FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF S 101

BY THE OFFICER COMMANDING, COMMANDER GARY KRETSCHMER

S 101 first sailed with a HDW crew 28 Feb 05 to conduct Sea Acceptance Trials (SATs) in the Kiel area. After 4 weeks of shallow water trials she sailed 28 Mar 05 for Kristiansand, Norway, to conduct deep-water trials. The boat is currently in Kristiansand and SATs are going well. The submarine is due to return to Kiel end of June to conduct torpedo firings before commencing with a rework period. The rework period will coincide with the start of the crews’ System Instruction starting 18 Jul 05.

The core crew of S 101 comprising of the Officers and Head of Departments (11 members) deployed to Germany 11 Apr 05 for 12 weeks. The main objective of the deployment is to gain experience onboard the submarine and thereby prepare draft Standing Operating Procedures. One of the constraints placed on the crew during SATs is the limit on the number of personnel that may sail on a daily basis. To achieve a fair distribution of onboard time the core crew was divided into three groups and a rotation plan was drawn up allowing four members at a time to sail with the boat from Kristiansand. The remaining core crew members would alternate between Kiel and Emden to deal with other submarine related matters.

As luck would have it I fell into the last group to rotate through Kristiansand and sail on S 101. The previous two groups were hugely impressed with the overall performance of our new submarine, but seeing is believing and I had to see this for myself. I arrived in Kristiansand on the evening of Saturday 07 May after a nine hour car and ferry ride. Sunday was spent settling into our accommodation and concluding all the necessary security checks and general administration.

Monday 09 May, the day of reckoning, we slipped from a gloomy and cold Kristiansand harbour and set sail for the deep water of the Skaggerrak to conduct ISUS 90-45 SATs. My first impression of the navy’s new Class 209 Type 1400 (Mod SA) submarine was “an awesome machine”. The submarine surpassed all my expectations; she is stable, quiet and responded efficiently to the fully automated systems. The working areas such as the Combat Information Centre (CIC) and Technical Control Centre (TCC) offer a spacious and comfortable working environment. The living areas are slightly tight but are well equipped with good finishes and a offer a greater degree of personal space.

S 101 has completed most of her platform SATs and over the next four to five weeks will complete the combat suite SATs. Judging on the performance and high standard set by HDW, the CPT and the SATs crew the “fighting” trials should go well. Although I was hugely impressed with S 101, my crew and I have a lot to learn and it will take a huge effort to master the highly advanced and sophisticated systems onboard. A challenge we gladly accept and we look forward to presenting our submarine to the SA Navy early IN 2006.