HSwMS Gotland (Gtd)

Last updated
Swedish attack submarine HMS Gotland.jpg
HSwMS Gotland
History
Naval Ensign of Sweden.svgSweden
NameGotland
NamesakeSwedish island Gotland
Builder Kockums
Laid down10 October 1992
Launched2 February 1995
CommissionedApril 1996
Homeport Karlskrona, Sweden
Identification
Motto
  • Gothus sum, cave cornua [1]
  • (I am a Gothlander, watch out for the horns)
Statusin active service
Badge HMS Gotland vapen, ubat.svg
General characteristics
Class and type Gotland-class submarine
Displacement1,380 tons standard, 1,599 tons submerged [1]
Length60.4 metres (198 feet 2 inches) [1]
Beam6.2 metres (20 feet 4 inches) [1]
Draught5.6 metres (18 feet 4 inches) [1]
Propulsiontwo diesel engines (1,300  bhp (970 kW) each), two Stirling engines (75 kW (101 hp) each), one electric motor (1,800 shp (1,300 kW)), one shaft
Speed11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) surfaced, [1] 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) submerged
Enduranceover 14 days submerged without snorkeling
Test depth500 ft (150 m)
Complement18–22 officers, [1] 6–10 enlisted [1]
Armament
  • 4 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes with 12 torpedoes
  • 2 × 400 mm (16 in) torpedo tubes with 6 torpedoes
  • 48 external mines

HSwMS Gotland (Gtd) is a defense [2] submarine of the Swedish Navy. It was the first ship of the Gotland-class, which was the first operational submarine class in the world to use air-independent propulsion in the form of Stirling engines which use liquid oxygen and diesel as the propellant.

Contents

It was built by Kockums, launched in 1995, and subsequently commissioned in 1996.

In 2015, Sweden's Defense Material Administration (FMV) signed a contract with Saab Kockums which included a mid-life upgrade of two members of the Gotland class, Gotland and Halland, for SEK 2.1 billion. Gotland is expected to return to the FMV in late 2018 following a series of platform and combat systems upgrades. [3]

Construction

The submarine Gotland was designed and built by Kockums in Malmö and launched on 2 February 1995. The honor guard during the launching consisted of the amphibian company of the Fårösund Marine Brigade (FMB). Participants from Gotland included the governor, the municipal council chairman, the commander of the Gotland Military Command and the commander of FMB. [4]

The submarine is essentially based on the Västergötland-class submarine, but with a lot of improvements. [5] It has two diesel engines and two Stirling engines which gives air independence and doubled endurance compared with previous submarine types. [1] A gas cycle drives a generator that charges the submarines battery which is connected to the propeller engine. For passive reconnaissance, she is equipped with circular sonar and flank array sonar. [1]

Mid-life Upgrade

In 2020, HSwMS Gotland did undergo a mid-life upgrade, as her sister HSwMS Uppland before her. During the upgrade, a number of systems that will be used in the next generation submarines, the Blekinge-class (A26), was installed. More than 20 new systems on board the new Gotland-class was implemented, which contributes to their de-risking for the A26. This also offers training opportunities for the crew when they, in the future, deploy on board the A26.

The upgrade process entails many new systems, such as the Stirling AIP, a complete new mast suite, sonars and sensors as well as management and communication systems. In order to host all systems, the submarine has gained length to 62 m and another 200 ton in weight, to reach a deplacement (surfaced) of 1580 tons.

