Type 209 submarine

The Type 209 (U-Boot-Klasse 209) is a range of diesel-electric attack submarines developed exclusively for export by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft of Germany. Five class variants (Types 209/1100, 209/1200, 209/1300, 209/1400 and 209/1500), including modifications thereof, have been successfully exported to 15 countries, with 68 submarines being built and commissioned to five different variants between 1971 and 2021. More boats have been built to modified designs. The original variant, the Type 209/1100, was designed in the late 1960s with Greece becoming its first adopter. Turkey is the largest adopter, having purchased 14 submarines consisting of eight Type 209/1400 and six Type 209/1200 submarines. A non-specific variant was adopted by Israel as its first Dolphin class. The Type 209 family is the most widely-proliferated submarine in Latin America, having been adopted by seven countries. In the early 1970s, many navies began to need replacements for World War II-era submarines, aging United States GUPPY conversions, and British units transferred postwar. During this time, few western submarine designs were available for export as most were large, expensive, sophisticated and difficult to operate, and designed for the Cold War. Several designs originally built for specific nations were available including the French , British , and the Soviet submarines. The design, designated by the German Ministry of Defense as the "Type 209" provided a solution providing the combination of size, performance, relative ease of operation for small or inexperienced navies, reasonable price and economy of operation. The submarine was designed by Ingenieurkontor Lübeck (IKL) headed by Ulrich Gabler and is largely based on previous German submarine designs (in particular the Type 206) with increased equipment. The design is single hulled and allows the commanding officer to see the entire submarine from the bow to stern while standing at the periscope. Four 120-cell batteries are located forward and aft of the command center in the lower deck and make up about 25% of the boat's displacement.