Kongelige Danske Marine

Kongelige Danske Marine
The Danish naval war flag
Lineup	1510
Armed forces	Danish Armed Forces
Type	Armed forces ( navy )
Strength	2900 men plus reserves and naval home defense
Søværnskommandoen (Naval Command)	Karup
management
Chef for Søværnskommandoen (Chief of the Naval Command)	Rear Admiral Torben Mikkelsen

The Kongelige Danske Marine ( German  Royal Danish Navy ) is also called Søværnet ( German  literally: Seewehr ) and is the naval force of the Kingdom of Denmark and thus part of the Danish armed forces . The Danish Navy can look back on over 500 years of history.

The navy consists of 2900 men. As of January 1, 2020, women made up 7.6 percent of all military and operational personnel. In 2019, 162 conscripts served in the Navy, 35 of them women (21.6 percent share). There are also about 7,300 reservists and 4,000 men in the naval home army .

assignment

See also : Allied Command Baltic Approaches

The L16 Absalon and F357 Thetis in front of Copenhagen at the fleet parade for the 500th anniversary of the Danish Navy (2010)

The task for the Danish Navy was and is determined by the geographical characteristics of Denmark: One half of the kingdom consists of islands ( Zealand , Funen etc.), the other half of the mainland (the Jutland peninsula ). Denmark is also located exactly on the three straits between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea , and it ruled both sides of these straits until the 17th century. The minimum task of the Danish fleet has always been to protect the Danish islands (possibly by giving up the mainland) and Copenhagen from landing operations by enemy fleets.

Other main tasks were and are, in addition to the defense of the Danish coasts and waters, the control of the Baltic Sea accesses, the security of the connections to Norway and Skåne and the predominance in the southern and western Baltic Sea (between Zealand and Bornholm ). In addition, the Danish Navy is jointly responsible within NATO for the protection of the Faroe Islands and the defense of Greenland . After the US troops withdrew from the island state of Iceland , the Danish Navy took over the Icelandic coastal defense together with the Icelandic Coast Guard (Landhelgisgæsla Íslands).

In the 500 years of its existence, the fight against pirates in the Danish-Norwegian waters and on the rest of the world's oceans has always been one of their tasks. The Navy has regularly delegated a corvette to NATO to participate in peacekeeping operations .

History of the Danish Navy

→ Main article : History of the Danish Navy

The history of Danish seafaring began with the Great Migration and the Viking Voyages at the latest, and the use of sails appeared from the 6th century. Danish ships ruled the North Sea from the 9th to the 11th centuries, and mostly the Baltic Sea from the 12th to the 17th centuries. Your main opponents were Lübeck and the Hanseatic League in the Middle Ages, Sweden in modern times, then Great Britain and Germany. In the meantime, important allies were the Netherlands and Russia. A national and permanent Royal Danish Navy (initially including Norway) was not created until the beginning of the 16th century (1510). Twice, after the robbery of the Danish fleet by the British Royal Navy (1807) and after it was scuttled during the Second World War (1943), the Danish navy had to be rebuilt.

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  Sea battle on the Kolberger Heide (1644)

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  Bombardment of Copenhagen (1807)

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  Sea battle at Heligoland (1864)

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  Scuttling of the Danish fleet (1943)

organization

Danish waters (excluding the Faroe Islands and Greenland) and the most important naval bases: Frederikshavn (North Sea Squadron), Korsør (Baltic Sea Squadron, minesweeper), Kongsøre (Frogman Corps), Copenhagen (Naval Academy), Helsingør (Garrison until 1991)

