The German Mine Sweeping Administration (GMSA) ( German : Deutscher Minenräumdienst ) was an organisation formed by the Allies from former crews and vessels of the Nazi Germany 's Kriegsmarine for the purpose of mine sweeping after the Second World War , predominantly in the North Sea and Baltic Sea , which existed from June 1945 to January 1948.
24-565: The eight F122 Bremen -class frigates of the German Navy was a series of frigates commissioned between 1982 and 1990. The design was based on the proven and robust Dutch Kortenaer class but used a different propulsion system and hangar lay-out. The ships were built for anti-submarine warfare as a primary task although they were not fitted with towed array sonars . They were also equipped for anti-surface warfare , while having anti-aircraft warfare point defences. This class of ship
48-687: A number of development and testing installations as part of an inter-service and international network. Among these is the Centre of Excellence for Operations in Confined and Shallow Waters (COE CSW), an affiliated centre of Allied Command Transformation . The COE CSW was established in April 2007 and officially accredited by NATO on 26 May 2009. It is co-located with the staff of the German Flotilla 1 in Kiel whose Commander
72-724: A transition stage for the navy, allowing the future Marine to draw on recently experienced personnel upon its formation. Also, from 1949 to 1952 the US Navy had maintained the Naval Historical Team in Bremerhaven. This group of former Kriegsmarine officers acting as historical and tactical consultants to the Americans, was significant in establishing a German element in the NATO senior naval staff. In 1956, with West Germany 's accession to NATO,
96-497: Is also engaged in operations against international terrorism such as Operation Enduring Freedom and NATO Operation Active Endeavour . Presently the largest operation the German Navy is participating in is UNIFIL off the coast of Lebanon . The German contribution to this operation is two frigates, four fast attack craft , and two auxiliary vessels. The naval component of UNIFIL has been under German command. The navy operates
120-494: Is double-hatted as Director, COE CSW. In total, there are about 65 commissioned ships in the German Navy, including; 11 frigates , 5 corvettes , 2 minesweepers , 10 minehunters , 6 submarines , 11 replenishment ships and 20 miscellaneous auxiliary vessels . The displacement of the navy is 220,000 tonnes . Ships of the German Navy include: In addition, the German Navy and the Royal Danish Navy are in cooperation in
144-573: The Bundesmarine (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when Deutsche Marine (German Navy) became the official name with respect to the 1990 incorporation of the East German Volksmarine (People's Navy). It is deeply integrated into the NATO alliance. Its primary mission is protection of Germany's territorial waters and maritime infrastructure as well as sea lines of communication . Apart from this,
168-588: The Bundesmarine (Federal Navy), as the navy was known colloquially, was formally established. In the same year the East German Volkspolizei See (literally People's Police Sea) became the Volksmarine (People's Navy). During the Cold War all of the German Navy's combat vessels were assigned to NATO 's Allied Forces Baltic Approaches 's naval command NAVBALTAP . With the accession of East Germany to
192-571: The Bundesmarine formed on the basis of the former organisations, just as the Soviet Union had predicted. One of the few large surface ships of the Kriegsmarine to survive the war, the light cruiser Leipzig , in a fairly bad condition, served as an accommodation hulk for the GMSA. The GMSA was sub-divided into six regional divisions of varying strength: As of early 1947, the service consisted of
216-663: The Gulf of Aden . In 2012 Rheinland-Pfalz was reportedly used to gather intelligence on Syrian troop movements to be passed to the Free Syrian Army assist in their attacks on the Syrian Army . In December 2015 Augsburg joined the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the south-eastern Mediterranean Sea to go to the Arabian Sea as part of the intervention against ISIS in
240-590: The Syrian Civil War . All ships were based in Wilhelmshaven . Together they formed the 4. Fregattengeschwader (4th Frigate Squadron) of the German Navy. German Navy The German Navy ( German : Deutsche Marine , pronounced [ˈdɔʏtʃə maˈʁiːnə] ) is part of the unified Bundeswehr (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as
264-463: The "Ark Project". This agreement made the Ark Project responsible for the strategic sealift of German armed forces where the full-time charter of three roll-on-roll-off cargo and troop ships are ready for deployments. In addition, these ships are also kept available for the use of the other European NATO countries. The three vessels have a combined displacement of 60,000 tonnes. Including these ships,
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#1732898982805288-673: The Federal Republic of Germany in 1990 the Volksmarine along with the whole National People's Army became part of the Bundeswehr . Since 1995 the name German Navy is used in international context, while the official name since 1956 remains Marine without any additions. As of August 2024, the strength of the navy is 15,531 men and women. A number of naval forces have operated in different periods. See German warships permanently participate in all four NATO Maritime Groups. The German Navy
