Elbe-class replenishment ship

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.

Donau in Warnemünde
Class overview
NameElbe class
BuildersBremer Vulkan
Operators German Navy
Succeeded byBerlin class
In commission1993–present
Completed6
Active6
General characteristics
TypeReplenishment ship
Displacement3,586 tonnes
Length100.55 m (329 ft 11 in)
Beam15.40 m (50 ft 6 in)
Draft4.05 m (13 ft 3 in)
Propulsion
Speed15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Range2,600 nmi (4,800 km; 3,000 mi)
Capacity
  • 24 standard 6.2 m containers (maximum)
  • Supplies:
  • 700 m³ fuel
  • 60 m³ aviation (helicopter) fuel
  • 280 m³ fresh water
  • 160 tonnes ammunition
  • 40 tonnes supplies
  • Disposal:
  • 5 tonnes solid waste
  • 180 m³ waste water
  • 32 m³ waste oil
Complement40 (standard) + >38 (repair party, passengers, squadron staff)
Armament
Aviation facilitiesNo hangar, but a heli deck was added for Sea King sized or larger helicopters

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.

List of ships

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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.

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References

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  1. ^ "1 Submarine Squadron". www.bundeswehr.de. Retrieved 2024-08-11.