian vessels. In March 2021 it was indicated that an agreement had been reached between Norway and Germany to initiate the acquisition program, pending approval by the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Common ...

. The contract for construction of the six boats was signed in July 2021 with delivery of the first boat to the Royal Norwegian Navy anticipated in 2029.

Design

Partly owing to the "X" arrangement of the stern planes, the ''Type 212'' is capable of operating in as little as 17 metres of water. This is a long-standing requirement for German submarine designs, enabling them to pass a strategic point in the Baltic Sea (the "Kadettrinne") submerged. This allows it to come much closer to shore than most contemporary submarines. This gives it an advantage in covert operations, as SCUBA-equipped

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s operating from the boat can surface close to the beach and execute their mission more quickly and with less effort. A notable design feature is the prismatic hull cross-section and smoothly faired transitions from the hull to the sail, improving the boat's stealth characteristics. The ship and internal fixtures are constructed of nonmagnetic materials, significantly reducing the chances of it being detected by magnetometers or setting off magnetic

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ...

Air-independent propulsion

Although hydrogen–oxygen propulsion had been considered for submarines as early as World War I, the concept was not very successful until recently due to fire and explosion concerns. In the ''Type 212'' this has been countered by storing the fuel and oxidizer in tanks outside the crew space, between the

pressure hull A submarine hull has two major components, the ''light hull'' and the ''pressure hull''. The light hull (''casing'' in British usage) of a submarine is the outer non-watertight hull which provides a hydrodynamically efficient shape. The pressure ...

and outer light hull. The gases are piped through the pressure hull to the fuel cells as needed to generate electricity, but at any given time there is only a very small amount of gas present in the crew space.

Weapons

Currently, the ''Type 212A'' is capable of launching the

fiber optic An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means t ...

-guided DM2A4 Seehecht (" Seahake") heavyweight torpedoes, the WASS BlackShark torpedoes and short-range missiles from its six torpedo tubes, which use a water ram expulsion system. Future capability may include tube-launched cruise missiles. The short-range

IDAS In Greek mythology, Idas (; grc, Ἴδας, Ídas), was a Messenian prince. He was one of the Argonauts, a participant in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar and contender with the gods. Idas was described as keen and spirited.Hyginus, ''Fabulae 1 ...

missile (based on the

IRIS-T The IRIS-T ("InfraRed Imaging System Tail/ Thrust Vector-Controlled") is a medium range infrared homing missile available in both air-to-air and ground defence surface-to-air variants. The missile was developed in the late 1990s–early 2000 ...

missile), primarily intended for use against air threats as well as small or medium-sized sea- or near land targets, is currently being developed by

Diehl BGT Defence Diehl Defence GmbH & Co. KG is a German arms manufacturer and a division of the Diehl Stiftung with headquarters in Überlingen. Diehl Defence mainly produces missiles and ammunition. Diehl BGT Defence was founded in 2004 as result of the merge ...

to be fired from Type 212's torpedo tubes. IDAS is fiber-optic guided and has a range of approx. 20 km. Four missiles fit in one torpedo tube, stored in a magazine. First deliveries of IDAS for the

were scheduled from 2014 on. A 30mm auto-cannon called Muräne ( moray) to support diver operations or to give warning shots is being considered, too. The cannon, probably a version of the RMK30 built by Rheinmetall, will be stored in a retractable mast and can be fired without the boat emerging. The mast will also be designed to contain three Aladin UAVs for reconnaissance missions. This mast is likely to be mounted on the second batch of Type 212 submarines for the German Navy.

Operations

In April 2006, the

's ''U-32'' sailed from the

Rota, Spain The town of Rota is a Spanish municipality located in the Province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Its surface area is 84 km2 and is bordered by the towns of Chipiona, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa María. It is located near the city o ...

in a journey lasting two weeks which covered without surfacing or snorkelling. The Italian Navy's S 526 ''Todaro'' was deployed, for over six months in 2008, to the United States for CONUS 2008 exercise with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

The Italian Navy's S 527 ''Scirè'' was deployed, for over five months in 2009, to the U.S. for CONUS 2009 exercise with the United States Navy. The Italian Navy's S 526 ''Todaro'', between 1 September 2012 and 13 February 2013, for the first time was deployed to the Aden Gulf, Arabic Sea, Oman Gulf and Indian Ocean. In 2013, while on the way to participate in naval exercises in U.S. waters, the

's ''U-32'' established a new record for non-nuclear submarines with 18 days in submerged transit without snorkelling. On 15 October 2017, the German Navy's ''U-35'' suffered damage to its rudder fins while conducting dives off the Norwegian coast.

