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On 28 October 1940 U-32, under the command of Hans Jenisch, sank the 42,348-ton liner Empress of Britain, which had been previously damaged by German bombs. Empress was the largest ship sunk by a U-boat. U-32 was sunk northwest of Ireland, in position 55°37′N 12°19′W, by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS Harvester and Highlander on 30 October 1940. Nine of her crew died, 33 survived and were taken prisoner, including Jenisch, who spent six and a half years in British captivity before returning to Germany in June 1947
AN Irish-built robot submarine has shed new light on the biggest passenger ship sunk by a German U-boat.
The 42,000-ton Empress of Britain was carrying gold worth millions of euro when it was sunk on October 28, 1940, off Bloody Foreland in Co Donegal.
A 1995 expedition reported finding the Empress upside down in 500ft of water.
The salvagers broke into the ship’s strong room only to find a single skeleton — but no gold.
Now a survey by a Marine Robotics Team from the University of Limerick (UL), using a “Smart” remotely operated vehicle (ROV), has discovered the ship is actually on its side.
The Empress of Britain was hit by two bombs from a Luftwaffe Condor on October 26, 1940 and caught fire about 70 miles northwest of Aran Island, Co Donegal.
Most of the 578 survivors were picked up by British ships, while the liner continued under tow to the Clyde in Scotland.
However, a German submarine, the U-32, shadowed the salvage convoy for nearly 24 hours before firing three torpedoes.
Two hit and sank the Empress northwest of Bloody Foreland. Some 25 crew members and 20 passengers were killed when she went down.
The gold is now thought to have been taken off the ship while it was on fire and its passengers were being evacuated.
Source – Herald.i.e
A senior Iranian defense industry official announced on Monday that the country has almost completely indigenized building of military submarines.
Deputy Head of the Naval Industries Organization of the Iranian Ministry of Defense General Babayee said Iran can now manufacture different types of naval equipments, including submarines.
“In construction of military submarines, this organization has achieved more than 90% indigenization now ,” Babayee said.
As regards other products, the official said, “We have indigenized some products up to 92%, while with regard to the production of some other products and depending on the type of the project, indigenization has taken place from 65 to 70%.”
Last month, Iran boosted its naval power in Persian Gulf waters after a new missile launching vessel and two light submarines joined its Navy fleet.
During the ceremony attended by Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, two Qadir-class light submarines also joined the Iranian naval fleet.
All parts of the Qadir-class submarines, including the hull, radar equipment and advanced defense systems, have been made domestically.
The submarines are appropriate vessels for different naval missions, including reconnaissance and combat in territorial waters, specially in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz which are not wide enough for the maneuvering of large warships and submarines.
Meantime, the Iranian Navy tested the operational capabilities of its submarine units on the second day of Velayat 91 naval wargames on Saturday.
Spokesman of the Wargames Rear Admiral Amir Rastegari announced that on the second day of the drills, Iran’s light and kilo-class submarines have traversed the territorial and international waters, conducted reconnaissance missions and traced hypothetical enemies successfully.
Source – Fars News Agency
State-run shipyard company PT PAL Indonesia is commencing construction of a 2.5-hectare submarine works and repair facility in the Ujung dock area in Surabaya, East Java, after the government promised to provide US$150
million for the purpose.
During an inspection of warships by the ministry at the PT PAL docks on Friday, Deputy Defense Minister Lt. Gen. (ret.) Sjafrie Sjamsoedin said the submarine project should be completed in 21 months, or by September 2014.
The Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) expects to have five submarines by 2016 and for the country to be able to produce and maintain its own submarines.
The company will make use of technology from South Korea and Germany at the facility.
The measure is part of the strategic plan for the domestic defense industry.
The government has earmarked Rp 7.9 trillion ($87 million) over the next five years, be it for PT PAL, state arms manufacturer PT Pindad or state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia, as well as other private domestic companies to meet the Indonesian Military arms demand, Sjafrie told journalists after the inspection. Rp 1.2 trillion from 2011 until 2012 was assigned for the purpose.
The Defense Ministry has orders in for three tugboats and three 60-meter fast attack missile ships (KCR) from PT PAL and a 105-meter destroy escort (PKR), produced jointly by PT PAL and Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding of the Netherlands.
Three submarines are on order from Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering in South Korea. Two will be built in South Korea and the third in Indonesia, upon completion of the aforementioned submarine works in Surabaya.
TNI-AL currently operates two submarines built at the Howaldtswerke shipyard in Kiel, Germany — the KRI Cakra 401 and KRI Nanggala 402.
The tugboats will be delivered to the Defense Ministry starting in April next year, while the 60-meter PKR will be delivered in December next year.
