Albatross class

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Albatros class
The hawk in October 1985
The hawk in October 1985
Ship data
country GermanyGermany (naval war flag) Germany
Ship type Speedboat
Shipyard Lürssen , Vegesack
Kröger shipyard , Schacht-Audorf
Construction period 1972 to 1977
Launch of the type ship October 22, 1973
Units built 10
period of service 1976 to 2005
Ship dimensions and crew
length
57.6 m ( Lüa )
width 7.8 m
Draft Max. 2.6 m
displacement 390  t
 
crew 40 men
Machine system
machine 4 MTU diesel engines
Machine
performance 		18,000 PS (13,239 kW)
Top
speed 		42 kn (78 km / h)
propeller 4 three-leaf ø 1.3 m
Armament
Sensors
  • Maritime surveillance radar
  • Navigation radar
Others
EloKa system Octopus
decoy launcher "Hot Dog"
Chaff ejector DAG 2200 "Cloud"

The Albatros class (class 143) was a class of ten missile speed boats of the German Navy .

With the Gepard class (143A), they represented the end point of development in German speedboat construction. Like their predecessors in the German Navy , they were seaworthy displacement boats powered by four powerful diesel engines. In contrast to the Tiger class boats that were procured in cooperation with France , they were again built with a wooden hull on light metal frames.

Compared to the boats of classes 140 to 142 , however, they were considerably larger in order to be able to serve as a platform for anti-ship missiles and a more powerful artillery and to be able to offer additional space for the considerably increased demands on electronic reconnaissance and warfare. The boats were equipped with the automated combat and information system for high-speed boats (AGIS) and could attack up to five targets at the same time under radar control. In addition to the four anti-ship missiles, they were equipped with two 76 mm rapid-fire cannons. The two rear-facing torpedo tubes for wire-guided torpedoes have not been used in recent years.

The boats of the Albatros class replaced those of the Seeadler class of the 2nd Schnellbootgeschwader and were finally stationed in Warnemünde . According to the NATO - doctrine of the Cold War they were originally intended for coastal defense and block the Baltic Approaches and for use in North and Baltic optimized. With the conceptual reorientation of the Bundeswehr from a defense army to a global intervention force, the speedboats no longer met the requirements.

On December 13, 2005, the last two boats in this class were decommissioned. Six boats were sold to Tunisia , four served as spare parts carriers for the boats of the Gepard class still in service , two of these four were sold to Ghana in 2010.

Planning and construction

The construction and design of the Albatros class boats were carried out by the Lürssen shipyard (Bremen-Vegesack) in collaboration with MTG Hamburg. This conception was based on a military demand on October 25, 1966 and was taken note of by the Defense Committee of the German Bundestag on June 3, 1969 and approved on June 18, 1969, as was the Budget Committee. On July 7, 1972, the construction contract between the Federal Office for Defense Technology and Procurement and AEG-Telefunken as general contractor was signed. It finally went to the Lürssen and Kröger shipyards on July 13, 1972 . The construction costs of the class 143 weapon system amounted to around 469 million euros. (Composite) wood was used as building material for the hull planking and light metal for the deck, the frames and the superstructure. The connection between the frames and the planking was made using a gluing process, which initially caused problems for the shipyards because the glue originally used decomposed the wood at the glue point. Asbestos was also used in the boats for the fire-resistant coating of the wood and light metal parts, which had to be removed in the 1990s in extensive renovations.

Machine system

Three boats of the class 143 and one of the class 143 A in the base Hohe Düne

The drive consisted of four high- speed four-stroke 16-cylinder drive diesel engines with cylinder bank deactivation and exhaust gas turbocharging (MTU 16 V 956 TB 91) with a continuous engine output of 4000 hp each at 1515 rpm and a maximum output of 4500 hp each at 1575 rpm and one each Reversing reduction gear KSS 60 from MTU. The boats were equipped with four three-bladed propellers each 1.30 m in diameter and two oars. The electric system consisted of four electric diesel motors with 177 HP each / 135 kVA per generator.

Armament

The barrel armament of the Albatros class consisted of two radar-controlled guns 76 mm Oto Melara L / 62 type CS 1 in single turrets. The boats also had four starters for the MM.38 Exocet sea ​​target missile system in two double groups, permanently installed and diverging at 55 ° port or 65 ° starboard to the boat's longitudinal axis. In addition, two 533 mm torpedo tubes for wire-guided torpedoes in the direction of fire were scaffolded aft. The “Cloud” chaff ejector and the “Hot Dog” decoys were on board for self-protection .

Guide means

The navigation was carried out with GPS and radar 3 RM / 20; A HSA WM 27/52 DU and an OGR 7/3 (optical alignment column) were available for fire control. The "octopus" system was on board for electronic warfare . As a command and weapon deployment system, the boats used the "Automatic Combat and Information System for Speed ​​Boats" (AGIS) with Link 11 (situation picture exchange ). The boats were also equipped with three life rafts, a rubber dinghy, a bow anchor in the starboard side duct and magnetic self-protection (MES).

Overview of class 143 speedboats

designation Commissioning Decommissioning Whereabouts
S61 Albatross November 1, 1976 March 24, 2005 Naval Arsenal Wilhelmshaven , initially spare parts carrier , in 2012 as Naa Gbewaa (P 39) to Ghana
S62 falcon April 13, 1976 December 16, 2004 Marine Arsenal Wilhelmshaven, spare parts carrier
S63 vulture June 2nd 1976 September 29, 2005 Tunisian Navy (507 Himilcon )
S64 buzzard August 14, 1976 March 24, 2005 Marinearsenal Wilhelmshaven, initially spare parts carrier, in 2012 as Yaa Asantewaa (P 38) to Ghana
S65 Sparrowhawk September 27, 1976 June 30, 2005 Tunisian Navy (506 Hamilcar )
S66 Griffin November 25, 1976 June 30, 2005 Tunisian Navy (505 Hannon )
S67 condor 17th December 1976 December 16, 2004 Marine Arsenal Wilhelmshaven, spare parts carrier
S68 sea eagle March 28, 1977 September 29, 2005 Tunisian Navy (508 Hannibal )
S69 hawk 23rd December 1977 December 13, 2005 Tunisian Navy (509 Hasdrubal )
S70 cormorant July 29, 1977 December 13, 2005 Tunisian Navy (510 Giscon )

Web links

Commons : Albatros class  - collection of images, videos, and audio files