Spanish submarine Siroco

Siroco in the port of Malaga, unknown date.
History
Spain
Name	Siroco (S-72)
Ordered	May 9, 1975
Builder	Bazán, Cartagena, Spain
Laid down	November 27, 1978
Launched	December 12, 1982
Commissioned	December 7, 1983
Decommissioned	June 29, 2012
Identification	S-72
General characteristics
Class and type	Agosta-class submarine
Displacement	1,500 long tons (1,524 t) surfaced 1,760 long tons (1,788 t) submerged
Length	67 m (219 ft 10 in)
Beam	6 m (19 ft 8 in)
Speed	12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) surfaced 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph) submerged 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph) submerged (snort)
Test depth	300 m (984 ft 3 in)
Complement	5 officers 36 men
Sensors and processing systems	Thomson CSF DRUA 33 Radar Thomson Sintra DSUV 22 DUUA 2D Sonar DUUA 1D Sonar DUUX 2 Sonar DSUV 62A towed array
Armament	SM 39 Exocet 4 × 550 millimetres (22 in) bow torpedo tubes ECAN L5 Mod 3 & ECAN Fl7 Mod 2 torpedoes

Siroco (S-72) was an Agosta-class submarine built for the Spanish Navy by Bazán at Cartagena, Spain. The submarine was launched on December 12, 1982, commissioned on December 7, 1983. Because of the economic crisis, the government didn't authorize the reparations of the submarine and was decommissioned on June 29, 2012.

History

Siroco was ordered by a ministerial order and on a proposal of the Office of the Chief of the Navy Staff in 1974 along with other Agosta class submarine, Galerna (S-71). The construction of the ships took place on Cartagena, Spain.

On June 13, 1985, the submarine was in Cartagena's waters in a practice exercises and the only ship near was a Spanish destroyer Almirante Valdés. The two ships collided at 8.52 am. This event alarmed the destroyer who ordered to be prepared to fight.

On June 2, 2010 the S-72 was quoted in some Spanish press and radio, for photos taken of a merchant with suspect military equipment off the coast of Syria. It was a NATO Active Endeavor mission held in early March of that year.

In May 2012, the cuts by the central government over the economic crisis made it impossible to invest at least €25 million in a contract with the shipyard of Navantia in Cartagena that had been postponed during the last two years and finale, the ship was decommissioned.

After the decommission, the Spanish Navy tried to sell the submarine to other navies like the Turkish or Thai Navy. After no one bought the submarine, it was scrapped.

See also

• Agosta class
• Submarines of the Spanish Navy

Ships of the class

• Galerna (S-71)
• Mistral (S-73)
• Tramontana (S-74)

Similar ships

• Daphné-class submarine