144-022 SPANISH MIDGET SUBMARINE "TIBURON"

Tiburon (shark) is the name of a class of Spanish post-war miniature submarines. The class consisted of two ships in total, which were built in 1964. The length of a single ship was 18.8 meters, with a diameter of 2.4 meters, and the surface displacement - approx. 75-78 tons. The maximum underwater speed is approx. 14.5 knots. The armament consisted of two torpedoes. The Tiburon-class ships were developed to complement and eventually replace the Foca-class ships in the line. Compared to their predecessors, they had, above all, improved working conditions of the crew and the autonomy of sailing extended to 7 days. For this purpose, they were enlarged - especially their length. Two internal combustion and two electric engines were used as the drive. It is worth adding that in their general design assumptions, the Tiburon class ships were modeled on the German Hai ships. Interestingly, both manufactured units (designated SA-51 and SA-52), although structurally successful, were never formally adopted into the Spanish Navy.