Not always, if they do a swim out launch rather than a ram launch then there's less transients, and if the surrounding sonar environment is quite noisy then the launching boat could feasibly hide its position longer than expected. Of course, the escorts will not stop until the attacking boat is destroyed and the SSK will have a limited amount of time it can stay down before they need to snorkel, although the new AIP boats have much longer and if they settle down near some wreckage or in a secluded spot where the bottom bounce of the active sonar helps to mask the sub. Even so, there's a good chance it'll be a one way mission.

Alternatively, in an active combat scenario with nuclear release authorised, then a sub could use a nuclear torpedo to wreck the CVBG. The subsequent white-out of the sonar picture and the chaos caused might enable the attacker to slip away.

*game starts*
carrier group: hi, sup sub
sub: hi, nothing fatso.
Sub: *torps!*
Sub: 1CVE, yaa!
*CVE has left the game*
Carrier group: *Nukes!!*
*Sub has left the game*
Carrier group: Holy S! Holy ! HOLY S! what did i do!!
*Carrier group has left the game*
*Crowd laughing*

:up::D

German news Die Welt reports that after 18 days U32 has reached Mayport today via a plotted course 4600 nm long. It did the full trip under water.

Calculating 4600 nm and 18 days gives an average speed of 5.9 knots.

I'm sure military secrecy hides some reserve there.

What I read for the first time there is that the Germans seem to hope to sell the Americans into the non-nuclear submarine option, and have them buying the 212/214.

The boat left Germany on March 2nd, and is planned to head home in August. The crew will change in Florida.

Losing a diesel boat in exchange for a CVN would still be a huge success from a "big picture" point of view. That said while ASW nukes (nuclear tipped ASROC and so on) were done away with at the end of the Cold War I would not still want to be inside a SSK in such circumstances.

It could almost certainly go faster but probably only at the price of exposing the snorkel and running the diesel more often or using up the specialized AIP fuel/oxydizer in transit.That is something you would think twice about if there is a well resourced, competent enemy looking for you. For what is worth that would have been the Type XXI underwater cruising speed too, give or take; I would not be surprised if the efficiency gains made possible by technological improvements (permanent magnets and so on) had to be used up to make room for the AIP, mass wise.


Not going to happen, unless the US does a strategic 180°.
Really, the diesel boat became handicapped when it was forced underwater at the end of WW2. By increasing underwater performance at the expense of surface capability it did regain some measure of mobility, but matching nuclear power or even just the old submersible running on the surface would not be possible. Therefore for a country focused on worldwide deployment it makes little sense to invest in SSKs.