Type 212 submarine

The German Type 212 is an advanced design of diesel-electric submarine developed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (HDW). It features an air-independent propulsion system using nine 34-kilowatt Siemens hydrogen fuel cells, allowing the submarines to cruise under water for weeks without surfacing, silently, and with no exhaust heat. HDW is the first shipyard in the world to offer a fuel cell propulsion system ready for series production.

An initial order of four Type 212 submarines was placed by the German government in 1998, two to be built by HDW at Kiel and two by Thyssen Nordseewerke GmbH (TNSW) of Emden. These will be the first U-boats launched for the Bundesmarine since 1974.

Salvatore Todaro, a Type 212 built by Fincantieri for the Italian Navy, is scheduled to be launched in 2003, and her sister Sirce is under construction. Two more Italian Type 212s are planned.

Ships

• U31 launched March 2002 by HDW, to be commissioned March 2004
• U32 under construction by Thyssen Nordseewerke
• U33 under construction by HDW
• U34 under construction by Thyssen Nordseewerke

General Characteristics

• Displacement: 1450 tons surfaced, 1830 tons submerged
• Length: 56 meters
• Beam: 7 meters
• Draft: 6 meters
• Speed: 20 knots submerged
• Depth: greater than 400 meters
• Range: 11,000 nautical miles at 11 knots surfaced, 250 miles at 4 knots submerged
• Complement: 27
• Armament: six 21-inch torpedo tubes with 12 torpedoes, 24 external mines