Type 206 submarine

Type 206A-class profile
U15 at Kiel Week 2007.
Class overview
Builders	Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft Nordseewerke
Operators	German Navy  Colombian National Navy [1]
Preceded by	Type 205 submarine
Succeeded by	Type 212 submarine, Type 209 submarine
Subclasses	Gal-class submarine
Built	1969–1975
In commission	1973–2011 (Germany) 2012–present (Colombia)
Completed	18
Active	2
Retired	16
Preserved	1
General characteristics
Type	Type 206A submarine
Displacement	456 tonnes (449 long tons), surfaced; 500 tonnes (490 long tons), submerged
Length	48.49 metres (159 ft 1 in)
Beam	4.58 metres (15 ft 0 in)
Draft	4.30 metres (14 ft 1 in)
Installed power	440 kilowatts (590 hp) (diesel) 1,100 kilowatts (1,500 hp) (electric)
Propulsion	2 MTU 12V 493, 4-stroke diesel engines, each coupled with an Asea Brown Boveri-generator 1 Siemens-Schuckert-Werke electric motor driving single five (Type 206) or seven (Type 206A) blade propeller
Speed	10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), surfaced; 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph), submerged
Range	4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph), surfaced 228 nautical miles (422 km; 262 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph), submerged
Test depth	more than 200 m
Complement	22
Sensors and processing systems	STN Atlas DBQS-21 (CSU83) submarine sonar Thomson-CSF DUUX 2 passive rangefinder sonar Safare VELOX sonar intercept EDO-900 active mine avoidance sonar Thomson-CSF Calypso II surveillance and navigation radar
Electronic warfare & decoys	Thomson-CSF DR-2000U ESM system Thorn-EMI SARIE
Armament	8 × 533 mm torpedo tubes, 8 DM2A1 Seeaal (206) or DM2A3 Seehecht (206A) torpedoes; 24 mines can be carried externally

The Type 206 is a class of diesel-electric submarines (U-boats) developed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW). Its design is based on the preceding Type 205 submarine class. These small and agile submarines were built during the Cold War to operate in the shallow Baltic Sea and attack Warsaw Pact shipping in the event of military confrontation. The pressure hulls were built out of non-magnetic steel to counter the threat of magnetic naval mines and make detection with MAD sensors more difficult. The low emission profile allowed the submarines in exercises to intrude even into well-protected opposing forces such as carrier formations with their screen.^[2]