PT PAL managing director Mohammad Firmansyah Arifin said work would not begin on the 105-meter destroyer, jointly produced with the Netherlands, until the end of 2014, or early 2015.
“In 2013, we will send our experts to the Netherlands to design and plan the construction of the destroyer escort. They will be there for up to 10 months, after which production will commence,” said Arifin.
PT PAL Indonesia will send over 200 operatives (20 designers and at least 180 production experts) to South Korea, on the submarine project. They will be involved in every stage of construction for the two submarines from the design to the production process.
While the two submarines are being built in South Korea, PT PAL will recruit over 250 new staff and build the submarine facility for the production of the third submarine in Indonesia.
It is expected that by 2024, Indonesia will be able to produce its own submarines to meet the anticipated demand for 12 naval vessels.
Source – The Jakarta Post
RSS Swordsman, which is berthed at Changi Naval Base, at the homecoming ceremony on Monday.
SINGAPORE: The Republic of Singapore Navy’s (RSN) second Archer-class submarine is back from Sweden.
On hand to welcome the RSS Swordsman at Changi Naval Base was Chief of Navy, Rear-Admiral Ng Chee Peng, and other senior naval officers.
The RSS Swordsman is one of two ex-Royal Swedish Navy Västergötland-class submarines that Singapore acquired in 2005. It has been comprehensively upgraded, refurbished and tropicalised to ensure its suitability for operations in local conditions.
The submarine’s crew has also undergone extensive training in Sweden since 2008 to acquire the skill sets needed to operate and maintain the submarine.
The RSS Swordsman was launched in Karlskrona, Sweden, on October 20, 2010. It will join the 171 Squadron, under the RSN’s Fleet Command, to enhance the RSN’s capability in securing the seaward defence of Singapore and protect vital sea lines of communication.
The RSS Archer was the RSN’s first Archer-class submarine.
Source – Channel News Asia
Borei class nuclear submarine Vladimir Monomah at the “Sevmash” shipyard before its launch in Severodvinsk.
Super-modern, powerful and almost noiseless Russian nuclear submarine Vladimir Monomakh has been put in water to become the third ship of the Borei project. The cruiser is about to begin sea trials and mooring to become fully operational in 2013.
Vladimir Monomakh was laid down at Russia’s largest shipbuilding complex Sevmash, located on the shores of the White Sea in the town of Severodvinsk in northern Russia on March 19, 2006 – the 100th anniversary of the Russian submarine fleet.
Borei-class submarine
Length: 170 m
Beam: 13.5 m
Draught: 10 m
Test depth: 450 m
Displacement:
14,720 tons surfaced
24,000 tons submerged
Speed: 29 knots (54 km/h)
Complement: 107 (55 officers)
Armament: 16-20 × Bulava SLBMs
6 × 533 mm torpedo tubes
It belongs to a class of missile strategic submarine cruisers with a new generation of nuclear reactor, which allows the submarine to dive to a depth of 480 meters. It can spend up to three months in autonomous navigation and, thanks to the latest achievements in the reduction of noise, it is almost silent compared to previous generations of submarines.
The submarine is armed with the new missile system, which has from 16 to 20 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles Bulava (SS-NX-30 by NATO classification). The rocket is able to overcome any prospective missile defense system.
On August 27, 2011, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on a successful test of Bulava to investigate its maximum range. The missile was launched from the White Sea, flew 9,300km in just 33 minutes, and then fell in the specified area in the Pacific Ocean.
All Borei class submarines are equipped with a floating rescue chamber designed to fit in the whole crew.
The first and head submarine of Borei class, Yury Dolgoruky, has already completed the test program and is to be officially adopted by the Russian Navy on Sunday. Construction of the missile carrier is approximately estimated at around US$770 million, while other Borei class submarines are believed to cost less.
“The hoisting of the flag and the signing of the acceptance act is to be adopted at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk on Sunday, December 30,” the Rubin design bureau that designed the submarine said in a statement on Saturday.
Another missile cruiser of this project, the Aleksandr Nevsky, is undergoing tests, according to Borisov. While a fourth, more advanced submarine, the Knyaz Vladimir, with enhanced technical characteristics and increased ammunition is currently being built.
Over the next eight years Russia plans to have built 10 Borei class submarines altogether, according to the state armaments program of 2011-2020. All Borei class submarines are believed to provide a basis of naval strategic nuclear forces of Russia in the coming decades.
India’s submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is ready for production. Its pre-production test flight on Wednesday from a pontoon off the coast of Visakhapatnam was successful.
The missile is ready for integration with the country’s nuclear submarine ‘INS Arihant’. The capability puts India among the elite club of nations possessing such weapons. These include the US, Russia, France, UK, Israel and China.
