Editing Gal-class submarine (section)

{{Short description|Submarine class}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2013}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Gal class submarine.svg
|Ship caption=''Gal''-class profile
}}
|-
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HN-INS-Gal-2.jpg
|Ship caption=INS ''Gal'' at the Naval Museum, [[Haifa]]
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Builders=[[Vickers]], Barrow
|Operators={{navy|Israel}}
|Class before=*[[British S-class submarine (1931)|S class]]
*[[British T-class submarine|T class]]
|Class after={{sclass|Dolphin|submarine|4}}
|Subclasses=
|Built range=
|In commission range=1976-2002
|Total ships building=
|Total ships planned=3
|Total ships completed=3
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships active= 
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=
|Total ships retired=3
|Total ships preserved=1
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=[[Submarine]]
|Ship displacement=*420 tonnes (Surfaced)
*600 tonnes (Submerged)
|Ship length={{convert|45|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|4.7|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|3.7|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*2 × [[MTU Friedrichshafen|MTU]] diesels 1200 hp & [[AEG (German company)|AEG]] Generators
*1 × electric motor 1800 hp
*1 shaft
|Ship speed=*{{convert|11|kn}} Surfaced
*{{convert|17|kn|abbr=on}} Submerged
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth=
|Ship complement= 32
|Ship sensors=*radar Plessey
*Sonar Plessey,
|Ship EW= Classified
|Ship armament=*8 × 533mm Tubes bow
*[[UGM-84 Harpoon|Sub-Harpoon Missiles]], NT 37E torpedoes
*SAM launcher (removed)
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

The Type 540 '''''Gal''-class submarine''' is a slightly modified variant of the [[Germany|German]] [[Howaldtswerke|HDW]] [[Type 206 submarine]] class (which includes the distinctive dome, or bulge, in the front of the boat), modified for Israeli requirements. The Gal class submarines were built to Israeli specifications as the Vickers Type 540 at the [[Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd|Vickers shipyards]] in [[Barrow-in-Furness]] in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] rather than Germany for political reasons. "Gal" (גל - Hebrew for "wave") was the name of the son of Abraham (Ivan) Dror, 3rd commander of the squadron and head of the project.

The ''Gal'' class of submarines were the first [[Israeli Navy]] submarines built to Israeli Navy specifications. They supplanted previous generations of submarines employed from 1958 by the Israeli navy which were refurbished and upgraded boats of the British [[British S-class submarine (1931)|S class]] and [[British T-class submarine|T class]]; submarines whose hull designs dated back to the decade before [[World War II]].

[[File:Museu Marítimo e da Imigração P1100018 (5148863025).jpg|thumb|left|''INS Gal'' on display at the Naval Museum, [[Haifa]], showing entrances cut into hull]]
Since entering service in the late 1970s, these small but agile and sophisticated submarines were continuously upgraded with newer systems to maintain their technological edge. They were somewhat unusual in that all boats of the class were at one point equipped with six-tube retractable [[Blowpipe (missile)|Blowpipe]] [[surface-to-air missile]] launchers controlled from inside the boat, though these were later removed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.whq-forum.de/cms/39.0.html|title=WaffenHQ: Blowpipe|website=www.whq-forum.de|access-date=2016-07-16|archive-date=23 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220723164825/http://www.whq-forum.de/cms/39.0.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Israeli newspaper [[Maariv (newspaper)|Maariv]] reports that ''Gal''-class submarines were active in the [[1982 Lebanon War]].<ref name=autogenerated1 /> During the war, a ''Gal''-class submarine fired two torpedoes and sank a Lebanese refugee boat, killing 25 people on board.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-admits-it-sank-lebanese-refugee-boat-in-1982-war-error-killing-25-tv/ | title=Israel admits it sank Lebanese refugee boat in 1982 war error, killing 25 — TV | website=[[The Times of Israel]] }}</ref> During 1983 torpedo tube launched [[Harpoon (missile)|Sub-Harpoon]] [[anti-ship missiles]] and associated fire control systems were added to all boats of the ''Gal'' class. [[Mark 37 torpedo|NT 37E]] torpedoes were acquired to replace the older [[Mark 37 torpedo|Mk 37]] models in 1987–88. All extensively overhauled in 1994–95, including improved sensors and fire control system.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://submarines.dotan.net/gal/|title=Gal Submarines|last=Bochner|first=Uri Dotan|website=submarines.dotan.net|access-date=2016-07-16}}</ref> 

In the late 1990s, the ''Gal'' submarines were replaced with the new, much larger {{sclass|Dolphin|submarine|1}}s built by HDW in Germany. The ''Gal'' boats were decommissioned in the early 2000s. One was scrapped and two were sent to HDW in Germany in hopes of finding a foreign buyer. When none was found, in October 2007 ''Gal'' was shipped back to [[Haifa]], Israel and is now on display in the [[Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum|Israeli Naval Museum]]. Some changes were made in the submarine to make it accessible to visitors, such as entrances cut into her port (left) side.