German Navy

The German Navy (German: Deutsche Marine ) is the navy of Germany and part of the Bundeswehr.

The German Navy traces its roots back to the Imperial Fleet (Reichsflotte) of the revolutionary era of 1848-1852 and more directly to the Prussian Navy, which later evolved into the Northern German Federal Navy (Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, 1866-1871) and became the Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine, 1872-1918). From 1919 to 1921 it was known as the Temporary Imperial Navy (Vorläufige Reichsmarine) and then became the Reichsmarine. It was known as the War Navy (Kriegsmarine) from 1935 to 1945.

In 1956, with West Germany's accession to NATO, a new navy was established and was referred to as the Federal Navy (Bundesmarine). With the reunification of Germany in 1990, it was decided to simply use the name Deutsche Marine ("German Navy").

German frigate "Karlsruhe" rescuing shipwrecked people off the coast of Somalia while participating in the international anti-terror operation ENDURING FREEDOM, April 2005

The Laboe Naval Memorial for sailors who lost their lives at sea during the World Wars and while on duty at sea

Missions

The German Navy is part of the German armed forces (Bundeswehr), and is deeply integrated into the NATO alliance. Its mission includes the participation in peace-keeping and peace enforcement operations as well as the protection of German and Allied territories. German war ships permanently participate in all NATO Maritime Groups. The German Navy is also engaged in operations against international terrorism such as Operation Enduring Freedom and NATO Operation Active Endeavour.

Organization

The German Navy is commanded by the Chief of the Naval Staff in the Federal Ministry of Defense in Bonn. The major commands are the Fleet Command at Glücksburg near Flensburg and the Naval Office at Rostock. The Fleet is commanded by the Commander-in-Chief German Fleet (CINCGERFLEET) and comprises all combat vessels, aircraft, helicopters and other combat forces, while schools, naval bases and test installations are under the purview of the Naval Office. The strength of the Navy is about 19,000 men and women with another 6,000 navy personnel serving in different elements of the central military organization of the Bundeswehr.

The navy as a part of the Bundeswehr is responsible for developing and providing the maritime capabilities of the German armed forces. Therefore it owns a number of development and testing installations that are part of an inter-service and international network.

The Fleet

*Fleet Command German: Flottenkommando (Glücksburg)
**1st Flotilla (Kiel)
***HQ 1st Flotilla
***1st Corvette Squadron (Warnemünde)
***1st Submarine Squadron (Eckernförde)
***Submarine Training Centre (Eckernförde)
***3rd Mine Counter-Measure Squadron (Kiel)
***7th Fast Patrol Boat Squadron (Warnemünde)
***5th Mine Counter-Measure Squadron (Kiel)
***Force Protection Group (Eckernförde)
****one HQ and support company
****four Force Protection companies
***Special Warfare Group (Eckernförde)
****one combat diver company
****one clearance diver company (mine counter measures and explosive ordnance disposal)
****two companies for special operations (e.g. boarding)
****one support company
****special training center
**2nd Flotilla (Wilhelmshaven)
***HQ 2nd Flotilla
***2nd Frigate Squadron (Wilhelmshaven)
***4th Frigate Squadron (Wilhelmshaven)
***Auxiliary Squadron (Wilhelmshaven/Kiel)
**Naval Air Wing 3 (Nordholz)
**Naval Air Wing 5 (Kiel), will be closed
**Naval Medical Institute (Kiel), responsible especially for diving medicine

Naval Office

*Naval Office (German: Marineamt) Headquarters (Rostock)
**Department for Development of the Navy (Bremerhaven)
**Navy Schools (Admiral Naval Training)
***Naval Academy (Flensburg-Mürwik)
***Petty Officer School (Plön)
***Engineering School (Parow, near Stralsund)
****Damage Control Training Centre (Neustadt in Holstein)
*** Operations School (Bremerhaven)
**Supporting Installations (Admiral Naval Logistics)
***Naval Base Command Wilhelmshaven
***Naval Base Command Eckernförde
***Naval Base Command Kiel
***Naval Base Command Warnemünde
***Naval Test Command (Eckernförde)
***Naval Command & Control Systems Command (Wilhelmshaven)

Ships and weapon systems

The main weapons systems of the German Navy are:

Surface Vessels

Modern Air Defence Frigate "Hamburg", commissioned 2005

*Frigates
**3 Sachsen class (anti-air frigate)
**4 Brandenburg class (anti-submarine frigate)
**8 Bremen class (guided missile frigate)
*Corvettes
**5 Braunschweig class corvette (multi-purpose corvette), under construction, replace Albatros class
*Fast Patrol Boats
**10 Gepard class (fast patrol boat)

Fast Patrol Boat S-71 Gepard

*Mine Counter-Measure Vessels
**5 Ensdorf class (minesweeper, drone guidance)
**5 Kulmbach class (mine hunter)
**12 Frankenthal class (mine hunter)
**M1052 Mühlhausen (diver support)

Submarines

Modern Type 212A Submarine with air independent propulsion, commissioned 2005

*Submarines
**4 U212A class (multi-purpose submarine), 2 more planned, replace U206A class
**10 U206A class (coastal submarine)

Auxiliary Vessels

*Landing craft
**2 Barbe class (Type 520) utility landing craft
*Auxiliary vessels
**2 Berlin class (Type 702) multi-product replenishment ship, one more planned
**2 Walchensee class (Type 703) fleet oiler
**2 Rhön class (Type 704) fleet oiler
**1 Westerwald class (Type 760A) ammunition transport
**6 Elbe class (Type 404) tender
**2 Wangerooge class (Type 722B) seeschlepper
**3 Oste class (Type 423) fleet service/electronic surveillance ship
**2 Bottsand class (Type 738) oil recovery ship
**1 Gorch Fock class (Type 441) sail training ship
**1 Planet class (Type 751) research ship

Aircraft

Breguet Atlantic Br.1150 of the German Navy

*Maritime Patrol Aircraft
**6 Bréguet Atlantic
**8 P-3 Orion, replace Bréguet Atlantic
**4 Dornier Do 228
*Helicopters
**21 Sea Lynx Mk88
**20 Sea King Mk41
**30 NH90, planned, replace Sea King and Sea Lynx

Sea King Mk41 from MFG 5 in special 30th anniversary colour scheme at Weston-super-Mare, UK, July 2005

Future Developments

* 4 frigates of the F125-Class specialised for stabilisation missions are planned to replace the Bremen-Class (8 guided-missile frigates). F 125 will have two crews per ship.
* 6 surface combat ships are planned under the name "MÜKE" (Mittlere Überwasserkampfeinheit / Medium Surface Combatant), no further details are available.
* Five Corvettes of the Braunschweig-Class (Class 130) will replace the 30 years old Albatros Class
* A third fleet auxiliary ship of the Berlin-Class is planned, but commissioning was postponed beyond 2010.
* The German Navy bought in 2005 eight Lockheed P-3 Orion from the Dutch Navy to replace the old Bréguet Atlantic
* 30 MH90 helicopter will replace 22 Sea King helicopter of the Naval Air Wing 5 and some Sea Lynx helicopter

See also

* List of ships of the German navies
* List of ship classes of the Bundesmarine and Deutsche Marine
* U-boat
* Kampfschwimmer
* Marineamt

External links

* www.marine.de - Offizieller Internetauftritt der Deutschen Marine in German
* www.marine.de/en - Official Website of German Navy in English
* http://hk.geocities.com/german_navy_ww2/ - with detail information of German Navy during world war one and two in Chinese