The Danish fleet is traditionally divided into two squadrons ( Eskadre ), a North Sea or Kattegat squadron (1st squadron) and a Baltic squadron (2nd squadre). In addition, there is a marine special command ( Frømandskorpset ) known as “frogmen” , a combination of marine infantry and combat divers. The squadrons include ships with different functions and sizes. The Navy also has mobile, land-based anti-ship missile batteries. The navy developed the modular type of ship Standard-Flex-300 , whose ships can be used as surveillance boats, anti-submarines and mine-laying / mine clearing boats, depending on the equipment and training of the crew . The Navy has permanently stationed units for environmental monitoring, fisheries monitoring and for safeguarding sovereign rights off Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

bases

The main base of the 1st squadron is now Frederikshavn on the Kattegat, the main base of the 2nd squadre is Korsør on the Great Belt. Most of the minesweepers and miners are in Korsør. The Frogman Corps is based in Kongsøre on Zealand. At Karup in the middle of Jutland is the naval headquarters and the operations center ( naval headquarters ) of the admiral responsible for the home waters. In the capital, Copenhagen, is the Royal Naval Academy, which has been training naval officers for over 300 years.

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  Marines at the Korsør naval base

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  L16 Absalon and F358 Triton in Frederikshavn

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  Naval Academy in Copenhagen

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  Coast Guard mobile missile battery

The management of all naval operations lies with the Admiralty's staff in Karup and the Arctic Command . The material command of the armed forces (FMT) in Copenhagen is responsible for the logistics .

Special unit

Frømandskorpset in action against pirates off Aden

Frømandskorpset (German Froschmannkorps ) is a combat swimmer unit of the Danish Navy. The unit is considered to be one of the most capable combat swimming units in NATO .

Frømandskorpset conducts amphibious reconnaissance , ambushes and sabotage, as well as demolitions and evacuations under water . The soldiers are trained in hand-to-hand combat , boarding ships and for maritime anti-terrorism operations such as hostage rescue on ships or drilling platforms . In peacetime, the soldiers support the Danish police in their search for castaways.

Ships

Most of the Navy's smaller ships belong to the standard Flex 300 class, a type of ship based on a modular design. Depending on the equipment and training of the crew, it can be used as a surveillance boat, submarine hunter and mine-layer / mine clearing boat. The names of ships in the Danish Navy are usually preceded by the prefix KDM (Kongelige Danske Marine - Royal Danish Navy), in English literature and on international missions also alternatively HDMS (Her / His Danish Majesty's Ship).

Warships and boats

• 3 anti-aircraft frigates of the Iver Huitfeldt class (replaced the corvettes of the Niels Juel class )
  • F361 Iver Huitfeldt
  • F362 Peter Willemoes
  • F363 Niels Juel
• 2 command and support ships of the Absalon class (2004)
  • Absalon (L 16) (2004)
  • Esbern Snarre (L 17) (2005)
• 4 Thetis class Ocean Patrol Vessel
  • F357 Thetis ; F358 triton ; F359 Vædderen ; F360 Hvidbjørnen
• 1 Agdlek class patrol cutter

Diana- class patrol boats

Identifier	Surname	Callsign	Launch	Commissioning	image
P 520	Diana	OVFA	March 27, 2006	December 12, 2007
P 521	Freja	OVFB	August 29, 2006	May 30, 2008
P 522	Havfruen	OVFC	November 29, 2006	September 25, 2008
P 523	Naiads	OVFD	March 27, 2007	December 11, 2008
P 524	Nymphs	OVFE	July 30, 2007	May 4, 2009
P 525	rota	OVFF	October 19, 2007	December 12, 2009

Holm- class patrol boats

Identifier	Surname	Callsign	Launch	Commissioning	use as	image
A 541	Birkholm	OUGO	December 10, 2005	January 27, 2006	Survey boat
A 542	Fyrholm	OUGQ	August 5, 2006	December 21, 2006	Survey boat
A 543	Ertholm	OUGP	March 25, 2006	May 8, 2006	School boat
A 544	Alholm	OUGR	January 6, 2007	February 7, 2007	School boat
MSD 5	Hirsholm	OVEA	May 5, 2007	May 29, 2007	Anti-mine drone
MSD 6	Saltholm	OVEB	November 3, 2007	March 28, 2008	Anti-mine drone

Coastal defense ships

Denmark's coastal defense ships are operated by the Marine Home Service ( Marinehjemmeværnet ). They are divided into three classes:

