Seal class
 Three seal-type mine clearance drones
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
In the German Navy, a seal is a remote-controlled mine clearance boat that is used to fight sea mines using acoustic and magnetic fields. The core of the boat is a large magnetic coil designed as a hollow bar.
history
Hollow rod removal equipment were already in World War II by the German Navy used successfully in the 1960s with the prototypes walrus and sea cow for the German Navy redeveloped as a radio control device. The TROIKA PLUS application process used today was developed from this and has been in use since the early 1980s.
Of the seal class, 18 units were built at Maschinenbau Kiel (MaK) between 1980 and 1982 , with three to four being assigned to a hollow rod boat .
Mode of action
The seal- class boats are simulation clearing devices that are remotely controlled from a command platform. They essentially consist of a magnetic coil integrated into the fuselage for clearing magnetic mines. In addition, every boat has a sound buoy for clearing acoustic mines.
With these devices, the boat generates ship-like magnetic fields and noises that trigger the detonators of the sea mines and detonate the mine. Due to its special design, the releasing boat is not damaged.
Technology and modernization
The seal is powered by a twelve-cylinder V-Diesel, which transfers its power to a Schottel rudder propeller by means of hydraulics .
The actual hollow bar is provided with a wooden boat hull, a deck and a bridge house that accommodates the crew who can be deployed on the boat. In addition, these equipment features improve sea behavior. Thus, the boats are seaworthy and solid vehicles that remain operational even in difficult weather conditions.
In the period from 2007 to the end of 2011, the now almost 30-year-old boats were modernized and repaired at the current P + S Werften GmbH for almost 25 million euros. In particular, the areas of electrical engineering, drive and armature equipment have been technically updated. The rewinding of the magnetic coil was a particular challenge. For this purpose, the unique "seal wrapping machine" in the Kiel Naval Arsenal was reactivated. With this it was possible to wrap around ten kilometers of copper cable around the boiler body.
Operation and use
The boats were initially assigned to the 6th minesweeping squadron stationed in Wilhelmshaven . Six boats of the Lindau class (class 320) were used as hollow bar dump boats , which were converted to class 351 and, together with the tender Werra, formed the 6th minesweeping squadron.
The hollow bar steering boats were later replaced by boats of the Ensdorf class (class 352). The 5th mine sweeping squadron stationed in Kiel was equipped with this system until it was disbanded in 2015 .
For transfer trips, e.g. B. the relocation to the operational area, there were two men on the seal . Only soldiers with a seal driver's license were allowed to drive a seal- class boat . In order to acquire a driver's license, the soldier went through a three-week training course, which was concluded with an examination.
In 1991, this remote sea mine clearance system demonstrated its efficiency and safety in the second phase of Operation South Flank . In an area considered mine-free after mine hunting operations by the Allied forces, the TROIKA system cleared almost 20 ground mines without losses.
In December 2015, six seals were offered for scrapping. The tender was renewed in January 2018 by VEBEG.
See also
- List of ships of the Bundeswehr
- Project 1300 (Soviet Navy class of small mine clearance boats)
- Project 1253 (Soviet Navy class of small mine clearance boats)
Web links
- The mine clearance drones on marine.de
- The mine clearance drones on marine-portraits.de
- The mine clearance drone on 7tes-msg.de
Individual evidence
- Jump up ↑ "Ensdorf" class hollow rod boat (352). In: Marine. Bundeswehr, September 27, 2016, accessed on January 11, 2018 (information on the technical data).
- ↑ 7th Mine Sweeping Squadron. Retrieved on January 11, 2018 (private website without legal notice).
- ^ German-Dutch cooperation on anti-mine equipment. KMT - Kraus Messtechnik GmbH, accessed on January 11, 2018 .
- ↑ 5th Mine Sweeping Squadron. In: www.marine.de. May 2, 2011, archived from the original on June 7, 2012 ; accessed on January 11, 2018 .
- ^ The stationing of the Bundeswehr in Germany. (PDF; 3.3 MB) Federal Ministry of Defense, October 2011, p. 124 , accessed on January 11, 2018 .
- ↑ Fritz-Rüdiger Klocke: Mine-clearing drone SEEHUND - first major inspection after 30 years. In: Marine. Bundeswehr, January 11, 2012, accessed on January 11, 2018 .
- ↑ tender 1805490.001. (PDF) VEBEG, January 10, 2018, accessed on January 11, 2018 (6 hollow rod remote clearing devices "Seehund" ex S / N: 02, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17).