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![]() Donau in Warnemünde | |
Class overview | |
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Name | Elbe class |
Builders | Bremer Vulkan |
Operators | ![]() |
Succeeded by | Berlin class |
In commission | 1993–present |
Completed | 6 |
Active | 6 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Replenishment ship |
Displacement | 3,586 tonnes |
Length | 100.55 m (329 ft 11 in) |
Beam | 15.40 m (50 ft 6 in) |
Draft | 4.05 m (13 ft 3 in) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Range | 2,600 nmi (4,800 km; 3,000 mi) |
Capacity |
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Complement | 40 (standard) + >38 (repair party, passengers, squadron staff) |
Armament |
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Aviation facilities | No hangar, but a heli deck was added for Sea King sized or larger helicopters |
The Type 404 Elbe-class replenishment ships of the German Navy were built to support its squadrons of Fast Attack Craft, submarines and minesweeper/hunters, as such they are usually referred to as tenders.
The ships carry fuel, fresh water, food, ammunition and other matériel. They also have a medical station aboard but doctors are not part of their standard complement and will have to be flown in. The tender also manage waste disposal for the ships they support at sea and can carry out minor repairs of assigned ships. For this purpose Elbe-class tenders assigned to fast attack craft squadrons, for example, carry the SUG repair and support shop specialized for these boats on their deck in a set of 13 standard containers.
Extensive communication gear and accommodations enable them to serve as squadron flagship.
While in general all Elbe-class tenders are quickly configurable to be reassigned to support other squadrons, one of the six ships is usually modified to support German submarines - carrying batteries for reloading for example. This ship - currently Main - while still being of the same class, and easily reconfigurable - is often named as a separate "sub-class" due to this larger modification.
Pennant number | Name | Call sign | Commissioned | Base | Unit |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
A511 | Elbe | DRHJ | January 28, 1993 | Warnemünde | 7th FAC squadron |
A512 | Mosel | DRHK | July 1, 1993 | Kiel | 5th Minesweeper squadron |
A513 | Rhein | DRHL | September 1, 1993 | Kiel | 3rd Minesweeper squadron |
A514 | Werra | DRHM | December 9, 1993 | Kiel | 3rd Minesweeper squadron |
A515 | Main | DRHN | June 10, 1994 | Eckernförde | 1st Submarine squadron [1] |
A516 | Donau | DRHO | November 15, 1994 | Warnemünde | 1st Corvette squadron |
The ships were named after German rivers.
The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol to identify their ships by type and by individual ship within a type. The system is analogous to the pennant number system that the Royal Navy and other European and Commonwealth navies use.
A naval ship is a military ship that is used by a navy. Naval ships are differentiated from civilian ships by construction and purpose. Generally, naval ships are damage resilient and armed with weapon systems, though armament on troop transports is light or non-existent.
A ship's tender, usually referred to as a tender, is a boat or ship used to service or support other boats or ships. This is generally done by transporting people or supplies to and from shore or another ship.
A submarine tender, in British English a submarine depot ship, is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines.
The third USS Proteus (AS-19) was a Fulton-class submarine tender in the United States Navy.
USS McKee (AS-41), named after Andrew McKee, was the third Emory S. Land-class submarine tender built by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company of Seattle, Washington for the United States Navy.
An auxiliary ship is a naval ship designed to support combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliary ships are not primary combatant vessels, though they may have some limited combat capacity, usually for purposes of self-defense.
A depot ship is an auxiliary ship used as a mobile or fixed base for submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, fast attack craft, landing craft, or other small ships with similarly limited space for maintenance equipment and crew dining, berthing and relaxation. Depot ships may be identified as tenders in American English. Depot ships may be specifically designed for their purpose or be converted from another purpose.
Einsatzflottille 1 is one of the three brigade-level units of the German Navy, in addition to Einsatzflottille 2 and the Naval Air Command. It is based in Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, and is under the head of the Navy Command, based in Rostock.
The 1. Ubootgeschwader is a submarine squadron of the German Navy. It is based at Eckernförde, Schleswig-Holstein, and forms part of Einsatzflottille 1, headquartered in Kiel.
Rhein (A513) is the third ship of the Elbe-class replenishment ships of the German Navy.
Werra (A514) is the fourth ship of the Elbe-class replenishment ships of the German Navy.
Main (A515) is the fifth ship of the Elbe-class replenishment ships of the German Navy.
Donau (A516) is the sixth ship of the Elbe-class replenishment ships of the German Navy.
This glossary defines the various types of ships and accessory watercraft that have been used in service of the United States. Such service is mainly defined as military vessels used in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, as well as the defunct, incorporated, or renamed institutions such as the United States Revenue Cutter Service. Service of the United States can also be defined in this context as special government missions in the form of expeditions, such as the Wilkes Expedition or the North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition. The scope of the glossary encompasses both the "Old Navy" of the United States, from its beginnings as the "Continental Navy", through the "New Navy" and up to modern day. The watercraft included in the glossary are derived from United States ships with logbooks published by the National Archives and Records Administration.
The Type 701Lüneburg-classreplenishment ship was a class of eight replenishment ships of the German Navy. Each ship in the class bore the name of a German city that ended in -burg.