Rhön class

*Rhön* class
	The Rhön (A 1443) in front of Piraeus
Ship data
country	Germany
Ship type	Fuel transporter
Shipyard	Kröger shipyard , Rendsburg
Launch of the type ship	1974
Units built	2
period of service	Since 1977
Ship dimensions and crew
length	130 m ( Lüa )
width	19.3 m
Draft	Max. 8.2 m
displacement	14,169 t
crew	42 (civil)
Machine system
machine	1 × MaK 12M551A MaK - diesel engine
Machine ; performance	8,000 PS (5,884 kW)
Top ; speed	16 kn (30 km / h)
propeller	1 × KAMEWA variable pitch propeller
Transport capacities
Tank capacity	11500 m³

The Rhön class comprises two fuel transporters of the German Navy .

Technical data and tasks

The ships have an operational displacement of 14,169 tons and a maximum speed of 16 knots . The loading capacity is around 11,500 cubic meters. The ships are from a twelve-cylinder - MaK - diesel engine driven with an output of 5,880 kW or 8,000 hp. The engine acts on a controllable pitch propeller. The crew consists of civilian forces and consists of 40 to 42 people.

The ships are used to supply units of the German Navy. For this purpose, the technical devices are designed according to the military requirements.

history

The two ships of the class were built in the 1970s as civil oil tankers Okene and Okapi for the Danish shipping company Terkildsen & Olsen and were supposed to fly the Liberian flag . They were offered for sale after a short time and on March 18, 1976 they were acquired by the German Navy , which put them into service in 1977 as Rhön (A 1443) and Spessart (A 1442) . They are named after the low mountain ranges Rhön and Spessart .

Both ships belong to the German navy's supply squadron, the Rhön is stationed in Wilhelmshaven , the Spessart in Kiel .

Due to engine problems, the two ships were taken out of service in June 2018. DNV GL , which is responsible for ship safety, withdrew the operating license from the two tankers. They are slated to be repaired and remain in service until 2024. Two class 707 fuel transporters are planned as replacements .

commitment

During a mission as part of Operation Atalanta , the Spessart was attacked by pirates on March 29, 2009 off the coast of Somalia . The security team on board returned fire on the pirates and was able to repel the attack, then the tanker took up the pursuit of the fleeing pirates. Summoned warships were finally able to arrest the attackers.

Web links

Commons : Rhön- class collection of images

Trossgeschwader , Bundeswehr
Class 704 at marine.de ( Memento from July 12, 2016 in the Internet Archive )

Footnotes

↑ Jürgen Rhades (Ed.): Yearbook of the Navy . Episode 16. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-7637-4700-1 , p. 182 (all data if not available from marine.de).
↑ Marine tankers chained . In: Eckernförder Zeitung . July 3, 2018, p. 4 .
↑ Start of the project: New tankers for the fleet ; Navy official website , accessed July 30, 2019
↑ Somalia: German Navy repels pirate attack. In: Spiegel online. March 30, 2009, accessed October 22, 2014 .
^ Mission "Atalanta". Criminal charges in Kiel against pirates. In: faz.net. March 31, 2009, accessed October 22, 2014 .

[1] Jürgen Rhades (Ed.): Yearbook of the Navy . Episode 16. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-7637-4700-1 , p. 182 (all data if not available from marine.de).

[2] Marine tankers chained . In: Eckernförder Zeitung . July 3, 2018, p. 4 .

[Marine1-3] Start of the project: New tankers for the fleet ; Navy official website , accessed July 30, 2019

[4] Somalia: German Navy repels pirate attack. In: Spiegel online. March 30, 2009, accessed October 22, 2014 .

[5] Mission "Atalanta". Criminal charges in Kiel against pirates. In: faz.net. March 31, 2009, accessed October 22, 2014 .