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Written by Malcolm Farre - IPMS Cape Town
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Monday, 05 April 1999 |
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Page 3 of 7 COMBAT EXPERIENCE:
Only the Pakistani boats have seen combat in the way originally designed for these submarines. In the Indo-Pakistan war the Pakistan HANGOR gained contact on the Indian frigate KUKRI on the 9 December 1971. In the ensuing anti-submarine action the HANGOR successfully evaded the KUKRI and sank the frigate with a large loss of live. MODIFICATIONS:
The French, Spanish and South African DAPHNE's have been modernised with the Pakistani's reputed to be interested in further modernising their boats. It would appear that the French and South Africans went different ways in their upgrades.
The Marine Nationale replaced the DUUA-1B active/passive sonar with a prominent sonar dome for the new DUUA-2B. The dome is generally referred to as an igloo. Likely upgrades include some of the Operations Room electronics and the weapon system most likely modified to accept the more modern L-5 anti-submarine torpedo.
South Africa, faced with an arms boycott and no hope of replacing it's submarines in the medium to long term, embarked on an ambitious upgrade of the combat ability of the DAPHNEs in service. This was achieved in two successive refits for each submarine, spanning nearly ten years.
The first involved improving the combat radius of the boats significantly. This was achieved by increasing the onboard fuel carrying capability. The result is that the South African boats ride with a slight positive trim on the surface compared to their foreign counterparts. This can best be seen at the stern which rides deeper.
The second upgrade involved the combat ability of the submarines and is far more extensive than would appear from the outside. The complete Operations Room of the submarine has been dedesigned with modern solid state micro-chip technology of local design and manufacture replacing the older valve technology equipment. Most of the combat functions of the equipment have now been automated. The only external evidence of this upgrade is new communications- and ESM mast heads. A third upgrade involved the submarine battery, the SAS MARIA VAN RIEBEECK being the first boat fitted with the new locally designed and built submarine battery. Dived endurance improved and indiscretion time (snorting) reduced. Dived maximum speed also improved. CONCLUSION:
The age of the DAPHNE's hulls and the sophistication of modern anti-submarine warfare make further upgrades not cost effective. The DAPHNE class will be replaced by three new German built submarines, as part of the SA re-equipment arms deal.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 23 February 2008 )
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