Mine Force Flotilla
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|---|---|
| active | 1957/1962 to June 29, 2006 |
| Country |
 Germany
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| Armed forces |
 armed forces
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| Armed forces |
German Navy
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| Type | Command authority |
| Insinuation |
 Fleet command
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| Last seat of the staff | Naval Base Olpenitz |
| guide | |
| Last commander | Sea captain Jürgen Herling |
| insignia | |
| Flotilla stand of the commander of the mine forces |
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The Flotilla of the Mining Forces (MSFltl) was a large unit of the German Navy . It was on October 1, 1957 as the command of the minesweepers placed on 1 July 1962 in command of the mine armed forces and on 1 January 1967 in flotilla of mine Forces renamed and released on June 29 of 2006. Your remaining units were integrated into the operational flotilla 1 .
History and stakes
prehistory
At the end of World War II, there were large numbers of sea mines in German and international waters off the German coast. The Allies saw their evacuation as a task of German authorities and ordered on May 8, 1945, that mine clearing associations of the Navy should be used for this task. They formed the German mine clearance service . At the beginning of the clearing operations, 800 vehicles were ready. After the most important sea routes had been cleared, the mine clearance service was continuously reduced and transferred to smaller organizations, which also included sea border protection . Its staff and members of other clearing units under Allied leadership formed the core of the new Federal Navy in 1956 .
Development of the flotilla
(For the history of the individual squadrons and other units, see subordinate units )
As early as the spring of 1956, the navy was able to set up the first minesweeping squadrons (MSG) from the minesweepers it had taken over, whose task, in addition to training new crews for building up the navy, still consisted of clearing mines from the war. With the establishment of the minesweeper command in Cuxhaven on October 1, 1957 , a so-called type command was created under which all forces intended for mine warfare were brought together from 1958. This also included various land units. The command was subordinate to the command of the naval forces , the later naval command .
On April 1, 1968, the flotilla staff moved from Cuxhaven to Wilhelmshaven . During the Cold War , the squadrons were stationed at various bases on the North and Baltic Seas . This was to ensure that they were quickly available in both operating areas and could not be switched off by a blow in a single base.
In 1991 a new planning of the stationing was decided, and from August 1994 first the flotilla staff, then several of the squadrons, moved to the base in Olpenitz , which should serve as a type base according to the new base concept . Only the squadrons that were about to be decommissioned remained in their previous bases. The gun diving group also kept its location in Eckernförde . This stationing was essentially maintained until the MSFltl was decommissioned in summer 2006.
Tasks in the NATO alliance and missions
The 1st and 2nd MSG were the first naval squadrons to be assigned to NATO on April 1, 1957 . Other squadrons soon followed and were therefore available to the Alliance in the event of war.
In order to have mine defense forces directly subordinate to it even in peacetime, on May 11, 1973, NATO set up a permanent mine defense association called the Standing Naval Force Channel (STANAVFORCHAN, now Standing NATO Mine Counter Measure Force 1, SNMCMG 1), which consisted of boats from several navies. The German Navy was involved in this association from the beginning and provided the commander several times. A tender was also provided as a management platform during the regular one-year management periods. In the same way, units and members of the MSFltl participated in the later established NATO mine defense association in the Mediterranean, the current SNMCMG 2.
Units of the MSFltl belonged to the first parts of the Bundeswehr, which took part in missions abroad from 1990 onwards . As early as the summer of 1990, an association with five anti-mine units was deployed for Operation South Flank in the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf. At the beginning of 1991, the German leader of this association was temporarily employed as a coordinator for the allies' entire mine clearance after the Second Gulf War . In 1995, the deployment of an anti-mine group was planned as part of Operation Deliberate Force , but was not called.
In the summer of 1999, several MSFltl boats took part in Operation Allied Harvest . Their aim was to render ammunition dropped on the Adriatic Sea harmless during the Kosovo war in order to eliminate threats to fishing. Regular participation in the NATO-PfP exercise series Open Spirit in the Baltic Sea has served the same purpose since 1996 . Mines and remains of ammunition from both World Wars and the Cold War period were cleared off the Baltic coast.
organization
The MSFltl consisted of the flotilla staff and the subordinate squadrons and independent units. The core of the flotilla was formed by the minesweeping squadrons, the number of which changed several times over the course of time. As an independent unit, the flotilla was subordinate to the mine diving company for a long time, which later became part of the weapon diving group, which was also part of the MSFltl.