MHV 800 class (1992)

number	Surname	Construction year	image
MHV 801	Aldebaran	1992
MHV 802	Carina	1992
MHV 803	Aries	1993
MHV 804	Andromeda	1993
MHV 805	Gemini	1994
MHV 806	Dubhe	1994
MHV 807	Jupiter	1994
MHV 808	Lyre	1995
MHV 809	Antares	1995
MHV 810	Luna	1996
MHV 811	Apollo	1996
MHV 812	Hercules	1997
MHV 813	Baunen	1997
MHV 814	Budstikken	1998
MHV 815	Kureren	1999
MHV 816	Patriots	2000
MHV 817	partisan	2001
MHV 818	Sabotøren	2000 Conversion to MHV 850

MHV 850 class (2010)

number	Surname	Construction year	image
MHV 851	Sabotøren	Renovation 2010

MHV 900 class (2003)

number	Surname	Construction year	image
MHV 901	Eno	2003
MHV 902	Mano	2004
MHV 903	Hjortø	2005
MHV 904	Lyø	2005
MHV 905	Askø	2006
MHV 906	Fænø	2007
MHV 907	Hvidsten	2008
MHV 908	Brigades	2008
MHV 909	Forwarders	2009
MHV 910	Wrestling	2009
MHV 911	Bopa	2009

Environmental monitoring, sea rescue and fisheries protection

Environmental monitoring and environmental protection vessels

Until 1996, the ships were operated by the Ministry of Environment and then passed into the administration of Kongelige Danske Marine :

• Supply class (1996)
  • A560 Gunnar Thorson (1996)
  • A561 Gunnar Seidenfaden (1996)
• Seatruck class (1996)
  • A562 Mette Miljø (1996)
  • A563 Marie Miljø (1996)
• Miljø class (1996)
  • Y340 Miljø 101 (1996)
  • Y341 Miljø 102 (1996)
  • Y342 Miljø 103 (2008)

Lifeboats

• Knud Rasmussen- class, Ocean Patrol Vessel
  • P570 Knud Rasmussen
  • P571 Ejnar Mikkelsen

More ships

The royal yacht Dannebrog (A 540) and the three icebreakers A551 Danbjørn , A552 Isbjørn , A553 Thorbjørn are also part of the Navy.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Søværnets structure. forsvaret.dk, November 27, 2015, accessed on August 3, 2020 (Danish). 
2. ↑ Kvinder i Forsvaret and Beredskabsstyrelsen. Forsvarsministeriet Personalestyrelsen, January 29, 2020, accessed on August 3, 2020 (Danish). 
3. ↑ Værnepligtige i Forsvaret demands på værn og køn i 2019. Forsvarsministeriet Personalestyrelsen, January 29, 2020, accessed on August 3, 2020 (Danish). 
4. ^ Armed Forces of the World - Denmark. In: GlobalDefence.net. May 13, 2006, accessed November 22, 2016 . 
5. ↑ Wolfgang Weber: Military Doctrines of NATO and its Member States , pages 82-86. Military publishing house of the GDR, Berlin 1988
6. ^ Prefixes of naval ships
7. ↑ Royal Danish Navy / Kongelige Danske Marine seaforces.org
8. ↑ THETIS tilbage i dansk farvand. forsvaret.dk, April 29, 2008, accessed November 22, 2016 (Danish). 
9. ↑ Søopmålingsskibe. (No longer available online.) Søværnet, archived from the original on February 11, 2016 ; Retrieved May 22, 2017 (Danish). 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.  
10. ↑ Skolefartøjer. (No longer available online.) Søværnet, archived from the original on February 11, 2016 ; Retrieved May 22, 2017 (Danish). 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.  
11. ↑ Minerydningsdroner. (No longer available online.) Søværnet, archived from the original on February 11, 2016 ; Retrieved May 22, 2017 (Danish). 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.  
12. ↑ 850-classes. Hjemmeværnskommandoen, accessed October 10, 2017 (Danish). 

Web links

Commons : Danish Naval Forces  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Søværnet Forsvaret.dk
• navalhistory.dk