Royal Netherlands Navy / Koninklijke Marine
Dolfijn class Submarine - SSK
units:		in service	builder
S 808 HNLMS Dolfijn (3)		1960	Rotterdam Dockyard
S 809 HNLMS Zeehond (3)		1961	Rotterdam Dockyard
General Information:
The Dolfijn class is a special Dutch design and has three separate pressure hulls arranged in a triangle and enclosed in external steel casing. The upper hull for the living/working part of the crew and the lower two hulls were for the engines, batteries and storage rooms. This allows the submarine to dive much deeper than other submarines from the late 1950s, with a maximum diving depth of 200 m. The order for second group of boats, also known as the Potvis class was postponed in the late 1950s while the possibility of building a nuclear powered submarine was considered and rejected. The order for the two boats was re-instated in 1962. These boats had their diesels replaced and electronics updated in 1978-79. The Zeehond was converted into a trials ship by RDM shipyard in Rotterdam in 1990 and used as a technology demonstrator for a closed cycle diesel air independent propulsion (AIP) system until 1994.
Technical characteristics (as built):
Length: 79,50 meters Beam: 7,80 meters Draft: 4,80 meters Displacement: 1140 tons standard / 1530 tons surfaced / 1830 tons submerged Propulsion: diesel-electric 2 MAN 12-cylinder 12-V6V 22/30 diesel-engines (2800 hp) 2 electric-motors (4200 hp) 2 shafts / 2 propellers Speed: 14,5 knots Crew: 67
Armament (as built):
4 21” torpedo-tubes - bow 4 21” torpedo-tubes - stern NATO standard mines
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