The underwater-launched ballistic missile was tested for the minimum range as per the requirement of the user. It achieved all its objectives, said Avinash Chander, Chief Controller R&D (Missiles & Strategic Systems).
The missile system for the nuclear-powered Arihant platform will give the country the complete cycle of possessing options to deploy nuclear weapons from air, land and under sea. This is the tenth flight test of the missile.
The missile has a maximum range of 700 km , according to defence experts.
Source – Business Line
The Israel Navy (INF) released a rare video Monday, allowing a sneak peak at its most expensive weapon – the stealth submarine.
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The video shows an exercise in which the submarine’s crew fires torpedoes at “enemy warships.”
The exercise was held as part of the INF’s preparations to receive its fourth German-made submarine, which is currently making its way to Israel. A fifth submarine has been contracted.
The Navy plans to add more sailors to its elite submarine unit and the current submarine crewmen course graduation will mark a new record in their numbers.
Graduates of the 16-month course will be given the rank of sergeant. Each has mastered a mechanical discipline of submarine operations, such as cruise control, navigation, electricity, weapons and sonar.
“The submarine – Israel’s most complex marine weapon – is only as strong as its crewmen,” INF Chief Admiral Ram Rotberg said Monday. “They are quality professionals with stern battle ethics.”
Source – Ynet News
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad getting into a Iranian submarine
Two Iranian military commanders disclosed that the country’s home-made sonar-evading submarines enjoy unusual features.
“Besides the usual capabilities of the submarines that all people are aware of, our vessels enjoy some subsurface capabilities that are different from the regular features of submarines and no one is informed of them,” Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi told FNA on Sunday.
Also, Deputy Defense Minister for Industrial and Research Mohammad Eslami, whose ministry is in charge of supplying logistical backups including equipments for the Armed Forces, told FNA that “the submarines supplied to the IRGC are of the mid-sized class, given the missions defined for the IRGC Navy”.
He said all Iranian submarines are sonar and radar-evading, “since we cannot fulfill our missions today if our submarines are not equipped with sonar and radar evading technologies”.
Earlier this month, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi announced that the country plans to equip the IRGC naval force with new submarines.
“Production of different types of submarines are on our agenda and naturally they will be delivered to the IRGC whenever they reach their final phase,” Vahidi told FNA at the time, adding that the ministry plans to equip the IRGC Navy with its new home-made submarines.
As regards the features and specifications of the new submarines, Vahidi said, “These submarines will be in models other than Qadir (light submarines) and their production and delivery to the IRGC are underway.”
He said that Iran is producing military tools based on its doctrine of asymmetric defense.
Last month, Iran boosted its naval power in Persian Gulf waters after a new missile launching vessel and two light submarines joined its Navy fleet.
During the ceremony attended by Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, two Qadir-class light submarines also joined the Iranian naval fleet.
All parts of the Qadir-class submarines, including the hull, radar equipment and advanced defense systems, have been made domestically.
The submarines are appropriate vessels for different naval missions, including reconnaissance and combat in territorial waters, specially in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz which are not wide enough for the maneuvering of large warships and submarines.
Source – Fars News Agency
India’s only Russian-origin nuclear submarine INS Chakra is facing problems with its critical components affecting its operational readiness.
The 8,000-tonne submarine has been facing problems with its critical components and Russia has been asked to provide the parts for the vessel which need to be replaced, Navy sources said.
However, they did not divulge the components which would have to be replaced but indicated they are critical for the operations of the submarine. India had inducted the Akula-II Class ‘Nerpa’ nuclear submarine in its inventory in April this year at the Vishakhapatnam-based Eastern Naval Command. It was renamed ‘Chakra’ by the Indian Navy.
The Russian submarine had met with an accident in November 2008 when it was undergoing sea trials in the Sea of Japan in which around twenty sailors were killed and several others were left injured.
The submarine was launched in 1993-94 but its construction was held up since then due to lack of funds with the Russian Navy.
However, in 2004, the Russian side decided to build it after reaching a ten-year lease agreement for operation of the submarine with the Indian side.
With INS Chakra and the yet-to-be-inducted indigenously built INS Arihant, India is planning to have two nuclear submarines guarding its vast maritime boundary. With a maximum speed of 30 knots, Chakra can go to a depth of 600 metres and has an endurance of 100 days with a crew of 73. However, as per the lease accord, it cannot carry nuclear warheads.
The vessel is armed with four 533mm and four 650mm torpedo tubes. India had leased and operated a Charlie-class Russian nuclear submarine, also called ‘Chakra’, in 1988 for training its personnel on such submarines.
Source – ZEE News
Submarine Diary 