Kobben class submarine
Encyclopedia
The Kobben class or Type 207 is a version of the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Type 205
Type 205 submarine
The Type 205 was a class of diesel-electric German hunter-killer U-boat submarines. They were single-hull vessels optimized for the use in the shallow Baltic Sea. The Type 205 is a direct evolution of the Type 201 class with lengthened hull, new machinery and sensors...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
customized for use by the Royal Norwegian Navy
Royal Norwegian Navy
The Royal Norwegian Navy is the branch of the Norwegian Defence Force responsible for naval operations. , the RNoN consists of approximately 3,700 personnel and 70 vessels, including 5 heavy frigates, 6 submarines, 14 patrol boats, 4 minesweepers, 4 minehunters, 1 mine detection vessel, 4 support...
.
History
Along with the rest of the Royal Norwegian Navy, the submarine fleet was to be modernized according to the Fleet plan of 1960. After the warWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
needed a navy more suited for coastal operations rather than large, seagoing vessels. This made the choice of a new type of submarines rather slim, not many NATO submarines being suited for this type of operations. A German Type 201 submarine
Type 201 submarine
The Type 201 was Germany's first class of military submarines built after World War II. They were built out of amagnetic steel to counter the threat of magnetic naval mines...
was lent to the RNoN for evaluation and adaptation. The result was the Type 207, of which 15 vessels were delivered to Norway in the period 1964 – 67. All Kobben class submarines were built by Rheinstahl Nordseewerke
Nordseewerke
Nordseewerke is a shipbuilding company located in Emden, Germany. The name Nordseewerke means "North Sea shipyard" in German. The shipyard employs some 1,400 people and is the second-largest plant in Emden, following Volkswagen...
GmbH in Emden
Emden
Emden is a city and seaport in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia; in 2006, the city had a total population of 51,692.-History:...
. During 1985 – 93, six boats were lengthened by 2 m (6.6 ft) and modernized, most notably with new sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
equipment.
During that period, four others were sold to the Royal Danish Navy
Royal Danish Navy
The Royal Danish Navy is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish, Greenlandic and Faroese territorial waters...
(known there as the Tumleren class), three operational (modernized) and one for spare parts. HDMS Sælen (S323)
HDMS Sælen (S323)
HDMS Sælen is one of the three Tumleren-class small coastal submarines of the Kongelige Danske Marine ....
served in the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
from May 2002 until June 2003.
In 2001, the Kobben class was completely phased out in Norwegian service, now replaced by the newer Ula class
Ula class submarine
The Ula class is a Norwegian submarine type which was assembled in Germany in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The class, consisting of 6 vessels, is currently the only submarine type in service with the Royal Norwegian Navy.-History:...
. Five modernized vessels were given to the Polish Navy
Polish Navy
The Marynarka Wojenna Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej - MW RP Polish Navy, is the branch of Republic of Poland Armed Forces responsible for naval operations...
, four as operational units and one for spare parts. Before they were transferred, the Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
crews were trained and the boats were overhauled.
During 2004, all of the operational Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
boats (Tumleren, Sælen and Springeren) were decommissioned. They were mothballed
Reserve fleet
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....
, waiting to be scrapped or handed over to another nation.
Vessels
| Pennant | Name | Commissioned | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| S-315 | Kaura | 1965 | Transferred to Denmark in 1991 for spare parts |
| S-316 | Kinn | 8 April 1964 | Scuttled in the Bjørna fjord in 1990 |
| S-317 | Kya | 15 June 1964 | Transferred to Denmark in 1991 as the HDMS Springeren |
| S-318 | Kobben | 15 August 1964 | Transferred to Poland in 2002 for spare parts |
| S-319 | Kunna | 29 October 1964 | Transferred to Poland in 2003 as the ORP Kondor |
| S-300 | Ula | 1965 | Name changed to Kinn (S-316) in 1987, scrapped in 1998 |
| S-301 | Utsira | 1965 | Scrapped in 1998 |
| S-302 | Utstein | 1965 | Transferred to the naval museum Royal Norwegian Navy Museum The Royal Norwegian Navy Museum is a museum documenting the history of the Royal Norwegian Navy. It is located at the former main naval base of Karljohansvern in Horten. The museum was founded by C.F. Klinck on 24 August 1853... in Horten Horten is a town and municipality in Vestfold county, Norway—located along the Oslofjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Horten. The municipality also includes the villages of Borre, Åsgårdstrand, Skoppum, and Nykirke.... in 1998, now on land as a museum ship Museum ship A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes... |
| S-303 | Utvær | 1965 | Transferred to Denmark in 1989 as the HDMS Tumleren (S322) |
| S-304 | Uthaug | 1965 | Transferred to Denmark in 1990 as the HDMS Sælen (S323) HDMS Sælen (S323) HDMS Sælen is one of the three Tumleren-class small coastal submarines of the Kongelige Danske Marine .... |
| S-305 | Sklinna | 1966 | Reconditioned in 1989, scrapped in 2001 |
| S-306 | Skolpen | 1966 | Transferred to Poland in 2002 as the ORP Sęp |
| S-307 | Stadt | 1966 | Scrapped in 1989 |
| S-308 | Stord | 1967 | Transferred to Poland in 2002 as the ORP Sokół |
| S-309 | Svenner | 1967 | Transferred to Poland in 2003 as the ORP Bielik ORP Bielik (Kobben class) ORP Bielik, formerly HNoMS Svenner , is one of four s in service with the Polish Navy. The vessel and its sister ships were built in the period 1964 - 67 by Rheinstahl Nordseewerke GmbH in Emden, West Germany for the Royal Norwegian Navy... |
External links
Sites with information about the Kobben class.- Nordseewerke - manufacturer's website
- Polish Navy - with Polish commission dates, pictures and information
- Danish Naval History - information about Danish use (1989–2004)