Delfinen-class submarine

Springeren at the Aalborg Maritime Museum, Denmark

The Delfinen-class submarines were the first class of submarines constructed for the Royal Danish Navy following World War II. They were designed and built within Denmark, with first three boats of the class financed by Denmark. The fourth was financed by the United States (where it was known as SS-554) under the Cost Share program. Constructed between 1956 and 1963, the class comprising four submarines (Template:HDMS, Template:HDMS, Template:HDMS and Template:HDMS) entered service in 1961 and the last taken out of service in 1990. Replaced by the Norwegian , three of them were scrapped while a fourth was converted into a museum ship and remains on display at the Aalborg Maritime Museum.

Description

The Delfinen class had a standard displacement of and when submerged. They measured long with a beam of and a draught of . The submarines were propelled by two shafts powered by two B&W diesel engines and two BBC electric motors.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The submarines had a maximum speed of both surfaced and submerged and a range of at .Template:SfnTemplate:Efn The submarines were equipped with passive and active sonar and a schnorkel.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The Delfinen class were armed with four torpedo tubes located in the bow.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn They had a complement of 33.Template:Sfn

Ships

Delfinen classTemplate:Sfn
Number	Name	Builder	Launched	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Fate
S 326	Template:HDMS	Naval Dockyard, Copenhagen, Denmark	4 May 1956	1 August 1961	2 August 1983	Sold for scrapping 11 September 1984.
S 327	Template:HDMS		20 February 1957	1 August 1961	31 July 1989	Sold for scrapping, 3 December 1991.
S 328	Template:HDMS		22 May 1958	1 August 1961	6 August 1981	Sold for scrapping 7 September 1982.
S 329	Template:HDMS		22 April 1963	22 October 1964	31 March 1990	Handed over to the Langeland Fort Museum on Langeland as museum ship

Construction and service

Following World War II, the Royal Danish Navy which had lost the majority of its fleet during the German invasion, was restocked with ex-British Royal Navy submarines on loan and salvaged Danish submarines that had been scuttled during the war. Denmark joined NATO and was assigned the defence of the Baltic Sea which led to an emphasis on submarines.Template:Sfn The Delfinen class marked the Royal Danish Navy's first new submarines in the post war era. Designed by the Danish and constructed at the Naval Shipyard in Copenhagen, the first three vessels in the class were paid for the Danish and were constructed between 1956 and 1961.Template:Sfn The fourth submarine of the class, Springeren, was financed by the United States and known as SS-554.Template:Sfn

The class remained in service until the beginning of the 1980s, when the Royal Danish Navy intended to replace them with former Norwegian s in 1986. Only three Kobben-class units were acquired due to a lack of funds and Springeren remained in service until 1990.Template:Sfn Springeren is preserved as a museum ship at the Langeland Fortet Museum.