At times, for organizational reasons, the MSFltl was also subject to forces not serving mine warfare. These included the combat swimmers integrated into the weapon diving group , the naval service boats subordinate to the mine-laying squadron, and some landing craft that were integrated into a minesweeping squadron.
The MSFltl should not be used as a closed association. In the minesweepers, the squadron formed the tactical unit, which in turn was usually divided into two divisions when deployed. The squadron commanders were the tactical leaders (Officer in Tactical Command, OTC) and also led the 1st division. The deputy commanders (S3 staff officer) led the 2nd division. The tender of a squadron served as a supply and command platform. The mine hunting boats were mostly used as single drivers and performed their anti-mine task independently.
After the merger of the MSFltl at the type base in Olpenitz , the squadron staff were integrated into the flotilla staff and reduced in size, while support tasks were centralized.
At the head of the MS-Fltl was a commander with the rank of a sea captain .
Commanders
| No. | Surname | Period | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18th | Jürgen Herling | 2004-2006 | Assigned as deputy to perform the tasks |
| 17th | Hans-Christian Luther | 2003-2004 | |
| 16 | Hans-Joachim Unbehau | 2001-2003 | |
| 15th | Hans-Joachim Stricker | 09.1997-2001 | later commander of the fleet |
| 14th | Klaus-Peter Hirtz | 09.1995-09.1997 | |
| 13 | Wolfgang E. Nolting | 09.1993-09.1995 | later inspector of the Navy |
| 12 | Jörg Auer | 10.1992-09.1993 | |
| 11 | Henning Gieseke | 10.1990-09.1992 | |
| 10 | Waldemar Feldes | 04.1985-09.1990 | |
| 9 | Klaus-Peter Niemann | 10.1981-03.1985 | |
| 8th | Wolfgang Brost | 10.1977-09.1981 | |
| 7th | Dieter Wellershoff | 12.1975-09.1977 | Later inspector general of the Bundeswehr |
| 6th | Hans-Harro Stüben | 09.1972-12.1975 | |
| 5 | Horst Little | 10.1969-09.1972 | |
| 4th | Carl Clausen | 04.1967-09.1969 | |
| 3 | Reinhart Ostertag | 10.1964-04.1967 | January 1, 1967 renamed the Flotilla of the Mine Forces |
| 2 | Wolfgang Haack | 07.1961-09.1964 | July 1, 1962 Renaming to Command of the Mine Forces |
| 1 | Adalbert von Blanc | 10.1958-07.1961 | 10.1957-10.1958 not yet a deployed commander of the unit |
Subordinate associations
The first squadrons that were placed under the command of the minesweepers had already been set up from 1956 and were initially directly under the command of the naval forces . Over the years there has been a larger number of changes in the position of individual boats between the squadrons, which cannot be shown in detail.
Mine sweeping squadron
1. Mine sweeping squadron
(May 16, 1956– December 21, 2005)
The 1st Minesweeping Squadron (1. MSG) was set up on May 16, 1956 as the 1st Rapid Minesweeping Squadron in Bremerhaven. On June 5, 1956, four clearing boats from the inventory of the Labor Service Unit (B) under the names Orion , Rigel , Merkur and Sirius were put into service in Cuxhaven. By July 31, 1956, the number of the squadron, now based in Wilhelmshaven, increased to 12 clearing boats of the Capella class (class 359), of which two were handed over to the 3rd MSG to be set up in October 1956. In December 1956, the 1st MSG moved to the Flensburg-Mürwik naval base command , where the Oste joined in as a makeshift squadron tender in January . The 1st MSG was initially directly under the command of the naval forces and was placed under the command of the minesweepers on October 1, 1958 .
