Revised: February 1, 1999
Copyright © 1997-1999 by Juan Carlos Barroux R.
The Chilean Navy involvement with submarines goes back to the six Class H boats that were delivered in 1917 by the British Navy. Since then they have gained the trust of the Fleet and are nowadays thought of has an important and integral part of the Chilean defense strategy.
Current thinking is that eight to nine boats are needed to cover the very long Chilean seacoast and that Chile should be autonomous with respect of the repair and manufacture of submarines. ASMAR has taken steps in that direction by being able to completely overhaul and refit both the Oberon Class and the Type 209 submarines. The TGS fire control system installed in the Oberons was designed and manufactured locally by Sisdef, for example.
Steps taken in the direction of manufacturing locally a version of the Type 209 do not seem to prosper, mainly by the inadequacy of that type to the conditions of the Chilean sea. The Type 209 target environment was the Baltic sea and not the South Pacific sea where the temperature, salinity and depth conditions are quite different. The limited range of the Type 209 is also a major restriction given the large areas to patrol and defend, or the large coastlines to blockade in the event of a major war with any of the potential threats (Argentina and/or Perú). It was easily known when one or both of the Thompson or Simpson was/were in the Beagle Channel because the submarine mother ship Angamos was in the zone.
This is why when in the early years of the 90s the Navy submitted an RFP for two new submarines these were to be oceanic boats of at least 1,400 tons. These were to be new build boats with the latest technology and the budget given was US$ 400M. The race quickly decanted between the Type 209 (already in service) and the French/Spanish Scorpène CM 2000. A new comer was the offer from the British Navy of the four Upholders recently retired after very little use.
Even thought the Upholder class is very modern and the deal was a bargain a number of stated and unstated reasons conspired against it. First, this was a system which was not going to be in service with any other navy in the world prompting questions around support and spare parts in 30 years more. Second, the stated goal of the Chilean Navy in general and ASMAR in particular is to manufacture the next generations of submarines in Chile which is not an option with the Upholder offer. Given the current state of low regional tensions there is no pressing need for the submarines and more longer term goals of self resilience could be pursued.
In the end, the Scorpène offer won the day and an order for two of them has been placed. They should replace the ageing Oberon class around 2002. These boats are presented as a "conventional" copy of the French SNA and are clearly designed for deep water operations. As part of the deal one should expect to see the SM-39 missile as well as the option to add an AIP segment to the submarines during their next big refit. The construction of these boats has already begun with first steel being cut mid-1998 in France. It is to be expected that ASMAR will build a newer serie of these boats in Chile once the first two are put into service in the Chilean Navy.
Displacement: 1,425 tons superfice, 1,565 tons submerged full load Dimensions: 61.7 x 6.2 x ?? meters (?? x ?? x ?? feet) Propulsion: 1 shaft, 2 diesels, 1 motor 2,800 Kw Fuel: Range: Crew: 26 (6 officers) Troops: 6 Radar: Sonar: EW: Armament: 6 torpedo tubes, 18 weapons (torpedos, missiles or mines) Depth: probably 350 m Notes: First steel has been cut for these boats. Number Name Year FLT Homeport Notes S?? S??
Displacement: 1,285 tons superfice, 1,390 tons submerged full load Dimensions: 59.5 x 6.2 x 5.5 meters (195.2 x 20.3 x 18 feet) Propulsion: 1 shaft, 4 diesels MTU 12 V-493 TY 60, diesel electric, 2,400 hp(m), 1 Siemens motor 5,000 bhp, 22 knots submerged, 12 knots superfice, 12 knots snorting Fuel: 110 tons Range: 16/400 nm at 21.5/4 knots submerged, 8,200 nm at 8 knots Crew: 32 (5 officers) Troops: -- Radar: Thomson CSF Calypso II Sonar: Atlas Elektronik CSU-3 suite EW: Porpoise Armament: 8 bow mounted 21 in (533mm) torpedo tubes, 14 AEG SUT Mod 1 torpedos Depth: 250 m Notes: German-built for Chile. 50 days of autonomy. Refitted during 1991/1992. Home sail and masting larger than other ships of this class to cope with wave size off Chilean coasts. Number Name Year FLT Homeport Notes S20 Thompson 1984 SUB Talcahuano S21 Simpson 1984 SUB Talcahuano
Displacement: 2,070 tons superfice, 2,450 tons submerged full load Dimensions: 90 x 8.1 x 5.5 meters (295.2 x 26.5 x 18.1 feet) Propulsion: 2 ASR 16 VVS-ASR1 diesels, diesel electric, 3,680 hp(m), 2 AEI motors 6,000 shp, 2 shafts, 12 knots superfice, 17 knots submerged, 10 snorting Crew: 65 (7 officers) Troops: -- Radar: Kelvin Hughes Type 1006 navigation Sonar: Atlas Elektronik CSU-90 suite, BAC Type 2007 flank array, Type 197 EW: UA-4 Armament: 6 bow mounted 21 in (533mm) torpedo tubes, 2 stern mounted 21 in (533mm) torpedo tubes (may not be in use), 22 AEG SUT Mod 1 torpedos Depth: believed to exceed 1000 ft Notes: UK-built for Chile. Refitted during 1993/1994 with a new combat data system TGS from Sisdef and a CSU90 sonar instead of the Type 187. Hyatt suffered a minor explosion in Jan 19??. After refit these boats are very similar to the Type 209 boats in equipment resulting in a nicely homogeneous fleet. Number Name Year FLT Homeport Notes S22 O'Brien 1976 SUB Talcahuano S23 Hyatt 1976 SUB Talcahuano
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Copyright © 1997-1999 by Juan Carlos Barroux R.
Juan Carlos Barroux R. - lamilitary@oocities.com