Type 201 submarine

Class overview
Builders:	Howaldtswerke, Kiel, Germany
Operators:	German Navy
Succeeded by:	Type 205 submarine
Planned:	12
Completed:	3
Cancelled:	9
Active:	0
Retired:	3
General characteristics
Type:	Type 201 U-boat
Displacement:	~450 t, submerged
Length:	42 m
Beam:	4.6 m
Propulsion:	1,200 hp diesel generator; 1,200 hp electric motor
Speed:	10.7 knots (20 km/h), surfaced; 17.5 knots (32 km/h), submerged
Range:	3,800 nmi (4,800 km), surfaced; 270 nmi at 3 knots, submerged (500 km at 6 km/h)
Complement:	21
Armament:	8 × 533 mm torpedo tubes, 8 torpedoes (no reloads) or 16 naval mines

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, but the material had been insufficiently tested and proved to be problematic in service with the Bundesmarine. Microscopic cracks in the pressure hull forced the cancellation of 9 of the 12 ordered submarines and the early retirement of the three completed boats. They were replaced by the very similar Type 205 submarines, that were constructed with normal steel. Responsible for the design and construction was the Ingenieurkontor Lübeck (IKL) headed by Ulrich Gabler.

List of boats

Pennant number	Name	Shipyard	laid down	Launched	com- missioned	decom- missioned	fate
S180	U-1	Howaldtswerke		1962	March 20, 1962	1967	rebuilt to Type 205A standards
S181	U-2	Howaldtswerke		1962	May 3, 1962	July 1963	rebuilt to Type 205A standards
S182	U-3	Howaldtswerke		1962	June 20, 1964
S183	U-4	Howaldtswerke		1962	not completed

U-3 was loaned to the Royal Norwegian Navy and served under the name Kobben from 1962 to 1964 before being commissioned in the German Navy.

References

• Taucher.net (in German)