In April 1957, the 1st MSG was assigned to NATO and thus belonged to the first group of Bundeswehr parts that were made available to the alliance for use. In February 1959, the first five boats, which had meanwhile been very used, were taken out of service. From November 1960, the association , which was renamed the 1st Minesweeping Squadron on February 15, ran into 10 fast minesweepers (SM boats) of the Schütze class (class 340/341 - all boats of the 1st MSG class 340). On May 11, 1963, the Oste was replaced by the new tender building Saar (class 402). In 1972 the two mine transporters Sachsenwald and Steigerwald , which had previously belonged to the mine-laying squadron, were subordinated to the 1st MSG . Due to material problems, some of the SM boats had to be taken out of service in the mid-1970s. In the course of this measure, three boats of the 1st MSG were replaced by boats of the 3rd MSG.
Between 1990 and 1994 all vehicles of the squadron were decommissioned in quick succession. Instead, the squadron received 12 mine-hunting boats of the Frankenthal class (class 332) and the Werra tender (class 404) as new buildings . The squadron staff moved to Olpenitz in 1992. In 1999 three boats were handed over to the newly established 3rd MSG. When the 1st MSG, the oldest squadron of the Navy, was decommissioned on December 21, 2005, tenders and boats were divided between the 3rd and 5th MSG.
2. Mine sweeping squadron
(June 1, 1956–1965)
The 2nd Mine Search Squadron (2nd MSG) was commissioned on June 1, 1956 as the 2nd Sea Mine Search Squadron in Bremerhaven . By August 1956, the squadron received six minesweepers of the former Kriegsmarine of the types 1940 and 1943 , uniform class 319 for the German Navy : seal (T40), sea lion (T40), sea urchin (T40), sea horse (T40), starfish (T43) , Sea snake (T43). In the same autumn of 1956, it moved to Wilhelmshaven, renaming it as the 2nd Minesweeping Squadron. The 2nd MSG was initially under the command of the naval forces and was placed under the command of the minesweepers on October 1, 1958 .
The boats were the last coal-fired steamships in the Navy and soon proved to be so worn out that they had to be decommissioned in January and February 1960. As a replacement, six boats of the French type Mercure , a variant of the American Bluebird class , were ordered in France and put into service as coast minesweepers (KM boats) of the Vegesack class (class 321) from September 1959 to October 1960 . The 2nd MSG did not have a tender .
As early as 1963 these boats were taken out of service again due to financial and personnel shortages and added to the reserve flotilla , where individual boats were reactivated briefly for reserve exercises in the following years. The squadron staff was also deactivated, but remained a reserve unit until it was finally decommissioned in 1965. At the end of 1973 the boats were removed from the list of ships and in 1975 they were given to the Turkish Navy as equipment aid.
3. Mine sweeping squadron
(October 2, 1956– September 23, 1992, April 1, 1996 to date)
The 3rd Minesweeping Squadron (3rd MSG) was commissioned on October 2nd, 1956 as the 3rd Rapid Minesweeping Squadron in Bremerhaven and moved to Wilhelmshaven that same month. On August 1, 1958, the 3rd MSG relocated to Kiel and on February 15, 1960 it was renamed the 3rd Mine Detection Squadron. On September 23, 1992 the 3rd MSG and all boats were taken out of service. On April 1, 1996, the 3rd MSG was reorganized in Olpenitz . The squadron relocated to Kiel again in 2005 and has been subordinate to operational flotilla 1 since July 1, 2006 .
4. Mine sweeping squadron
(October 1, 1956– September 17, 1997)
The 4th Minesweeping Squadron (4th MSG) was set up in Wilhelmshaven on October 1, 1958 and remained at this location until it was decommissioned. From December 1958, six coastal minesweepers (KM boats) of the Lindau class (class 320) ran to the Paderborn . After the 8th MSG was dissolved in the summer of 1958, three more boats from its portfolio followed.
From 1968 twelve of the total of 18 KM boats class 320 were converted into mine hunting boats (MJ boats) of class 331 A and 331 B. All twelve MJ boats were placed under the 4th MSG. With the arrival of the Marburg , the conversion was completed in 1979.
From 1977 to 1984, the 4th MSG and the 6th MSG were combined as part of a troop test to form the North Sea mine defense squadron, but without being formally incorporated into it. After the end of the experiment, the old squadron division was resumed.
The 4th MSG did not have its own tender until the previous supplier Nienburg (class 701) was assigned to it as a tender around 1991 . From 1991 onwards, several boats were gradually decommissioned. The 4th MSG was decommissioned on September 17, 1997 and the remaining MJ boats and the Nienburg were handed over to the 6th MSG.
