Dolgorae-class submarine

Dolgorae-class submarine
Class overview
Builders	Korea Takoma Shipyard
Operators	Republic of Korea Navy
Preceded by	Cosmos class
Succeeded by	Chang Bogo class
In commission	1985–2016
Completed	3
Retired	3
Preserved	1
General characteristics
Type	Midget submarine
Displacement	175 tonnes (172 long tons) full load
Length	25 m (82 ft 0 in)
Beam	2.1 m (6 ft 11 in)
Speed	16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement	14
Sensors and processing systems	STN Atlas hull-mounted sonar Pilkington CK037 / CK041 search periscope
Armament	2 × 406 mm (16 in) torpedo tubes

The Dolgorae-class submarine (Hangul: 돌고래급 잠수정) was a type of midget submarine designed and acquired for the Republic of Korea Navy. All three units are now retired.^[1]

These midget submarines were the first South Korean submarines of any type. They were acquired primarily to obtain initial experience with the basics of operating a submarine force. The secondary mission to train surface ASW ships in the detection of North Korean midget submarines.

In November 2011, South Korea unveiled plans for a new mini-sub designated KSS-500A. In September 2015, Jane's.com reported that Hyundai Heavy Industries started construction of a single 40 m (130 ft) long HDS-400 mini submarine for an unnamed naval customer.^[2]

In November 2017, SSM-051 was opened as a museum ship in the new Seoul Battleship Park beside the Han River in western Seoul.^[3]

• The information in this article is based on that in its Korean equivalent.