List of boats

''Italics'' indicate estimated date

General characteristics

* Displacement: 1,450

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

s surfaced, 1,830 tonnes submerged 2,500

s surfaced for 212CD * Length: 56 m (183.7 ft), 57.2 m (187.66 ft) (2nd batch) 73 m for 212CD * Beam: 7 m (22.96 ft) 10 m for 212CD * Draft: 6 m (19.68 ft) 7 m for 212CD * Propulsion: ** 1 MTU 16V 396

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 ...

** 9 HDW/Siemens PEM fuel cells, 30–40 kW each (U31) ** 2 HDW/Siemens PEM fuel cells 120 kW (U32, U33, U34) ** 1 Siemens ''Permasyn''

electric motor An electric motor is an 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 wire winding to generate for ...

1700 kW, driving a single seven-bladed skewback propeller * Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h) submerged, 12 knots surfaced * Depth: over * Range: ** 8,000 nautical miles (14,800 km, or 9,196 miles) at 8 knots (15 km/h) * Endurance: 3 weeks without

snorkeling Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters ...

, 12 weeks overall * Armament: ** 6 x 533 mm

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s (in 2 forward-pointing asymmetric groups of left 4 + right 2 ) with 13

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

es or 24 tube mines ** IDAS missiles ** 24 external

s (optional) *

Countermeasure A countermeasure is a measure or action taken to counter or offset another one. As a general concept, it implies precision and is any technological or tactical solution or system designed to prevent an undesirable outcome in the process. The fi ...

s: ** Torpedo defence system ''Tau'', 4 launchers, 40 jammers/

decoy A decoy (derived from the Dutch ''de'' ''kooi'', literally "the cage" or possibly ''ende kooi'', " duck cage") is usually a person, device, or event which resembles what an individual or a group might be looking for, but it is only meant to lu ...

s * Sensors: ** STN Atlas ''DBQS40''

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on o ...

suite: *** ''TAS-3'' passive low-frequency

towed array sonar A towed array sonar is a system of hydrophones towed behind a submarine or a surface ship on a cable. Trailing the hydrophones behind the vessel, on a cable that can be kilometers long, keeps the array's sensors away from the ship's own noise sou ...

(deployed from sail) *** ''FAS-3'' passive low-, and medium-frequency hull-mounted flank array sonar *** ''MOA 3070'' mine detection sonar **

Periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...

s: ***

Carl Zeiss Carl Zeiss (; 11 September 1816 – 3 December 1888) was a German scientific instrument maker, optician and businessman. In 1846 he founded his workshop, which is still in business as Carl Zeiss AG. Zeiss gathered a group of gifted practica ...

''SERO 14'', with

FLIR Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, typically used on military and civilian aircraft, use a thermographic camera that senses infrared radiation. The sensors installed in forward-looking infrared cameras, as well as those of other thermal ...

and optical

rangefinder A rangefinder (also rangefinding telemeter, depending on the context) is a device used to measure distances to remote objects. Originally optical devices used in surveying, they soon found applications in other fields, such as photography an ...

*** Carl Zeiss ''SERO 15'', with laser rangefinder ** Riva Calzoni periscope masts and snorkeling systems **

Kelvin Hughes Hensoldt UK, formerly Kelvin Hughes, is a British company specialising in the design and manufacture of navigation and surveillance systems and a supplier of navigational data to both the commercial marine and government marketplace. The company ...

''Type 1007'' I band navigation

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

** EADS ''FL 1800U'' ESM suite ** WASS

hydrophone A hydrophone ( grc, ὕδωρ + φωνή, , water + sound) is a microphone designed to be used underwater for recording or listening to underwater sound. Most hydrophones are based on a piezoelectric transducer that generates an electric potenti ...

s **

Avio Avio S.p.A. is an Italian company operating in the aerospace sector with its head office in Colleferro near Rome, Italy. Founded in 1908, it is present in Italy and abroad with different commercial offices and 10 production sites. Avio operate ...

''GAUDI''

autopilot An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator' ...

and hydraulic systems **

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud, Viken county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production ...

''MSI-91'' combat system * Crew complement: 23–27 (incl. 5 officers)

References

Bibliography

External links

German Bundeswehr official Type 212A web pagenaval-technology.com — U212/U214 Attack Submarines, GermanyGerman Type 212A deal bolsters submarine force
Jane's Navy International, 28 September 2006
Todaro (S 526)
Marina Militare website {{DEFAULTSORT:Type 212 Submarine * Attack submarines