5th Mine Sweeping Squadron
(October 1, 1958 - September 27, 2016)
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The 5th Minesweeping Squadron (5th MSG) was set up on October 1, 1958 in Neustadt in Holstein . Right from the start, it was equipped with ten newly built speed minesweepers (SM boats) of the Schütze class (class 340/341 - all boats of the 5th MSG class 341). On April 1, 1959, SM-Boot Schütze was the first boat to join the squadron. On June 8, 1963, Tender Mosel (class 402) was put into service for the 5th MSG. After completion of the new base, the squadron relocated to Olpenitz on November 28, 1967 , where it remained until 2006.
The number of boats has changed over the years. As with the 1st and 3rd MSG, some of the boats were taken out of service prematurely. At times, the squadron was subordinate to two boats each from the Vegesack and the Frauenlob class . The inventory was later cleaned up so that the 5th MSG consisted of ten SM boats and one tender for a long time.
In 1987 the generation change from the Schütze class boats to the new Hameln class boats (SM boats class 343), sometimes also referred to as mine combat boats , whose type ship was put into service on June 29, 1988. Nine more boats followed. These boats were to be used primarily for laying mines in the Baltic Sea. To protect against air threats, they had two 40 mm guns guided by a fire control radar and the Link 11 PALIS data link system . They thus had strong equipment for anti-mine vehicles for self-protection. Tender Mosel was decommissioned in 1990 and replaced in 1993 by a new building of the same name ( class 404 ).
From 1999 the ten boats of class 343 were converted. Five of the boats remained with the squadron as hollow rod boat class 352 (HL boats), while the remaining boats were subordinated to the 3rd MSG after conversion to MJ boat class 333. For this, the 5th MSG received five BM boats class 394. After the BM boats were decommissioned, the 5th MSG received three MiJBoote 332 from the inventory of the dissolved 1st MSG (MiJBoote 332 Bad Bevensen , Grömitz , Datteln ) and one MiJBoot 332 from the 3rd MSG (MiJBoot 332 Bad Rappenau ). These four boats were mainly used to support the naval protection forces and, together with the five HL boats and tender Mosel, formed the inventory with which the 5th MSG was transferred to the operational flotilla 1 in 2006.
The 5th minesweeping squadron only consisted of the three tenders of the mine forces and the two remaining HL boats. On December 11, 2015, the subordination of the last two mine detection units to the 3rd MSG took place. The 5th mine sweeping squadron was decommissioned on September 27, 2016 in Kiel. The three tenders were transferred to the newly established support squadron together with the two speedboat tenders of the German Navy .
6th Mine Sweeping Squadron
(March 1, 1958– December 13, 2000)
The 6th Minesweeping Squadron (6th MSG) was set up on March 1, 1958 in Wilhelmshaven. and initially consisted of six KM boats of the Lindau class (class 320). In 1963 three more boats of the same class from the dissolved 8th MSG were added. From October 1, 1977 to July 1, 1984, the 6th MSG was combined with the 4th MSG as part of a troop test to form the North Sea anti-mine squadron , but without being formally incorporated into it.
Between 1978 and 1983, six KM boats were converted into hollow bar boats of class 351 (HL boats), which were part of the TROIKA mine defense system. Each boat had three seal- type hollow rod remote steering devices . After the end of the troop attempt, the 6th MSG consisted of the six HL boats, the associated 18 seals and the Werra tender (class 401). Werra was decommissioned in 1991, followed by Wetzlar (1995) and Tübingen (1997).
With the decommissioning of the 4th MSG on September 17, 1997, three MJ boats class 331 and tender Nienburg came to the 6th MSG, which now consisted of four HL boats and 18 seals in addition to these vehicles. The remaining vessels were decommissioned by the end of 2000 and the seals were handed over to the 5th MSG. On December 13, 2000, the squadron staff was disbanded and the service of the 6th MSG ended.
7th Mine Sweeping Squadron
(January 1, 1967 - January 1, 1996)
The 7th Minesweeping Squadron (7th MSG) was set up on January 1st, 1967 in Neustadt and was originally to be called 1st Coast Guard Squadron (1st KWG). The ten boats of the Frauenlob class (Kl. 394) ( Frauenlob , Nautilus , Gefion , Medusa , Undine , Minerva , Diana , Loreley , Atlantis , Acheron ) were initially referred to as coast guard boats (KW boats). It was not until 1968 that the boats were equipped with simple mine clearing equipment and reclassified as inland minesweepers (BM boats).