Lease to the United States Navy

In 2004, the Swedish Government received a request from the United States of America to lease Gotland—Swedish-flagged, commanded, and manned—for one year for use in anti-submarine warfare exercises. The Swedish Government granted this request in October 2004, with both navies signing a memorandum of understanding on 21 March 2005. [6] [7]

Gotland was loaded on board the Norwegian semi-submersible heavy-lift ship, MV Eide Transporter, on 10 May 2005, for a month-long voyage over the Atlantic Ocean and through the Panama Canal to Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, California, where it arrived on 27 June 2005. [8] [9] [10] After a couple weeks of getting accustomed to the new environment, the exercises with United States Third Fleet began on 18 July 2005. [11] The lease was extended for another 12 months in 2006. [12] [13] [14]

Gotland managed to penetrate the defensive measures of Carrier Strike Group 7 undetected and snap several pictures of USS Ronald Reagan during the December pre-deployment Joint Task Force Exercise 06-2 (JTFEX 06-2) in the Pacific Ocean (probably in the California Operating Areas), effectively "sinking" the aircraft carrier. [15] The exercise was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the US Fleet against modern diesel-electric submarines, which some have noted as severely lacking. [16] [17] In 2001, during the exercise JTFEX 01-2 in the Caribbean Sea, the German U24 of the conventional 206 diesel-electric class "sank" the carrier Enterprise by firing flares and taking a photograph through its periscope. [18]

In July 2007, Gotland departed San Diego for Sweden. [19]

Raid against Kockums

In the early morning of 8 April 2014, the Defence Materiel Administration, known as FMV, with the help of the Swedish Army, raided the Kockums shipyard in Malmö, Sweden, then owned by German defense giant ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. The goal of the mission was to confiscate material belonging to the Swedish state, especially hardware relating to the Stirling engines used in HSwMS Gotland. Although the raid was performed by military police it was not violent. After Kockums employees locked the gates blocking FMV's exit with the confiscated material, a long drawn-out negotiation ensued. A compromise was finally struck in which the hardware was to be stored at a shared secure area until further notice. Since FMV was only interested in the hardware rather than the blueprints, the show of force was more likely part of a long political confrontation between the Swedish state and the owners of Kockums, rather than an attempt at discouraging espionage. [20] [21] Later in 2014, Kockums was sold to Saab Group. [22]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swedish Navy</span> Naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces

The Swedish Navy is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet – as well as marine units, the Amphibious Corps.

<i>Visby</i>-class corvette Swedish stealth missile corvettes

The Visby class is a series of corvettes in use by the Swedish Navy. It is the latest class of corvette adopted by the navy after the Göteborg and Stockholm-class corvettes. Its design emphasizes low visibility radar cross-section and infrared signature, and the class has received widespread international attention because of its capabilities as a stealth ship. The first ship in the class is named after Visby, the main city on the island of Gotland.

Air-independent propulsion (AIP), or air-independent power, is any marine propulsion technology that allows a non-nuclear submarine to operate without access to atmospheric oxygen. AIP can augment or replace the diesel-electric propulsion system of non-nuclear vessels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saab Kockums</span>

Saab Kockums AB is a shipyard headquartered in Malmö, Sweden, owned by the Swedish defence company Saab Group. Saab Kockums AB is further operational in Muskö, Docksta, and Karlskrona. While having a history of civil vessel construction, Kockums' most renowned activity is the fabrication of military corvettes and submarines.

<i>Södermanland</i>-class submarine

The Swedish Södermanland class of diesel-electric submarines consists of HSwMS Södermanland and HSwMS Östergötland. These two submarines were originally launched as Västergötland-class submarines in 1987 and 1990, and have been relaunched as a new class after extensive modernization in 2003 and 2004 by Kockums AB. The pressure hull had been cut in two after the sail and a 12 m long new section with an air-independent propulsion system was inserted. It contains two Stirling engines which are coupled to electric generators and heated by burning diesel fuel with liquid oxygen stored in cryogenic tanks. The AIP system can provide electric energy to extend the submarine's submerged time from days to weeks.

<i>Gotland</i>-class submarine Swedish Navy attack submarine class

The Gotland-class submarines of the Swedish Navy are modern diesel-electric submarines, which were designed and built by the Kockums shipyard in Sweden. They are the first submarines in the world to feature a Stirling engine air-independent propulsion (AIP) system, which extends their underwater endurance from a few days to weeks. This capability had previously only been available with nuclear-powered submarines.

