Hellenic Navy Lieutenant Commander Dimitrios Papagrigorakis is the commanding officer of the Type 214HN diesel electric attack submarine HS MATROZOS (S 122), which was commissioned in March of 2016, and is the newest of the 11 submarines of the Hellenic Navy.
Lundquist: Tell me about your ship, and how she is intended to operate.
Papagrigorakis: This submarine is designed for both littoral and open sea operations. She is a diesel-electric submarine, fitted with a fuel cell capability which increases our capacity to stay submerged for a long period of time. Her state of the art sensors allow for stand-off target- ing while remaining undetected. The installed sophisticated equipment (I-band radar, bow and flank array sonar, TIMNEX II ESM system) are integrated with the ISUS 90 weapon control system, thus providing en- hanced operational and fighting capabilities. Moreover, our state of the art communications system in conjunction with our sensors (periscopes, optronic mast) has increased our capability to acquire an improved tac- tical maritime picture in extensive areas of operations in the Aegean Sea and beyond.
Lundquist: When you’re operating and detect a potential threat, do you go into a stealth mode, hide on the bottom, or find someplace and wait? Or do you prosecute the attack and try to move in?
Papagrigorakis: It is well known that the main advantage of a submarine, by default, is the ability to avoid detection while operating. Therefore, depending on the nature of our mission (anti-ship, anti-submarine) we conduct a variety of tactics with the main purpose to surprise our oppo- nent, while exploiting the environmental factor (weather, sea bed condi- tion, sound propagation, geography etc).
Lundquist: I would imagine that the Aegean being your home waters, you have done a lot of hydrographic studies of the bottom.
Papagrigorakis: It is true, we are highly familiarised with the environ- ment and its particularities.
Lundquist: And hopefully you know more than anyone else, so that be- comes an advantage you can exploit.
Papagrigorakis: I couldn’t agree more.
Lundquist: Have you operated outside the Aegean?
Papagrigorakis: Yes, of course. The Hellenic Navy submarines oper- ate seamlessly within NATO and the EU, thus continuously supporting the wider effort of Maritime Security in our region. In this context, we participate in NATO and EU Operations, such as Operation Sea Guard- ian (ex – Active Endeavour), and European Union Operation EUNAV- FORMED – SOPHIA. Our units operate in Aegean Sea as well as in Mediterranean Sea and wherever is necessary in order to support our national interests.
Lundquist: This is a new submarine with improved capabilities. Is this an opportunity to develop some new tactics?
Papagrigorakis: Indeed, we are in the process of such a development. Improved capabilities of type 214 submarines provide us the opportuni- ty to explore new tactics including cooperation with Special Operation Forces (SOF) and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) operations. and covert mine-laying operations.
Lundquist: Have you worked with unmanned vehicles?
Papagrigorakis: We are considering this option as a future
project. Lundquist: Do you train with other navies?
Papagrigorakis: We participate in a considerable number of national, multinational and NATO exercises. Hellenic Navy Submarines partic- ipate in respective major NATO submarine exercises, such as MANTA type. Additionally, we conduct exercises in bilateral and multilateral lev- el with allies and partners such as the exercises “NOBLE DINA” with USN and Israel Navy and “MEDOUSA” with Egyptian Navy.
Lundquist: Do you have the ability to communicate while submerged? Papagrigorakis: Yes, as most conventional submarines.
Lundquist: How do you approach the mine threat?
Papagrigorakis: We employ numerous tactics in order to reduce the risk but always we consider that we operate in a multi-threat environment, including mine danger. We also take advantage of any known national and allied information concerning SDAs and other intelligent informa- tion from our respective Mine Warfare Data Center.
Lundquist: Would you be determining the presence of mine-like objects and avoid them, or try to counter or neutralize them?
Papagrigorakis: As a submarine, we don’t neutralize mines, we just avoid them.
Lundquist: How often do you get to conduct live-fire exercises?
Papagrigorakis: We conduct such exercises on a regular basis, according to Hellenic Fleet operational training schedule. These live firing exercis- es include firings of torpedoes at a surface target.
Lundquist: You have commanded both a Type 209 submarine and now a 214. What’s the biggest difference?
Papagrigorakis: Allow me to highlight that the Type 214 is a whole new generation submarine, notwithstanding that both types have a similar de- sign philosophy. The biggest differences are the acoustic and the optical sensors; our ability to detect an enemy at greater distances; our ability to remain submerged without breaking the surface for any reason for lon- ger periods of time; and our improved communications, which are very important for the modern operations. I think these three attributes are the most important.
Lundquist: How big is your crew?
Papagrigorakis: My crew consists of 5-6 officers and about 40 petty of- ficers and warrant officers.
Lundquist: Does the Hellenic Navy have conscription?
Papagrigorakis: Yes. Conscripts serve for 12 months.
Lundquist: How would you describe your crew?
Papagrigorakis: My crew is my second family. Taking into consideration that life in a submarine, especially during deployment, is anything but normal and everyone relies entirely on each other, we consider ourselves as a “brotherhood”, members of an exclusive club. The bonds between my crew are very tight, and during our common service we have made lifelong friendships here. Mutual support and helping each other in a day to day routine is a matter of course in my crew. Moreover, my crew consists of well trained and qualified naval personnel, dedicated to the profession, devoted, with deep knowledge of their assigned duties, and make me feel comfortable and proud to be part of this crew.
Lundquist: What kind of job can you expect to get after this command assignment?
Papagrigorakis: I think that after this submarine’s command assignment; I will probably be assigned as a staff officer, ashore. Although I believe that being Commanding Officer of a submarine is one of the most hon- orable assignments in the Navy, I consider this as an opportunity to use the knowledge have acquired all these years in order to serve navy from a different post, on a higher level.
HS MATROZOS (S-122)
Displacement: 1,690 t surfaced / 1,860 t submerged Length: 213 feet 3 inches (65 m)
Beam: 20 feet 8 inches (6.3 m)
Draft: 19 feet 8 inches (6 m)
Weapons: 8 x 533 mm torpedo tubes, 4 sub-launched Harpoon-capable
Diesel engines: 2 x MTU 16V-396 (3.96 MW) Mission endurance: 12 weeks
Submerged endurance without snorkelling: 3 weeks Operating depth: Greater than 250 meters