The boats experienced an unusually frequent change in their hull numbers. As BM boats, except for the last two boats, they initially had the corresponding NATO IDs (W 31 – W 38). In 1967 they were temporarily given M identifiers, which were replaced by a Y identifier in 1969 because the squadron had not yet been assigned to NATO. With the NATO assignment in 1973, the boats again received M numbers, which, however, differed from the original ones.
The stationing and existence of the 7th MSG remained unchanged until its decommissioning in 1996.
8th Mine Sweeping Squadron
(April 1, 1959– July 15, 1963)
The 8th Minesweeping Squadron (8th MSG) was set up in Cuxhaven on April 1, 1959 and received six coastal minesweepers class 320 ( Lindau class ):
- M 1082 Wolfsburg (commissioning: October 8, 1959),
- M 1083 Ulm (commissioning: November 7, 1959),
- M 1084 Flensburg (commissioning: December 3, 1959),
- M 1085 Minden (commissioning: January 22, 1960),
- M 1086 Fulda (commissioning: March 5, 1960),
- M 1087 Völklingen (Commissioning: May 21, 1960)
In April 1962, the squadron relocated to Borkum , where it only stayed for a few months. On November 2, 1962, the KM boat Minden had a collision with a minesweeper of the type Krake of the Volksmarine near Gedser-Feuerschiff when two boats of the type Krake tried to push the Minden into the territorial waters of the GDR . After the decommissioning order issued in June 1963, the squadron relocated to Wilhelmshaven on July 15 that year and was disbanded there. Flensburg , Fulda and Völklingen were given to the 4th MSG and Wolfsburg , Ulm and Minden to the 6th MSG.
2nd Coast Guard Squadron and 10th Mine Sweeping Squadron
(January 1, 1962– September 16, 1968)
The 2nd Coast Guard Squadron (2nd KWG) was created on January 1, 1962 in Cuxhaven from the staff and three coast guard boats (KW boats) of the 3rd Coast Guard Squadron . The test types were class 360 ( Hansa ), class 361 ( Niobe ) and class 362 ( Ariadne ) (see below prototypes and unrealized projects ). The 2nd KWG was initially under the command of the Cuxhaven naval base and on July 1, 1964, was placed under the command of the mine forces. The squadron received a total of eight KW class 362 boats, which were reclassified to inland minesweepers (BM boats) class 393 on January 1, 1966 after being renamed the 10th Mining Squadron (10th MSG) . The other boats were handed in in 1964 and 1965. At times the BM boat Holnis (class 390) also belonged to the 10th MSG. The 10th MSG was dissolved on September 16, 1968. The boats were decommissioned and transferred to the reserve flotilla, where they remained until reactivation in 1974.
Mine Defense Squadron North Sea
(October 3, 1977– June 30, 1984)
As part of a troop test, the North Sea Mine Defense Squadron (MAG North Sea) was formed on October 3, 1977 by merging the 4th and 6th MSG in Wilhelmshaven, with these two squadrons formally remaining. The aim was to combine all mine-hunting and TROIKA minesweepers of the Lindau class in one squadron and at the same time to save on staff and management personnel. With 18 boats, however, the association was difficult to manage and the hoped-for savings could not be realized. Therefore, the squadron was split up again on June 30, 1984, with the 12 mine-hunting boats assigned to the 4th MSG and the six HL boats to the 6th MSG.
Other associations and units
Mine-laying squadron
(July 1, 1962– June 30, 1972)
The mine-laying squadron (MLG) was set up on July 1, 1962 as a mineship squadron in Flensburg (see Naval Base Command Flensburg-Mürwik ). It initially included the miners in Bochum and Bottrop , who had been converted from formerly American landing ships. The conversion of a third ship, which was to be named Bamberg , was canceled. On January 1, 1965, the name was changed to mine-laying squadron . From 1963 and 1967 the two measuring boats Trave and Oste were subordinated to the MLG . After the Trave was decommissioned, the Alster measuring boat was replaced by the squadron in 1971 . In the same year Bochum and Bottrop were decommissioned. As a replacement, the two mine transporters of the Sachsenwald class , which had previously been under the command of the supply ships, were subordinated to the MLG . On June 30, 1972, the MLG was decommissioned. The mine transporters were handed over to the 1st MSG and the measuring boats to the fleet service squadron , which were also stationed in Flensburg.