Viking-class submarine

The Viking-class submarine was a planned class of submarines to be built by the Viking Submarine Corporation. Viking was a corporation jointly established by Kockums in Sweden, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace in Norway and Odense Steel Shipyard in Denmark. Finland was an observer of the Viking project, as an eventual future buyer of additional Viking submarines. The idea was to develop modern successor to the Swedish Gotland class, that would have cost about one third of the German Type 214. It was initially planned that the Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian navies would purchase two, four, and four Viking-class submarines each starting in 2005.

<i>Göteborg</i>-class corvette Ship class

The Göteborg class is a class of corvettes in the Swedish Navy, built between 1986 and 1993. The class was originally designed to destroy Soviet submarines and surface vessels, and is armed with eight RBS-15 anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, one 57 mm cannon, and one 40 mm cannon.

<i>Stockholm</i>-class corvette

The Stockholm class is a pair of warships of the Swedish Navy. Built as corvettes in Karlskrona 1984–1985, they are armed with four RBS15 anti-ship missiles, one 57 mm cannon and several machine guns. In 2017 the two units in the class were rebuilt and are now serving as patrol boats. The option to carry anti-ship missiles does however remain.

HSwMS <i>Orion</i> (A201) Swedish signals intelligence gathering vessel

HSwMS Orion (A201) is a signals intelligence gathering vessel of the Swedish Navy.

<i>Landsort</i>-class mine countermeasures vessel

The Landsortclass mine countermeasures vessel were built by Swedish shipbuilding company, Kockums for the Swedish Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) between 1983 and 1996.

The Blekinge-class submarine is the next generation of submarines developed by Kockums for the Swedish Navy, also known as the A26 type.

<i>Archer</i>-class submarine

The Archer-class submarines are a class of two diesel-electric submarines in active service with the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN). Originally launched as the Swedish Navy Västergötland-class submarines HSwMS Hälsingland and HSwMS Västergötland in 1986 and 1987, the two submarines were sold to Singapore in November 2005 and relaunched in June 2009 and October 2010 respectively after extensive modernisation by Kockums, which included a refit to Södermanland class standards, the insertion of a new hull section with an air independent propulsion system, and additional climatisation for use in tropical waters.

HSwMS <i>Näcken</i> (1978)

HSwMS Näcken is the lead ship of her class of submarine for the Swedish Navy. She was launched at the Kockums shipyard in Malmö, Sweden, on 17 April 1978, and completed and commissioned into the Swedish Navy in April 1980. From 2001 to 2005, the submarine was leased to the Royal Danish Navy and operated as HDMS Kronborg (S325). She was restored to her original name of Näcken upon her return to Swedish control. She was scrapped in Karlskrona during 2015–2016.

HSwMS <i>Uppland</i> (Upd) Swedish submarine

HSwMS Uppland (Upd) is one of three Gotland-class submarine built for the Royal Swedish Navy during the Cold War. The motto of HSwMS Uppland is "Prudencia Et Audacia" which translates into "Prudence And Boldness".

HSwMS Artemis is a signals intelligence gathering vessel currently in service for the Swedish Navy.

HSwMS <i>Södermanland</i> (Söd) Swedish submarine

HSwMS Södermanland (Söd) is a Swedish naval submarine, launched in 1988 and currently in active service. She is the third ship of the Västergötland-class submarine and named after Södermanland, Sweden.

HSwMS <i>Gävle</i> (K22) Swedish Göteborg-class corvette

HSwMS Gävle (K22) is a Swedish Navy Göteborg-class corvette, named after the Swedish city of Gävle.

HSwMS <i>Draken</i> (1960) Draken-class submarine of the Swedish Navy

HSwMS Draken (Dk), Sw. meaning The Dragon, was the lead boat of the Draken-class submarine of the Swedish Navy.