312-637: The GMSA was equipped with new blue work uniforms and special rank insignia, worn on the sleeve. The headquarters of the GMSA were moved to Hamburg in December 1947, and it was disbanded in January 1948, despite American objections. The reason for its disbanding was primarily pressure from the Soviet Union which feared the GMSA was an attempt by the western allies to re-form the German Kriegsmarine , something
336-839: The German Navy is called the Marinefliegerkommando . The Marinefliegerkommando operates 56 aircraft, in May 2021 it was announced that the German Navy intended to replace the P-3C aircraft with Boeing P-8 Poseidon MPA aircraft through a FMS agreement from 2025 onwards. The German Navy is commanded by the Inspector of the Navy ( Inspekteur der Marine ) supported by the Navy Command ( Marinekommando ) in Rostock . German Mine Sweeping Administration The GMSA
360-462: The German Navy participates in peacekeeping operations, and renders humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. It also participates in anti-piracy operations. The German Navy traces its roots back to the Reichsflotte (Imperial Fleet) of the revolutionary era of 1848–52 . The Reichsflotte was the first German navy to sail under the black-red-gold flag. Founded on 14 June 1848 by the orders of
384-526: The German mine sweeping formations not be dismissed after the surrender in May 1945. For this reason, Vice Admiral Sir Harold Burrough , British Naval Commander-in-Chief, Germany , undersigned the instruction for the GMSA in June 1945. The British Admiralty preferred to risk German sailors rather than their own to do the dangerous work. The GMSA was originally under the command of Commodore H. T. England ; below him, as
408-696: The Northern Atlantic. They frequently took part in NATO Standing Naval Forces. Since 1990, all ships have served in additional supporting missions such as the embargo operations against former Yugoslavia in the Adriatic Sea or Operation Enduring Freedom against the international terrorism . During their lifetime, the ships' equipment has frequently been modernized and proven to be reliable platforms. Karlsruhe successfully assisted an Egyptian freighter repel pirates on 25 December 2008 in
432-539: The Royal Navy bitterly opposed themselves. The Reichsmarine had used mine sweeping operations after the First World War to preserve a talent pool of officers and the Royal Navy wanted to avoid a repetition of this experience. The "German mine sweeping formation Cuxhaven", a civilian organisation, replaced the GMSA, still under British control and using equipment and personnel of the previous organisation. In 1956
456-556: The democratically elected Frankfurt Parliament , the Reichsflotte 's brief existence ended with the failure of the revolution and it was disbanded on 2 April 1852; thus, the modern day navy celebrates its birthday on 14 June. Between May 1945 and 1956, the German Mine Sweeping Administration and its successor organizations, made up of former members of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine (War Navy), became something of
480-537: The highest ranking German officer, was Konteradmiral Fritz Krauss , who had been in charge of mine sweeping operations during the war. The German sailors initially served in their Second World War uniforms, with the German Eagle and the Swastika removed, and under the same rules and regulations as were valid in the Kriegsmarine . The sailors were paid a moderate wage and had the right to take local leave, but service
504-600: The total ships' displacement available to the Deutsche Marine is 280,000 tonnes. Procurement of joint support ships (either two JSS800 for an amphibious group of 800 soldiers, or three smaller JSS400), was planned during the 1995–2010 period but the programme appears now to have been abandoned, not having been mentioned in two recent defence reviews. The larger ships would have been tasked for strategic troop transport and amphibious operations, and were to displace 27,000 to 30,000 tons for 800 soldiers. The naval air arm of
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#1732898982805528-525: Was formed on 21 June 1945 under Allied supervision, specifically that of the Royal Navy , to clear naval mines in the North Sea and Baltic. It was made up of 27,000 former members of the Kriegsmarine on nearly 300 vessels. The Allied command was well aware of the problem caused for commercial shipping by the over 600,000 naval mines laid in the seas of Western, Northern and Eastern Europe and had asked that
552-482: Was not voluntary as they were categorized as Disarmed Enemy Forces instead of as POWs . Still, the daily, dangerous operations and the resulting high esprit de corps led to increasing uneasiness about the GMSA, especially in the Soviet Union. The service was sub-divided into six mine sweeping divisions (German: Räumbootdivisionen ). The German headquarters of the service were located in Glückstadt . On 25 May 1946,
576-658: Was one of the last to be constructed under post-war displacement limitations imposed by the WEU on West Germany . All eight Bremen -class frigates were replaced by the F125-class frigate . Prior to that the Bremen class served as the backbone of the German Navy. During the Cold War period, the ships' main war task was to escort convoys for reinforcement and resupply of allied forces in Europe in
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