Reserve associations
The MSFltl was assigned the 121st and 123rd Coast Guard Squadrons (KW-Geschw.) As reserve units which, in the event of a defense, were to be made up of civilian ships of the Bundeswehr and of civilian vehicles called up. The ships of the Bundeswehr were naval and BWB vehicles such as harbor tugs, icebreakers and test boats. In the course of the restructuring of the Bundeswehr mobilization organization, the Navy dissolved its reserve units in spring 2005.
Mine diving company
(October 1, 1964– October 1, 1991)
The Minentaucherkompanie (MiTaKp) was set up in Eckernförde on October 1, 1964. It emerged from the mine diving train of the combat swimmer company, which had existed since 1957. The MiTaKp was considered an independent company, but had the character of a small battalion, because in addition to the mine diving platoons, one or two mine diving boats were always subordinate to it, which also represent the company level. At the end of the 1960s, dedicated mine diving teams were set up, which could be deployed on land or from a mine diving boat. Various former minesweepers and smaller auxiliary vessels were prepared as mine diving boats. On October 1, 1991, the MiTaKp was subordinated to the weapons diving group.
Gun diving group
(October 1, 1991 - June 2003)
The weapons diving group (WTaGrp) was set up on October 1, 1991 in Eckernförde. The mine diving company and combat swimmer company (KSKp) were subordinated to her. Thus the two branches of the armored divers of the Navy were combined in one association. In the new organization, an additional training company for weapon divers was created, so that KSKp and MiTaKp were converted into pure operational companies. The mine diving boats were placed directly under the command of the WTaGrp. In June 2003, the weapons diving group was dissolved and the units subordinate to it transferred to the Marine Specialized Forces.
Specialized marine forces
(July 1, 2003– April 1, 2014)
The Marine Specialized Forces (SEK M) were set up on July 1, 2003 from the units of the former weapon diving group with slight reclassifications. In addition, a company previously belonging to the Marine Security Battalion was integrated as a boarding company for the search of ships. A ordnance disposal platoon was incorporated into the headquarters company. In addition, the association took over the last two landing craft of the Navy, which had previously been subject to the 3rd MSG. On July 1, 2006 the SEK M were transferred to the operational flotilla 1. The battalion was disbanded on April 1, 2014. Their tasks were continued by the newly established Maritime Battalion and Special Forces Command on April 1, 2014 .
Marine Security Battalion 1
(October 1, 2001– April 1, 2005)
When the marine security regiment was dissolved on October 1, 2001, the marine security battalion 1 (MSichBtl 1) in Glückstadt was subordinated to the MSFltl as the last remaining security association of the navy. On the occasion of the reorganization of the Bundeswehr it was planned to completely dissolve the naval security forces. When, after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the German armed forces were deployed to secure US armed forces facilities in Germany, there was an additional need for security personnel. Instead of being decommissioned, MSichBtl 1 was temporarily increased to seven companies. When securing the naval base for Operation Enduring Freedom in Djibouti , it became clear that the navy's own security forces are also required for security tasks abroad. Therefore the MSichBtl 1 was transferred to the Association of Marine Protection Forces on April 1, 2005. One company was subordinated to the SEK M as a boarding company.
Naval protection forces
(April 1, 2005– April 1, 2014)
The strong battalion Marine Protection Forces Association (MSK) was set up on April 1, 2005 from parts of the former MSichBtl 1 in Eckernförde . It was used to secure naval facilities and vehicles at home and abroad, near the coast, on roads and in ports. These included the naval bases in Djibouti and Cyprus. They were also involved in other Bundeswehr missions. In addition to the headquarters company, the association also had three operational companies and a field message train . Four mine-hunting boats class 332 of the 5th MSG were permanently assigned to the MSK as platforms for sea-side support. In the course of the realignment of the Bundeswehr , the naval protection forces were disbanded in 2014 and reclassified into a sea battalion .