The Luleå class is a Swedish corvette class under development. In total four ships are planned to be built by Saab Kockums. The first two ships are to be commissioned by 2030 and two more by 2035. In June 2023 it was announched that the ships will receive names after Swedish coastal cities:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Arsenius, Rolf (2008). Haglund, Sven-Åke (ed.). "Jag är Gute - Akta dig för hornen" [I am a Gothlander, watch out for the horns]. Insats & Försvar (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces (1): 26. ISSN   1652-3571.
  2. ↑ Försvarsmakten. "Ubåt typ Gotland". Försvarsmakten (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2018-07-28. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
  3. ↑ Scott, Richard (8 July 2015). "Sweden signs deal for A 26 submarine order, A 19 upgrade". Jane's Defence Weekly. 52 (27): 4.
  4. ↑ Hammarhjelm, Bengt (1999). Beredskap på Gotland 175 år: 1811-1986 (in Swedish) (2nd, utök. uppl., jämte komplement till 2000 ed.). Visby: Ödin. p. 286. ISBN   91-85716-84-7. SELIBR   7751982.
  5. ↑ Adéll, Synnöve (2005). Petersson, Ulf (ed.). "Gotland i Stilla Havet: USA Nästa" [Gotland in the Pacific: USA Next]. Insats & Försvar (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces (2): 10. ISSN   1652-3571.
  6. ↑ "US Navy Leasing Swedish Gotland-Class Submarine". Deagel. Retrieved 2004-11-05.
  7. ↑ "U.S., Swedish Navies Sign Agreement to Bilaterally Train on State-of-the-Art Sub" (Press release). United States Navy. 2005-03-23. Archived from the original on 2007-08-19.
  8. ↑ "Eide Transporter arrives San Diego" (Press release). Eide Group. 2005-06-22. Archived from the original on 2007-05-10. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  9. ↑ "Swedish Submarine HMS Gotland Arrives in San Diego". United States Navy. 2005-06-30. Archived from the original on 2008-01-17. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  10. ↑ "Why is the U.S. Navy Leasing a Swedish Submarine?". The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. Archived from the original on 2005-09-30. Retrieved 2005-03-04.
  11. ↑ "Swedish Submarine Continues to Play Important Role in Joint Training" (Press release). United States Navy. 2005-12-20. Archived from the original on 2008-02-14.
  12. ↑ "US Navy to continue hunt for Swedish sub". The Local. 2006-04-18. Archived from the original on 2009-03-29. Retrieved 2006-07-21.
  13. ↑ "Gotland extends US stay for another year" (Press release). Kockums AB. 2006-06-13. Retrieved 2006-07-21.
  14. ↑ "HMS Gotland's Stirling propulsion system basis of success in the USA" (Press release). Kockums AB. 2007-05-09.
  15. ↑ "Pentagon: New Class Of Silent Submarines Poses Threat". KNBC. 2006-10-19. Archived from the original on 2007-11-16. Retrieved 2006-07-21.
  16. ↑ Polmar, Norman (March 2006). "Back to the Future". U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings. 132 (3): 22–23. 0041-798X.
  17. ↑ "US Navy Struggles to Recapture, Keep ASW Proficiency". The Nav Log. Archived from the original on 2009-02-02. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  18. ↑ "Deutsches U-Boot fordert US-Marine heraus" (in German). t-online. 2013-01-06. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  19. ↑ "SSK Gotland Class (Type A19) Attack Submarine, Sweden". Naval Technology. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  20. ↑ "'Baffling' Swedish raid on German sub makers". The Local. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  21. ↑ Sköld, Josefin (19 May 2014). "Sanningen om den hemliga gryningsräden mot Kockums" [The truth about the secret dawn against Kockums]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  22. ↑ "Saab Completes Acquisition of TKMS AB (Kockums)". Saab (Press release). 22 July 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.