The ''Kobben'' class (also known as Type 207) is a customized version of the German Type 205

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

. Fifteen vessels of this class were built for use by the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy () is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for navy, naval operations of Norway, including those of the Norwegian Coast Guard. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 i ...

in the 1960s. The class later saw service with

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. The boats have since been withdrawn from service in the Norwegian and Danish navies. The Polish Navy operated two ''Kobben''-class submarines (''Bielik'', ''Sęp'') until 2021.

History

Along with the rest of the

, the submarine fleet was to be modernized according to the ''Fleet plan of 1960''. After the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

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 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

submarines being suited for this type of operations. A German Type 201 submarine U-3 was lent to the Royal Norwegian Navy for evaluation and adaptation between 10 July 192 and 20 June 1964, with the name HNoMS ''Kobben.'' 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 Nordseewerke Emden GmbH (sometimes abbreviated NSWE, in English: North Sea Company) was a shipbuilding company, located in the Emden Harbor of the north German city of Emden. Founded in 1903, shipbuilding ended in 2010, and the company was taken ...

GmbH in

Emden Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...

. Between 1985 – 93, six boats were lengthened by and modernized, most notably with new

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

equipment. On 24 November 1972, the ''Kobben''-class submarine of the Royal Norwegian Navy had "contact" with what they presumed was a , after 14 days of "hunt" in

Sognefjord The Sognefjord or Sognefjorden (, ), nicknamed the King of the Fjords (), is the list of Norwegian fjords, longest and deepest fjord in Norway. Located in Vestland county in Western Norway, it stretches inland from the ocean to the small village ...

. Military documents released in 2009 confirm this episode. During that period, four others were sold to the

Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy (, ) is the Naval warfare, sea-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Denmark, Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and ...

(known there as the ''Tumleren'' class), three operational (modernized) and one for spare parts. 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, replaced by the newer . 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. ORP Bielik 7 powbiel 2

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

Vessels

Notes

References

* Marinemuseet, the Norwegian naval museu

*

External links

Nordseewerke
- manufacturer's website
Polish Navy
- with Polish commission dates, pictures and information

- information about Danish use (1989–2004) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kobben Class Submarine Submarine classes Type 205 submarines