Sachsenwald class
The two mine layers and mine transporters of the Sachsenwald class ( class 762 ) of the German Navy were put into service in August 1969. The Sachsenwald (A1437) and the Steigerwald (A1438) were in use until the early 1990s.
construction
The ships were at the shipyard HC Stülcken son in Hamburg laid Kiel . After taking over the Stülcken shipyard in 1966, Blohm + Voss completed the ships.
technology
The water displacement was 2962 ts at a draft of 3.4 meters (greatest draft). The ships were 111 meters long and 13.9 meters wide and had a maximum speed of 17 knots . It was driven by two diesel engines with 2800 hp each , which worked on two variable-pitch propeller systems from Escher-Wyss . Four diesel generators provided the power supply. The crew consisted of 65 men.
The two ships were designed for sea mine transport and mine laying. The mines were loaded and transferred to other ships using four on-board cranes. Mine-laying could be carried out through four mine-throwing flaps at the stern in the intermediate deck and from two throwing points on the main deck. With the exception of the forward area of the ship, where the mine clearing room was housed, the tween deck was intended for the storage of sea mines without any subdivision and was reminiscent of the interior of a train ferry. In addition, there were four platform decks and four stowage, which were connected to the intermediate deck by four elevators for transporting mines.
The defensive armament consisted of four 40 mm anti-aircraft guns "58 Breda Mod.II 62" from Bofors in two naval double mounts (MDL). The guns could be remotely controlled via optical alignment columns of the type "OGR 7". There were also two fog chambers on the intermediate deck at the stern in order to camouflage the mine throwing with fog . In the last few years, these cloud chambers only served as storage space.
To protect themselves against NBC weapons, the ships were able to build up an overpressure inside, a so-called "citadel". In this case, external access was through an ABC lock with decontamination devices .
Both mine transporters were rebuilt in the 1980s to strengthen their combat capabilities. The open bridge was removed; the new bridge roof received a railing and was accessible via the companionway on the signal deck. Behind the bridge, the ships were given an extension for the ESM room with access through the bridge. On the upper deck, at the height of the funnel, platforms were installed on both sides, on each of which a Breda-type chaff rocket launcher was placed. The launchers were controlled from the ESM room. The Steigerwald was later also given a chimney cladding to reduce its heat signature in order to reduce the risk from infrared- controlled anti-ship missiles .
Use and whereabouts
Initially, both ships belonged to the supply ship association , then to the mine-laying squadron at the Flensburg-Mürwik naval base . From 1972 they belonged to the 1st minesweeping squadron in Flensburg .
The Sachsenwald was decommissioned on September 26, 1991, the Steigerwald on November 4, 1993. After their decommissioning, both units went to Vebeg GmbH , the federally owned trust company for the recovery of decommissioned public property, and were then scrapped.
A Steigerwald's propeller and anchor are now on public display on the fairground in the Lower Franconian wine village [[Abtswind]].
Web links
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- Federal Archives, inventory overview
- "Marine" (Status: May 1969, publisher: The Federal Minister of Defense, M 77080569200)
- Siegfried Breyer, Gerhard Koop; The ships and vehicles of the German Federal Navy 1956–1976 ; Munich 1978; ISBN 3-7637-5155-6 , p. 227 f.
- Holger Schlüter, Die "Hacken", 50 years of mine transporters . In: Marineforum 1 / 2-2020, p. 42 f.
Georg Eckoff "Abtswind in the course of the centuries" book