Condor class

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P30. The former minesweeper and clearing ship was used by the Armed Forces of Malta from 1992 to 2006
P30. The former minesweeper and clearing ship was used by the Armed Forces of Malta from 1992 to 2006
Overview
Type Mine sweeper and clearing ship
units 21st
Shipyard

VEB Peene shipyard

Order 1965
delivery 1967-1970
Decommissioning 1990
Technical specifications
displacement

339 t normal

length

52.00 m

width

7.12 m

Draft

2.40 m

crew

24

drive

2 diesel engines M 40D with 2942 kW, 2 screws

speed

maximum 20  kn

Range

1900  nm

Armament

Condor class was the NATO name for a class of mine sweeping and clearing ships (MSR) of the People's Navy of the GDR . In the Volksmarine, the ships carried the project number 89.1 and, after the introduction of the extended variant (project 89.2), the designation MSR-short for differentiation . In 1984 the ships were again reclassified as coastal anti-mine ships (MAW).

Construction and history

The planning for Project 89.0 was carried out in 1965 by the Institute for Shipbuilding in Wolgast (ISW) and the Peene shipyard . From 1967 the production of the further development project 89.1 began. By 1970, 21 ships (project numbers 89.101 to 89.121) had been built for the Volksmarine .

The ships were deliberately equipped with little comfort, because according to the doctrine of "immediate counterstrike" valid at the time of construction in the event of an attack by NATO on the Warsaw Pact , the ships would have had to clear mine barriers from the air under a high threat, and the loss Many MSR in this action seemed likely to the planners of the People's Navy.

As early as 1971, 18 ships were handed over to the 6th Coastal Border Brigade of the border troops as patrol boats and deployed there in three border ship departments of six ships each.

Various causes are given as reasons for decommissioning this modern type of ship with good seaworthiness . On the one hand, it is assumed that the ships with their small dimensions were not suitable for the use of modern mine clearance equipment or that their anti-aircraft armament was too weak; on the other hand, it is stated that the ships were needed by the border troops to achieve the required "effectiveness of border security" to guarantee.

Despite their service at the border security of the GDR, the ships kept their anti-mine equipment, as they would have been reassigned to the People's Navy as reinforcement in the event of war. One of the main tasks of the 6th Coastal Border Brigade and its ships was to prevent escapes from the GDR by sea.

technical description

Drive, sensors and devices

Propulsion system with motor, shaft and propeller, exhibited in Peenemünde.

The ships had a welded steel hull. Two Soviet-designed diesel engines of the type M-40D with a total of 2942 kW were used as propulsion , which could accelerate the ships of the class to around 20 knots via two propellers. The ships were equipped with a 3 cm navigation radar of the type TSR 333 and a sonar KLA 58m to search for sea ​​mines . All ships were equipped with transmitters and receivers for the Soviet friend-foe recognition system of the "nichrome" type to identify friendly ships or aircraft and to confirm their own identity to the allies .

For emergencies there was a bilge pump, a separate fire pump and a so-called ship sprinkler system (KS spray system), which in the event of a fire on the deck could spray the entire ship via a pipeline running along the superstructure.

Armament

Main armament of the ships of this class was a double gun carriage type 2M-3 , equipped with 25 mm machine guns , on the back was placed in an open tower.

Even if it did not correspond to the actual order, could if necessary from the quarterdeck sea mines or depth charges are dropped into the sea.

To clear mines, a clearing device of the type "shear kite device" (SDG R / L) (with floats of the type "shear kite") could be towed on cables behind the ships to remove anchor mines or - with the help of so-called hollow rods - simple types of Fight ground mines.

Modifications

  • In 1972 two ships were equipped as carriers for electronic reconnaissance technology ( SIGINT ), Project 65.201 KOMET and Project 65.202 METEOR . They had no permanently installed armament and an additional superstructure with radio equipment had been put on the aft deck instead of the cable winches for the clearing equipment.
  • Two other ships were equipped as torpedo fishing boats.

Current Status

There are no more ships of this type in service with the German Navy . Three ships had to be decommissioned before 1990. The mass was scrapped after the fall of the Wall , three of the rest were sold to the Maltese Navy ; two of them, the Maltese P 29 (ex "Boltenhagen") and P 31 (ex "Pasewalk"), were sunk in shallow water in 2007 and 2009 as an attraction for diving tourists . KOMET and METEOR were given away to Estonia in 1994 . Five more ships went to Tunisia , another was initially taken over by the German coast guard and later transferred to Cape Verde to be used there as a fisheries inspection ship.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Harald Fock: Combat ships, naval shipbuilding in German shipyards from 1870 to today . Koehler, Hamburg 1995, ISBN 3-7822-0624-X .
  2. ↑ http://www.parow-info.de/Einheiten/MSRKondorkurz.html data at parow-info.de
  3. ↑ a b c http://aggi-info.de/SB_IH/fileadmin/Artikel/info%2015/a5%20Jablonsky.pdf KzS a. D. Walter Jablonsky, PDF, viewed June 28, 2009
  4. ↑ http://www.ddr-binnenschifffahrt.de/dienstschiffe-gb-kueste.htm ddr-binnenschiffahrt.de, viewed on June 27, 2009
  5. ↑ http://www.projekt891.de/B_cont45.html  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Project 891.de on the whereabouts of the ships, seen on June 26, 2009@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.projekt891.de  
  6. ↑ http://www.mare-tv.de/mare/hefte/beitrag-aufm.php?id=90&heftnummer=5 mare-tv.de Excerpt from issue number 5, viewed on June 25, 2009
  7. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from November 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Report on the use of the condor class ship “Graal Müritz” (89.114) against GDR refugees and Bodo Strehlow's attempt to escape, sighted June 27, 2009
  8. ↑ a b Type details on the former site Seeman1978.beepworld.de, viewed on June 26, 2009 ( Memento from May 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  9. ↑ http://www.projekt891.de/B_cont67.html  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Project 891.de, viewed on June 26, 2009@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.projekt891.de  
  10. ↑ http://www.projekt891.de/B_cont89.html  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Project 891.de, viewed on June 26, 2009@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.projekt891.de  
  11. ↑ P 29, position of the wreck, sighted on September 20, 2012
  12. ↑ http://mta-news.info/0907/pr26/ Malta, website of the tourism authority, viewed on October 17, 2009
  13. ↑ Peter Schmalz: Belgium only wanted a MG and a cartridge from the NVA. In: welt.de . February 6, 1996, accessed October 7, 2018 .
  14. ↑ Anthony H. Cordesman: The military balance in the Middle East. 2004, ISBN 0275983994 , p. 114.
  15. ↑ Eric Wertheim: The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World. 15th edition, US Naval Institute Press, 2007, ISBN 159114955X , p. 96.

literature

  • Hans Mehl, Knut Schäfer: The naval forces of the NVA . Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-613-02406-3 .

Web links