Kim,
have to disagree mate - I am glad they went with the Collins design we finally have.
A great book is Steel, Spies and Spin....goes right through all the goings on on the Collins.
The German bid shot themselves in the foot. There were massive issues mainly around the Germans offering up an off the shelf proposal that simply did not have the range and functionality. Yes we could have had a quieter sub initially but it would have failed to achieve the long range uses intended for Collins. The public here in Australia were sold a lie, most public have in their heads that the Collins are "Dud Subs". This early media unfortunately is stuck as the position most Australians have. The fact is they are world beaters now at WESTPAC and RIMPAC and are now extremely quite and effective.
A key issue re the German proposal as per 'Steel Spies and Spin", was it met all design specs. According to the book, the basic problem with the German bid was it was obsessed in meeting the basic spec and had little regard to how the whole design proper could support the spec. -i.e.e.g the German design met the max speed spec so long as whilst the ship was on flank bell, the crew turned off the lights, heating, weren't running the galley, the a/c, and held their breath! The Swedes thought outside the box and quickly stated they could not achieve some key specs without improving the design, namely that involved building a bigger sub. The Swedes were bold enough to point out flaws in the design spec and how to correct it, the Germans took the view of simply meeting it. The British Upholders didn't get that far. (As an aside the RCN still have significant operational problems today with the Upholders - now Victoria class, and have taken decades to get boats in service.
If the Collins were so bad Kim in the end, why did the US Navy want to lease them?
Any new sub is a major undertaking for any nation. In fact I can tell you as Economist, the spin off industry boost - the multiplier effect, throughout the whole economy, vastly benefited from the Collins class project. That's not to say they aren't "perfect" or problem free - no sub is.
As for 'blisters" Kim, on Collins the major external changes were the sail and rear casing aft - I am not sure I'd call those 'blisters". If your referring to the blister like panels (-3 each side), these are sonar arrays that have not changed from design to final in service Collins spec.
I have clearly documented Al's boat differences in another thread and in the Course 072 mag. See here
http://www.taskforce72.org/forum/viewto ... it=collins
Best
John