[SandyCaesar]

Amina! I'd hate to have to go up against one of them in littoral waters. (Open-ocean is a little different, as the nuke's endurance is definitely better for open-ocean or offensive operations.) But defensively...I want one.

Originally Posted by Smaragdadler

Type U212A

Type U214

So, the Dive Planes are not on the sail but on the hull. I have read that when they are on the sail, they are more effective on slow speeds, which means 212-A would have better manouverability. Bad point about planes on sail is - that they can brake off if you try to surface through ice. This means 214 is good for under ice-ops and 212A not?

I will have to dispute that point, two years later. AFAIK, the US Sturgeon class had sail-mounted diving planes, and were still capable of under-ice operations. The sails were supposed to be able to fold up against the sail to help breach the ice.

What I want to know, however, is their sonar capabilities. I know that this is a very sensitive topic, but theoretically wouldn't nukes have the edge here? Nukes can house a towed-array, which admittedly wouldn't be that useful in a littoral environment, and can have loads of hull-arrays, which diesel boats simply don't have (one or two conformal arrays--not enough to range-gate passively).

So, on the whole, AIP-diesel boats make for deadly littoral hunters, but nukes generally have the advantage in reach, range, and open-ocean ops.

Oh, and one last question: what kind of engine is MESMA (Scorpene class)? How does it work? And as for the Stirling engines (Gotland), considering they're modified diesels running closed-circuit: just how quiet are they, anyway?