Tiger class

The title of this article is ambiguous. For the British cruiser class, see Tiger class (1941) .

Speedboat Heron P6159
class	148
Type	Missile speedboat
Type boat	S 41 Tiger
units	20 for the German Navy
period of service	1972–2002 Germany since ??? Egypt since 1997 Chile since 1995 Greece
Technical specifications
displacement	265 t
length	47 meters
width	7 meters
Draft	2.7 meters
Speed:	38  kn
crew	30th
drive	4 × diesel engines MTU 872-D 4 propellers
power	10,690 kW / 14,400 PS (4 × 3,600 PS)
Range	570 nm at 30 kn, 1600 nm at 15 kn
Armament	4 × anti-ship missiles MM 38 Exocet 1 × OTO-Melara - Gun 76/62 Compact 1 × 40 mm L / 70 - Bofors - Flak optional: Mine- laying device (up to 8 mines)
electronics	Maritime surveillance radar Triton G Castor-148 fire control radar Navigation radar SMA 3RM 20 Radar, command and weapon control system PALIS Radio data system Link 11

The Tiger class (148) was a class of missile speedboats of the German Navy that were in service from 1972 to 2002. They were developed in France on the basis of designs from the German Lürssen shipyard . This gave rise to a family of boat classes known as La Combattante and successfully exported. The equivalent of the German boats was the La Combattante II class . The 20 boats procured for the German Navy were partly manufactured by the Lürssen shipyard.

development

As early as the early 1960s, planning began for the successor to the speedboat classes introduced in the German Navy . Israel also showed interest in the German speedboats . When an export from Germany did not seem possible due to the War Weapons Control Act , the plans were implemented for Israel in cooperation with the French " Chantiers des Constructions Mechaniques de Normandie " in Cherbourg. First the “La Combattante” was built there, which outwardly looked very similar to the German boats of the Jaguar and Zobel classes , but in contrast to the Lürssen construction, it had a steel hull. This boat remained a one-off. From this, the "La Combattante II class" was further developed with an armament consisting of four anti-ship missiles and one 76 mm and one 40 mm gun .

Israeli Sa'ar class boat that was the basis for the La Combattante II class

The La Combattante II class was very successful for France in export, so besides Germany (20) also Greece (4), Malaysia (4), Iran (12) and Libya (10) received boats of this type. The class was further developed and delivered to other countries as La Combattante III .

Use in the German Navy

When the German Jaguar speedboats were to be replaced, the development of the later Albatros class (143) at Lürssen was not yet complete. In the search for quickly available alternatives, France was able to prevail in the tender in 1970 with its offer of boats of the La Combattante II class (43 million DM per boat). Eight of the boats were completed by Lürssen after the raw hulls had been delivered from France.

Tiger class boats in Olpenitz harbor

The boats were initially put into service with the German Navy as "Class 148" and from the mid-1970s replaced the Jaguar class boats of the 3rd and 5th Schnellbootgeschwader. Initially, the boats were not given any names. It was not until 1982 that the old names were reintroduced at the request of the crews, who had unofficially continued this and the traditions associated with it, such as the town twinning. This gave the class the name it is known today as the Tiger class .

They were designed for surveillance and warfare in the North and Baltic Seas and have been retrofitted several times during the 30 years of service with the German and German Navy. After decommissioning, they were sold to different countries or scrapped. No replacement was found. Due to the changed operating conditions, the German Navy no longer uses speedboats.

features

As a platform for four anti-ship missiles and with significantly expanded electronic capacity, they surpassed their predecessors in displacement by about a third. The Tiger class boats were the only German speedboats with metal hulls.

The German boats were powered by four MTU Type 872-D turbo diesel engines, each with 3,600 hp (V16 cylinder with two turbochargers, 86 liter displacement) on four shafts. Three V8 diesel three-phase generators MWM  232 with 88 kW each were installed to generate electricity .

The main weapons were the four MM38 "Exocet" missiles on the aft deck and a 76-mm gun turret on the foredeck and a 40-mm anti-aircraft gun at the stern . The missiles were set up in two double starters, each pointing forward obliquely to port and starboard . The Tiger class was equipped with various radar and fire control systems and the automated LINK-11 radio data system for rapid transmission of situation reports. Electronic jamming measures, radar targets and infrared decoys were available for self-protection.

