Немецко-итальянские дизель-электрические подводные лодки типа 212А

Class of diesel electric Submarine

The Type 212A is a class of diesel electric submarine developed by Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) for the German Navy (German: U Boot Klasse 212 A), and the Italian Navy where it is known as the Todaro class. 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 and virtually undetectable. The Type 212 is the first fuel cell propulsion system equipped submarine series.

At the beginning of the 1990s the German Navy 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 and Italy began working together to design a new conventional submarine, respectively to operate in the shallow and confined waters of the Baltic Sea and in the deeper waters of the Mediterranean Sea. 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 gave the start to the cooperation for building four vessels for German Navy 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 for the Italian Navy (Marina Militare) at Muggiano shipyard, designated as the Todaro class. On 22 December 2015 Admiral Giuseppe De Giorgi, Commander in Chief of the Italian Navy, announced plans to build another two U212A submarines. In December 2022, an amended contract was signed for production of a third NFS Submarine based on the design of the previous two submarines. The third Submarine (NFS 3) is planned to be delivered at the end of 2030, while a contract for the fourth boat is anticipated in 2023. 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.

In February 2017, it was announced that the Royal Norwegian Navy 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.

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 commandos 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 mines.

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 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.

Currently, the Type 212A is capable of launching the fiber optic 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 missile (based on the IRIS T 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 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 German Navy 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.

In April 2006, the German Navy's U 32 sailed from the Baltic Sea to Rota, Spain 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 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 Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean. In 2013, while on the way to participate in naval exercises in U. S. waters, the German Navy'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.