The trip from Eckernförde to Rota took 2 weeks, all submerged. Took place in spring this year. I think they evaded the channel and went around England. Why sending a sub through the channel...?

The published maximum speed is 20 kn, so we can safely assume it is capable of driving faster, the real speed is probaly as secret as is the maximum depth. I repeatedly red or heared it reported that the boat remains to be a hole in the water at speeds up to 12-15 knots. For lower speeds, the AIP is used. for higher and maximum speeds, it needs to switch to traditonal Diesel engine. Of course, the navy does not comment. such information could be assumed to be secret. The hull steel is anti-magnetic, additonally the boat is equipped with electromagnetic devices that are capable to mimic Earth'S magnetic field and neutralize any boat-caused deviations from the natural magnetic field. It seems that MAD sensors and the like have a tough time to find this one. Add to this the silent AIP engine and the revolutionary new propeller which often has been said to be non-cavitating and ultra-quiet even at maximum speed, and you have the reasons why this boat is often described to be the most silent one currently in service.

The export version 214 does not have these anti-magnetic features, and it's electrinics and sensor suits are said to be downgraded a bit. The 214 is a bit longer, though. Foreign customerds also demanded the added ability to equip them with additional weaponry, including cruise missiles. 214 compares to the 212 like the 209 compared to the 206, which is the more sophisticated boat compared to the export version 209 and Dolphin (the latter has been refitted with electronics by the only customer, the Israelis).

Main armament is the Seehecht (sea hake) torpedoe with a maximum range of 50 km, speed of 50-55 knots and a warhead of 260-280 kg. It is glass-fibre wired.

The fourth boat is scheduled to enter service in German navy by the end of this year. Addtionally to these four boats, last month, I think it was last month, two additonal units have been ordered by the navy, they will see upgrades, and the old 212 are now called 212A for that reason. This order makes sense: with only two international navy operations (East Africa and Lebanon) the german navy is almost fully occupied (for needing to rotate units in and out) and no additonal assets are free for international commitements or intel gathering operations. This again is a hint that the 212 is capable to operate outside litoral waters and not only close to the homeland. The fuel cells cannot be replenished underway, but are only used when submerged and at slow speeds. When there is no need to drive submerged all the time (while in trasnit, for example), I think these boats can reach really far, since they are much bigger than the old 206, but only have a crew of below 30. an often quoted estimation on range is 15000 km at 8 kn at surface, and 800 km when exlusively using the AIP at 8 kn which probably is around the upper limit of the speed where the AIP can drive the boat (if using regular Diesel when submerged, it reaches far wider, but I do not know any estimation for that). note that the drive is an electrical drive when submerged, the ifference is how it is powered: AIP, or diesel. the AIP does run the Diesel, nor could the Diesel replenish the AIP.

Many sites hold info about the 212A, for example, here:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...e/type-212.htm
However, they all necessarily depend on unclassified info only, of course.