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Type 207 (class) / Kobben-class


Diesel-Electric Coastal Submarine


Germany | 1964



"The Kobben-class numbered fifteen total boats for Norway and several ended up in service with Denmark and Poland."

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one sea-going vessel design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for Type 207 (class) / Kobben-class.
2 x MTU diesel engines developing 1,100 horsepower; 1 x Electric motor developing 1,700 horsepower; 1 x Shaft.
Propulsion
10.0 kts
11.5 mph
Surface Speed
17.0 kts
19.6 mph
Submerged Speed
4,201 nm
4,835 miles | 7,781 km
Range
Structure
The bow-to-stern, port-to-starboard physical qualities of Type 207 (class) / Kobben-class.
24
Personnel
Complement
155.0 ft
47.24 meters
O/A Length
15.0 ft
4.57 meters
Beam
12.0 ft
3.66 meters
Draught
480
tons
Displacement
535
tons
Displacement (Submerged)
Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of Type 207 (class) / Kobben-class.
8 x 533mm (21") torpedo tubes.
Ships-in-Class (15)
Notable series variants as part of the Type 207 (class) / Kobben-class family line as relating to the Kobben-class / Type 207-class group.
Kaura (S-315); Kinn (S-316); Kya (S-317); Kobben (S-318); Kunna (S-319); Ula (S-300); Utsira (S-301); Utstein (S-302); Utvaer (S-303); Uthaug (S-304); Sklinna (S-305); Skolpen (S-306); Stadt (S-307); Stord (S-308); Svenner (S-309)
Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 01/03/2019 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The Kobben-class diesel-electric-powered attack submarine was developed by West Germany for the export market. The design eventually found a home with the Royal Norwegian Navy who used it as their primary submarine for some time. Fifteen were eventually commissioned and built from 1963 to 1966. They began service in 1964 and four were ultimately sold off to the Royal Danish Navy and another four to the Polish Navy, the latter of which continues operation of at least two of these boats (as of January 2019). The remaining units have all been either scrapped or preserved as museum ships.

The Kobben-class was forged out of the work used to bring about the Type 201 for the West German Navy, the first submarine class to emerge from Germany in the post-World War 2 world. Like the Type 201 boats, the Kobben-class was designed specifically to operate the shallower waters off the coast and, as such, they were dimensionally smaller and held modest crew sizes compared to deep-water contemporaries found in the West during the period. Larger than the Type 205 boats that succeeded the Type 201, the Kobben-class could be used to target enemy merchant shipping and deter enemy forces from water sources in and around Norwegian waters.

The general failing of the Type 201 boats was there non-magnetic hulls which were devised to protect them from naval mines. Fracturing was a constant source of worry for these boats which led to the Type 205s being hastily drawn up as a response.

Nevertheless, the West German Navy's U-3 example was loaned to the Royal Norwegian Navy from the period spanning 1962 to 1964 and operated as the "Kobben" - subsequently returned to continue its career as U-3 in West German service. Norway completed its evaluation of the new submarine and selected it for its coastal patrol needs as few submarine designs of the time offered the same capabilities sought by the Royal Norwegian Navy. The Germans then constructed new submarines based on the Norwegian requirement under the "Type 207" classification and, to the Norwegians, these became the "Kobben-class". All of the class were built by Rheinstahl Nordseewerke GmbH of Emden.

The first vessels to be commissioned were Kinn, Kya, Kobben, and Kunna in April, June, August, and October, respectively. The next batch arrived in 1965 (Kaura, Ula, Utsira, Utstein, Utvaer, and Uthaug) followed by three more in 1966 (Skinna, Skolpen, and Stadt) and the final two in 1967 (Stord and Svenner).

As built, the class featured a propulsion scheme made up of 2 x MTU diesel engines of 1,100 horsepower and 1 x Electric motor of 1,700 horsepower driving a single shaft astern. Speeds could reach 10 knots while surfaced and 17 knots while submerged. Range was out to 4,200 nautical miles. Aboard was a crew of twenty-four and armament was just eight torpedoes fired from 8 x 533mm (21") tubes. Dimensions of the boat includes a running length of 155 feet, a beam of 15 feet, and a draught down to 12 feet. Surfaced displacement reached 500 tons (short) while submerged displacement peaked at 535 tons.

In 1985, a program was drawn up to modernize and lengthen six of the class, the latter by nearly seven feet, to accommodate new equipment including an all-new sonar fit. This work lasted until 1993 and extended the useful service lives of this lot for the foreseeable future. About the same time, which by this time witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Empire, four of the class were sold off to neighboring Denmark: one became a platform for spares (Kaura) while Kya, Utvaer, and Uthaug became HDMS Springeren, HDMS Tumieren, and HDMS Saelen, respectively.

A further five boats of the Norwegian stock were refurbished and sold off to the Polish Navy where they were operated as ORP Kondor, ORP Sep, ORP Sokol, and ORP Bielik (ex-Kunna, ex-Skolpen, ex-Stord, and ex-Svenner, respective). Another (Kobben) was taken on as a spares unit.

Norway eventually succeeded the Kobben line with the Ula-class of which six were procured and all six remain in active service today (2019). The last Kobben-class boat in Norwegian service was relieved of duty in 2001 and the Royal Danish Navy followed with the class's retirement in 2004. Two Polish boats remain in active service today (2019) and two Koppen-class boats have been preserved as museum ships (Ulstein and HDMS Saelen). The rest were scrapped.

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Operators
Global operator(s) of the Type 207 (class) / Kobben-class. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national naval warfare listing.
National flag of Denmark National flag of Norway National flag of Poland

[ Denmark (retired); Norway (retired); Poland ]
1 / 1
Image of the Type 207 (class) / Kobben-class
Image released by the Polish ministry of Defence; ORP Bielik pictured.

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Type 207 (class) / Kobben-class Diesel-Electric Coastal Submarine appears in the following collections:
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