Boats

NATO identifier	German identifier	Surname	Commissioning	Decommissioning	squadron	Whereabouts
P6141	P 41	tiger	Oct 31, 1972	22 Sep 1998	3rd Schnellbootgeschwader , Flensburg	September 22, 1998, Chilean Navy “Uribe” (LM-39), decommissioned March 2014
P6142	P 42	Polecat	0Jan. 8, 1973	Oct 15, 1992	3rd Schnellbootgeschwader, Flensburg	Greek Navy "Simaiforos Votsis" (P-72)
P6143	P 43	lynx	0Apr 9, 1973	Aug 27, 1998	3rd Schnellbootgeschwader, Flensburg	Chilean Navy as a spare part carrier
P6144	P. 44	marten	June 14, 1973	May 25, 1994	3rd Schnellbootgeschwader, Flensburg	Greek Navy "Plotarhis Vlahavas" (P-74), out of service anticipated. 2011 [obsolete]
P6145	P 45	leopard	Aug 21, 1973	28 Sep 2000	3rd Schnellbootgeschwader, Flensburg	Greek Navy "Ipopliarchos Tournas" (P-76), out of service anticipated. 2011 [obsolete]
P6146	P. 46	Fox	Oct 17, 1973	Dec 16, 2002	3rd Schnellbootgeschwader, Flensburg	Egyptian Navy “6. October "
P6147	P 47	jaguar	Nov 13, 1973	28 Sep 2000	3rd Schnellbootgeschwader, Flensburg	Greek Navy "Plotarhis Sakipis" (P-77), out of service anticipated. 2011 [obsolete]
P6148	P 48	lion	0Jan. 9, 1974	Dec 16, 2002	3rd Schnellbootgeschwader, Flensburg	Egyptian Navy "21. October "
P6149	P 49	wolf	Feb. 26, 1974	Aug 27, 1997	3rd Schnellbootgeschwader, Flensburg	August 27, 1997, Chilean Navy “Riquelme” (LM-36) decommissioned December 2012.
P6150	S 50	Panther	27 Mar 1974	27 Sep 2001	3rd Schnellbootgeschwader, Flensburg	Scrapped in 2003
P6151	P 51	jay	June 12, 1974	June 24, 1994	5th Schnellbootgeschwader , Olpenitz	Greek Navy "Plotarhis Maridhakis" (P-75)
P6152	P 52	stork	17th July 1974	Nov 16, 1992	5th Schnellbootgeschwader, Olpenitz	Greek Navy "Antipliarchos Pezopoulos" (P-73)
P6153	P. 53	pelican	Sep 24 1974	0June 4, 1998	5th Schnellbootgeschwader, Olpenitz	Chilean Navy spare parts carrier
P6154	P. 54	magpie	Nov 14, 1974	Aug 27, 1997	5th Schnellbootgeschwader, Olpenitz	August 27, 1997, Chilean Navy "Orella" (LM-37) decommissioned December 2014.
P6155	P. 55	Alc	0Jan. 7, 1975	May 13, 2002	5th Schnellbootgeschwader, Olpenitz	Egyptian Navy "23. October "
P6156	P.56	Dommel	Feb 12, 1975	Dec 16, 2002	5th Schnellbootgeschwader, Olpenitz	Egyptian Navy "18. June "
P6157	P 57	Consecration	0Apr 3, 1975	Dec 16, 2002	5th Schnellbootgeschwader, Olpenitz	Egyptian Navy "25. April"
P6158	P 58	penguin	May 22, 1975	June 28, 2001	5th Schnellbootgeschwader, Olpenitz	Scrapped in 2003
P6159	P. 59	heron	June 24, 1975	Jan. 27, 2001	5th Schnellbootgeschwader, Olpenitz	Scrapped in 2003
P6160	P. 60	crane	0Aug 6, 1975	22 Sep 1998	5th Schnellbootgeschwader, Olpenitz	September 22, 1998, Chilean Navy "Serrano" (LM-38) decommissioned December 2014

References

Web links

Commons : Tiger class  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Inventory overview in the Federal Archives
• Official website of the German Navy for the Tiger class
• Bundeswehr Classix: Rapid rocket boat S41 (1972) ( YouTube video)

Additional Information

• Pictures of S51 jays in the early eighties
• Schnellboot S58 Pinguin and the 5th speedboat squadron

Individual evidence

1. ^ Class 148 Entry in the Naval Archives. Retrieved February 26, 2020 .  
2. ↑ s46-fuchs.net about the class ( memento from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
3. ↑ s46-fuchs.net about procurement ( memento from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
4. ↑ Schnellboot.net for class 148 ( Memento of the original from October 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) 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.  
5. ↑ Private page about the Greek Navy ( Memento of the original from May 14, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) 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.