They were further developed from the Albatros class (143) and are largely identical in construction. The ten boats of the class were put into service in the 7th Schnellbootgeschwader from 1982 to 1984 and were the last speedboats in the German Navy since 2006. The home port was last at the Warnemünde naval base in Rostock until the squadron was decommissioned on November 16, 2016.
The Gepard class was equipped with four Exocet anti-ship missiles and the command and weapon deployment system Automatic Combat and Information System for Speed Boats (AGIS) to coordinate fire fighting with other units. The multi-purpose guns of the 76 mm caliber gave the boats an artillery ability that was exceptional even for speedboats . In contrast to the previous class, the boats no longer had any torpedoes, but instead had mine-laying capacity. The RAM missile defense system , which was installed in place of the rear turret, gave them significantly improved self-protection. However, this system did not come on board until about ten years after the boats were put into service due to significant delays in development from 1993 onwards. Until then, they were less armed than the Albatros class due to the lack of a gun .
task
The boats of the Gepard class were originally used for coastal defense and surveillance of the North and Baltic Seas. With the conceptual reorientation of the Bundeswehr from a pure defense army to an emergency force that may be deployable worldwide, the speedboats no longer meet the requirements (reasons: one-guard system, i.e. no shift changes, limited seaworthiness, poor stamina).
From 2008, the fast patrol boats were Gepard class first by five corvettes of the Braunschweig class adds. Four further frigates ( multi-purpose combat ship 180 ) that were brought into the Bundeswehr planning are ultimately to completely replace the speedboats. On November 16, 2016, the S80 Hyena, the last boat of the 7th (and last) Schnellbootgeschwader, was decommissioned.
↑ Sandra Mittelstädt: "Get down the flag and pennant": The end of an era . In: Deutsche Marine: Newsletter for Reservists , Edition II 2016, pp. 5–6 ( PDF )
↑ Thomas Mansfeld, Denny Wöhler: The decommissioning of the 7th Schnellbootgeschwader: The end of an era , In: Die Einsatzflottille 1 - from October 2015 to September 2016 -, yearbook 2016 of the Einsatzflottille 1 ( PDF ), pp. 61-66
↑ Andre Thimm: Four weeks SQX 71/16: Decommissioning actually feels different! , In: Die Einsatzflottille 1 - from October 2015 to September 2016 -, Yearbook 2016 of the Einsatzflottille 1 ( PDF ), pp. 67–69
↑ The operational readiness ended on July 4, 2016, see also Chronik Einsatzflottille 1 , p. 7.