Duties, training and equipment
The order of the mine forces
Following the initial conceptual ideas of the German Navy, the mine forces were initially assigned the role of keeping the Baltic Sea accesses free from enemy mines in order to support a large Allied landing operation in Mecklenburg. In addition, the German seaports had to be kept mine-free in order to enable troop reinforcements and supply transports for the allies to Germany.
When the concept of an Allied landing in the Baltic Sea region proved unrealistic in the early 1960s, the concept of the Navy was adapted. It was now a matter of preventing Warsaw Pact troops from landing on the German and Danish Baltic coasts. Large mine barriers were planned for this, which had to be laid mainly by the company's own mine forces. As a consequence, the association was renamed from Command of Minesweepers to Command of Mine Forces . At the same time, the task of mine defense in the North Sea was retained, which was practiced in large-scale NATO exercises as part of the REFORGER series. These two tasks remained essentially unchanged until 1990.
With the end of the east-west confrontation, the task of mine operation lost much of its importance, while the protection of sea routes against mine threats continued to exist. Units suitable for this purpose formed the core of the first Bundeswehr contingent, which was deployed on a new type of foreign deployment as part of Operation South Flank. In addition, the MSFltl was entrusted with tasks that grew in the course of the reorganization of the navy when it changed positions. This included the amphibious transport tasks of the landing craft, the special tasks of the combat swimmers and later security tasks. When the flotilla was disbanded, this task package was transferred to Einsatzflottille 1.
education
The training of the mine forces took place at different levels. Before being transferred to the association, the staff took part in courses in accordance with their career path and range of assignments at schools in the Navy. The special training for the barrage personnel took place at the naval underwater weapons school in Eckernförde, which was later integrated into the naval weapons school as teaching group A. After its dissolution, this training was relocated to the Naval Operations School in Bremerhaven.
The commanders of the boats were responsible for the joint training of the crews, while the squadron commanders were responsible for checking and training their squadrons. Since 1990 boats have also participated in the Mine Countermeasure Vessels Operational Sea Training at the Belgian-Dutch mining school EGUERMIN in Ostend and later in Zeebrugge . The training was completed by participating in large national and NATO exercises in which the mine forces were deployed as part of the overall network of naval forces.
Deployment concepts and weapon systems
For anti-mine defense and mine use in general, see: Sea mine
Prototypes
The Navy built a number of prototypes and pre-production boats for anti-mine and coast guard duties in the 1950s and 1960s. Most of the boats were later given a civilian crew and were used for various special and experimental tasks.
Niobe class
The Niobe class consisted of two prototypes of a class of coast guard boats (type KW 55) with different propulsion systems. After their commissioning in 1958, both boats were initially subordinated to the 3rd Harbor Guard Squadron, from 1960 to the 2nd Coast Guard Squadron and from 1965 to the 10th MSG. Niobe later served as a rifle pilot boat for the development of the Troika system at the rifle test center and then as a test boat at the test center 71 of the BWB . In 1969, Hansa was converted into a mine diving boat and as a school boat it was subordinated to the mine diving company.
Holnis class
The Holnis class consisted of only one boat, which was intended as a prototype of a class of 20 inland minesweepers (type BM 1). The construction was abandoned for financial reasons. As a BM boat, Holnis was initially subject to the 10th MSG from 1966 to 1968. In 1968 it was converted into a telecommunications test boat. The entire clearance equipment was handed over. The boat received a civilian crew and was under the command for troop trials of the navy in Eckernförde.
Walther von Ledebur class
The Walther von Ledebur class consisted of only one boat, which was intended as a prototype of a class of high-speed sea minesearch boats. With a standard displacement of 775 ts, it was considerably larger than the KM boats of the Lindau class . During construction, the project was canceled in 1966 and the type ship was completed as a test boat. It had a civilian crew and could accommodate a mobile testing laboratory. In the 1990s the boat was decommissioned and later reactivated under the new name Mühlhausen as a mine diving boat with a military crew. At that time it was the largest active warship in the world that had a wooden hull.
Walrus and Manatee Class
As part of the development of the Troika hollow rod clearing system , four prototypes of remote-controlled hollow rods were built. The first vehicle was named Walrus . In a further development step, three larger vehicles named Manatee 1-3 were built in 1966 , from which the mine-clearing drones Seehund were developed for the Troika system. The experimental boat Niobe served as a steering boat .
