At first glance, I thought our SOFREP “pic of the day” photo was a colorized old World War II photograph. Then I looked closer. “No,” I thought to myself, “That’s the USS Enterprise.” Then, I looked at the caption and found out the image was taken in 2001. In the Caribbean.

The photo was taken through the periscope of the German submarine U-24 during a joint US-German training exercise. The German sub managed to pass under the entire carrier strike group undiscovered. It conducted a mock torpedo firing before surfacing near the Enterprise and shooting green flares. My Navy friends tell me that green flares signify “torpedo fired.”

About the German Sub

The U-24 was part of Germany’s Type 206 diesel-electric submarine class, a Cold War-era fleet built for the Bundesmarine with one mission in mind: defend home waters and stay invisible doing it. Designed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW), this sub was tailor-made for the tight, shallow confines of the Baltic Sea. It evolved from the earlier Type 205 and came packed with features to make any Soviet sonar operator sweat. Most notably, the hull was crafted from non-magnetic steel—a smart move that helped it avoid detection from magnetic anomaly detectors and protected it against magnetic naval mines. That non-magnetic hull was more than clever engineering; it was a tactical advantage.

At just under 50 meters in length and weighing in at about 500 tons submerged, the U-24 was compact but deadly. It carried a crew of 22 to 27 and ran on two diesel engines and a Siemens-Schuckert electric motor, giving it solid range and a submerged top speed of 17 knots. This boat could quietly sneak around for over 4,500 nautical miles on the surface at cruising speed, and it could hit depths beyond 200 meters. With eight 533 mm torpedo tubes and the capacity to carry up to 24 mines, the U-24 wasn’t just a stealthy scout—it could bite, too.

German Type 206 Sub
German Type 206 Submarine. Image Credit: seaforces.org

Built between 1969 and 1975, eighteen of these submarines hit the water, with the U-24 being one of them. Many of the class were later upgraded to the Type 206A standard in the ’90s, receiving improved sonar, electronics, and weapons systems. They stayed in service until the early 2010s, with some eventually handed off to other navies once Germany was done with them.

What made these boats particularly impressive wasn’t simply the tech, but how well they performed in the field. In naval exercises, Type 206 submarines—including the U-24—had a knack for slipping past carrier group defenses unnoticed. That’s the kind of performance that makes admirals reconsider their assumptions. In short, the U-24 was no slouch. It was a lean, quiet, and highly capable submarine built for one of the most strategically complex environments in the world. NATO’s Cold War playbook had a few key assets, and the U-24 was one of them.

About the USS Enterprise

The USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was a floating symbol of American power and technological dominance. Nicknamed the “Big E,” she was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in history and the eighth U.S. naval vessel to carry the Enterprise name. Laid down in 1958 and commissioned in 1961, this steel giant stretched over 1,100 feet, making her the longest warship ever built. She displaced over 93,000 tons and needed a crew of about 4,600 to keep her humming. And while the plan was to build a whole class of these carriers, cost killed that dream, leaving her as the only one of her kind. Powered by eight nuclear reactors—more than any other carrier ever—Enterprise was a one-of-one in every sense.

Over the course of 51 years and 25 deployments, the Enterprise lived up to her name. She was a Cold War warrior from the jump—helping track America’s first orbital spaceflight in 1962, then showing the flag during the Cuban Missile Crisis blockade that same year. She circled the globe without refueling during Operation Sea Orbit in 1964, proving the Navy could project power anywhere, anytime. And when it came to combat, Enterprise was the first nuclear-powered ship to see action, launching airstrikes in Vietnam starting in 1965. She was there during the fall of Saigon, Libya’s comeuppance in 1986, and the tanker war in the Persian Gulf. In the ’90s, she enforced no-fly zones over Bosnia and Iraq, and by the time the War on Terror kicked off, she was one of the first ships on station in both Afghanistan and Iraq.