How Does U 212 Submarine, the Supreme Silent Hunter, Operate?

Among the arsenal of the most advanced military superpowers, one weapon is the most feared. It's not the atomic bomb, it's even more powerful, while being almost undetectable and can launch a devastating surprise attack on almost any country in the world.

Operating underwater at pressures beyond the range of unaided human survivability, submarines, first widely used in World War I, are used by all major navies today. They are quiet and effective, being able to operate close to the shore without anyone knowing it's there.

The supreme silent hunter in the world is the German U 212 submarine. It's not a nuclear submarine, it's a hunter one, designed to attack and sink surface vessels and other submarines. U 32 "Edenkoben" is the second Type 212A submarine of the German Navy.


Launched in 2003, the U 32 is powered by one diesel engine and an electric motor driven by two fuel cells and features a cavitation-free screw, making it harder to detect. U 32 was the first non-nuclear submarine to stay submerged for two weeks.

The fact that it uses fuel cells, with no moving parts, greatly reduces the noise output, making it virtually undetectable, compared to other diesel subs. The outer surface is covered in a special, non-reflective paint, that absorbs ultrasounds coming from the sonars of other submarines, making it as efficient as the F117-A stealth bomber, covered in roughly the same paint.

The U 212 U-boat has a displacement of 1360 tons, is 53.5 meters long and 11.5 meters high, with a diameter between 5.5 and 6.8 meters, and it's operated by a crew of 24. The fuel cells that power the electric motor are placed on the outside of the hull and are designed to explode on the outside in case of a disaster, thus minimizing the risks for the crew.

When it comes to weapons, this submarine is armed to the teeth, being equipped with 12 torpedo tubes, a towed-array sonar and a flank-array sonar, accompanied by an internal passive ranging sonar and two periscopes.

But the most feared weapon is not a torpedo. Being able to operate in shallow waters, near the shore, with a minimum depth of 18 meters, far beyond the capabilities of a nuclear submarine, the U 212 can launch the German equivalent of Navy SEAL, special forces units that can go undetected and sink docked ships, neutralize the crew or rescue secret agents when all other means failed, and all this before the enemies ever knowing what hit them.