Unrealized projects
ERMISS
The Explosion Resisistant Multi Influence Sweep System (ERMISS) was a NATO program for the defense against sea mines, which Germany had taken over the lead. A simulation clearing system was planned with which mines of all kinds, including those with pressure ignition devices, were to be cleared with reduced risk for people and material. It was a kind of barrier breaker . According to an agreement of April 25, 1978, Germany, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands and the United States were involved. However, the program could not be brought to a qualified conclusion.
Mine hunting equipment 2000
In the 1990s, a concept of new anti-mine defense systems for the existing anti-mine vehicles of the German Navy of the classes 332 and 333 was developed under the name Mine hunting equipment 2000 (MJ 2000) . The aim of the new equipment was to improve mine hunting ability under difficult soil and environmental conditions and in relation to sunken mines. At the same time, they wanted to reduce the risk to anti-mine personnel.
Similar to the TROIKA mine clearance system, remote-controlled drones should also form the core of the system in MJ 2000, whereby a remote control and guidance system developed by TROIKA should be used. For this purpose, ten double-hull platforms designed as SWATH vehicles were to be procured, which were to be guided by five class 333 minehunters converted to class 334.
The mine-hunting drones with the designation Seahorse were supposed to haul a sensor carrier with three different sonar devices underwater . A forward-facing sonar, together with a side-viewing sonar that searches both sides, should significantly increase minehunting performance against ground mines compared to conventional hull sonars, even under difficult ground conditions. A sediment sonar directed downwards should also be able to locate sunken or washed-in mines below the sea floor.
See also
literature
- Hendrik Killi: Minesweeper of the German Navy. Mittler, Hamburg a. a. 2002, ISBN 3-8132-0785-4 .
- Siegfried Breyer, Gerhard Koop: The ships, vehicles and planes of the German Navy from 1956 until today. Bernard and Graefe, Bonn 1996, ISBN 3-7637-5155-6 .
Web links
- Official website
- Mission flotilla 1. marine.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Marine Chronicle 1956–1963 ( Memento from January 4, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) on janmaat.de
- ↑ a b Marinechronik 1964–1981 ( Memento from August 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) on janmaat.de
- ^ Egbert Thomer, Jürgen Rhades: Yearbook of the German Navy 1966. First episode. Bremen 1965.
- ↑ Klaus-Peter Hirtz : "Operation Südflanke" - About the use of the mine defense association in the North Arabian Gulf in 1991 . In: Troops practice 6/1991, p 622ff.
- ↑ Open Spirit ( Memento from September 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) on marine.de
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↑ The detailed information about the squadrons and units comes mainly from the following sources:
- Federal Archives / Military Archives (inventory overview) ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- Hendrik Killi: Minesweeper of the German Navy . Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 2002, ISBN 3-8132-0785-4 .
- ↑ Peter Grundmann: Conversion of minesweepers . In: Marineforum 4-1996, p. 12 ff.
- ↑ New association in the Einsatzflottille 1 , Marine Press and Information Center, September 28, 2016. Accessed September 29, 2016.
- ↑ Press release of the German Navy, no longer available
- ↑ a b Staff Operation Flotilla 1: The Operation Flotilla 1st o. O. 2006
- ↑ Holger Hoffmann: The flotilla of the mine forces . In: Marineforum 11-2003, p. 11 ff.
- ^ Siegfried Breyer, Gerhard Koop: The ships and vehicles of the German Federal Navy 1956-1976 . Munich 1978, ISBN 3-7637-5155-6 .
- ^ Treaties In Force. (PDF; 261 kB) US Government Publishing Office (GPO), accessed on July 1, 2016 (English, MoU ERMISS).
- ↑ Heinrich Schütz: What will become of Germany's anti-naval defense? Technology at a crossroads. In: Marineforum 4-2006 p. 19 ff.
- ^ Christian Brix: Mine hunting equipment 2000 . In: Marineforum 4-1996, p. 9 ff.
- ^ Gunther Brückner: Mine hunting equipment 2000 . In: Marineforum 7 / 8-2002, p. 10 ff.
