Dolgorae-class submarine

Dolgorae-class submarine
Class overview
Builders	Korea Takoma Shipyard
Operators	Republic of Korea Navy
Preceded by	Cosmos class
Succeeded by	Chang Bogo class
In commission	1985–2016
Completed	3
Retired	3
Preserved	1
General characteristics
Type	Midget submarine
Displacement	175 tonnes (172 long tons) full load
Length	25 m (82 ft 0 in)
Beam	2.1 m (6 ft 11 in)
Speed	16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement	14
Sensors and processing systems	STN Atlas hull-mounted sonar Pilkington CK037 / CK041 search periscope
Armament	2 × 406 mm (16 in) torpedo tubes

The Dolgorae-class submarine (Hangul: 돌고래급 잠수정) was a type of midget submarine designed and acquired for the Republic of Korea Navy. All three units are now retired.

These midget submarines were the first South Korean submarines of any type. They were acquired primarily to obtain initial experience with the basics of operating a submarine force. The secondary mission to train surface ASW ships in the detection of North Korean midget submarines.

Replacement

In November 2011, South Korea unveiled plans for a new mini-sub designated KSS-500A. In September 2015, Jane's.com reported that Hyundai Heavy Industries started construction of a single 40 m (130 ft) long HDS-400 mini submarine for an unnamed naval customer.

Ships in the class

Name	Builder	Launched	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Status
ROKS SSM-051	Korea Takoma Shipyard	2 April 1982	1985	2003	Retired; museum ship at Seoul Battleship Park
ROKS SSM-052		1987?	1990	2016	Retired
ROKS SSM-053		1988?	1991	2016	Retired

In November 2017, SSM-051 was opened as a museum ship in the new Seoul Battleship Park beside the Han River in western Seoul.

References

• The information in this article is based on that in its Korean equivalent.