The Type 540 Gal-class submarines is a slightly modified variant of the German Type 206 submarine (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 shipyards in Barrow-in-Furness in the 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 S-class and T-class; submarines whose hull designs dated back to the decade before World War II.
Unit Run[]
- INS Gal
- INS Gur
- INS Rahav
- INS Tanin