Class: Gal class
Launched: 1975
At: Vickers at Barrow in Furness, UK
Length: 48.9m, pressure hull 33m
Beam: 4.9m
Height: 8.8m
Displacement: Surface 600 tons, Submerged 660 tons
Crew: 32
Propulsion: One shaft with a 2.85MW sustained power motor
Two MTU 16V 396 SE 84 diesel engines with 750kW alternators
Max Speed: Submerged 17 knots (45 minutes), Surface 11 knots, Snorkeling 9 knots
Max Depth: 200m
Armament: Eight 21 inch multipurpose tubes
Address:
Clandestine Immigration and Navy Museum
204 Allenby Street
Haifa 35472
Israel
Tel: +04-8536249
Fax: +04-88512958
Email: nirm@hi-teach.com
Latitude: 32.8301607274, Longitude: 34.9715332255
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After the 1968 loss with all hands of INS Dakar (an ex-British WW II T-class submarine), the Israeli navy decided to purchase its next generation of submarines as new construction. The three Gal class submarines (Gal, Tanin and Rahav) were a co-production of Germany, Great Britain and Israel. The boats were built in Vickers shipyard in England under the oversight of the German shipyard IKL.
Based on the German 206A type submarine, the Israeli Navy made significant changes to the class. Gal class submarines were small, quiet, safe and technologically advanced for their time. Their small size made them very difficult to detect and ideal for the frequent coastal missions of the Israeli Navy. They served from 1976 until 2003 during which they took part in countless actions and operations with impressive results. Gal submarines played an important part in the 1982 Lebanon war.
Gal‘s missions included intelligence, surveillance, embarking special operations forces, and at sea interdiction.
The class received numerous upgrades during its lifetime. During 1983 major upgrades included installation of the UGM-84 Harpoon cruise missile and its associated fire-control equipment. In 1987 NT 37E torpedoes replaced Mk 37s. All the boats were extensively overhauled in 1994-95 including improved sensors and fire control systems.
When the Dolphin class submarines were commissioned, the older Gal boats were decommissioned and sent to HDW Germany to be sold. In collaboration with the Museums Unit of the Israeli Ministry of Defense and the Submariners’s Association, the German HDW shipyard donated the preparation and return of Gal to Israel to become a museum exhibit. In Oct 2007, after preparation at HDW, now at 450 tons she was lifted onto a heavy lift ship in Kiel, Germany. Once in Haifa, she was transferred to a custom built trailer. During the move from the port to the museum, electric poles and a 200 ton pedestrian bridge were temporarily removed to enable the submarine to pass.
She is now exhibited alongside INS Af Al Pi Chen, INS Mivtach and important exhibits from the history of clandestine immigration and the Navy.
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