Kobben Class Submarines - History

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 war, Norway 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 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 GmbH in Emden. During 1985 – 93, six boats were lengthened by 2 m (6 ft 7 in) and modernized, most notably with new sonar equipment.

During that period, four others were sold to the Royal Danish Navy (known there as the Tumleren class), three operational (modernized) and one for spare parts. HDMS Sælen (S323) served in the 2003 invasion of Iraq 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. Five modernized vessels were given to the Polish Navy, four as operational units and one for spare parts. Before they were transferred, the Polish crews were trained and the boats were overhauled.

During 2004, all of the operational Danish boats (Tumleren, Sælen and Springeren) were decommissioned. They were mothballed as of 2005, waiting to be scrapped or handed over to another nation.