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German Navy

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The German Navy (German: Deutsche Marine [listen] ) is the navy of Germany and part of the Bundeswehr.

The German Navy traces its roots back to the Imperial Fleet (Reichsflotte) of the revolutionary era of 1848-1852 and more directly to the Prussian Navy, which later evolved into the Northern German Federal Navy (Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, 1866-1871) and became the Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine, 1872-1918). From 1919 to 1921 it was known as the Temporary Imperial Navy (Vorläufige Reichsmarine) and then became the Reichsmarine. It was known as the War Navy (Kriegsmarine) from 1935 to 1945.

In 1956, with West Germany's accession to NATO, a new navy was established and was referred to as the Federal Navy (Bundesmarine). With the reunification of Germany in 1990, it was decided to simply use the name Deutsche Marine ("German Navy").

German frigate "Karlsruhe" rescuing shipwrecked people off the coast of Somalia while participating in the international anti-terror operation ENDURING FREEDOM, April 2005
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German frigate "Karlsruhe" rescuing shipwrecked people off the coast of Somalia while participating in the international anti-terror operation ENDURING FREEDOM, April 2005

Missions

The German Navy is part of the German armed forces (Bundeswehr), and is deeply integrated into the NATO alliance. Its mission includes the participation in peace-keeping and peace enforcement operations as well as the protection of German and Allied territories. German war ships permanently participate in all NATO Maritime Groups. The German Navy is also engaged in operations against international terrorism such as Operation Enduring Freedom and NATO Operation Active Endeavour.

Organization

The German Navy is commanded by the Chief of the Naval Staff in the Federal Ministry of Defense in Bonn. The major commands are the Fleet Command at Glücksburg near Flensburg and the Naval Office at Rostock. The Fleet is commanded by the Commander-in-Chief German Fleet (CINCGERFLEET) and comprises all combat vessels, aircraft, helicopters and other combat forces, while schools, naval bases and test installations are under the purview of the Naval Office. The strength of the Navy is about 19,000 men and women with another 6,000 navy personnel serving in different elements of the central military organization of the Bundeswehr.

The navy as a part of the Bundeswehr is responsible for developing and providing the maritime capabilities of the German armed forces. Therefore it owns a number of development and testing installations that are part of an inter-service and international network.

Fleet Command

Naval Office

Ships and weapon systems

Sea King Mk41 from MFG.5 in special 30th anniversary colour scheme at Weston-super-Mare, UK, July 2005
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Sea King Mk41 from MFG.5 in special 30th anniversary colour scheme at Weston-super-Mare, UK, July 2005

The main weapons systems of the German Navy are:

Surface Vessels

Submarines

Auxiliary Vessels

Aircraft

Future

Naval Bases

After reunification, the modern German navy concentrated all ships of a given type at one base. The type bases are:

The Laboe Naval Memorial near Kiel is the German memorial for sailors who lost their lives at sea during the World Wars and while on duty at sea.

Equipment

See also

External links

 
Bundeswehr (Military of Germany)

Heer (Army) | Marine (Navy) | Luftwaffe (Air force)
Zentraler Sanitätsdienst (Central Medical Services)| Streitkräftebasis (Joint Service Support Command)

 


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