July 23,
2008: Turkey is buying six German Type
214 submarines. The subs will be built in Turkey, and the first one will be in
service in about six years. The Type 214 is a 1,700 ton, 202 foot long boat,
with a crew of 27. It has four torpedo tubes and a top submerged speed of 35
kilometers an hour. Maximum diving depth is over 1,200 feet. The Type 214 is
similar to the earlier Type 209 and Type 212.
The Type
214 also has a air-independent propulsion (AIP) system. This enables the sub to
stay underwater for over a week at a time. Greece has already bought four Type
214s. The first one arrived two years ago, and the other three are being built
in Greece. The Greeks encountered some excess heat problems with the AIP
system, which had been developed, tested and used, until then, only in cooler
Baltic and North Sea waters. The warmer waters of the Mediterranean required
some modifications to the AIP system. South Korea is also an enthusiastic user
of the Type 214, and Pakistan is negotiating to buy a few.