''Einsatzflottille 1'' (EinsFltl 1 or EF 1) is one of the three

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

-level units of the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...

, in addition to ''

Einsatzflottille 2 ''Einsatzflottille 2'' (EinsFltl 2 or EF 2) is one of the three brigade-level units of the German Navy, in addition to '' Einsatzflottille 1'' and the Naval Air Command. It is based in Wilhelmshaven, Lower Saxony, and is subordinated to Navy Com ...

'' and the Naval Air Command. It is based in

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

, and is under the head of the Navy Command, based in

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...

History

13-08-21-marinestützpunktkommando-kiel-166

''Einsatzflottille 1'' was set up on 29 June 2006 as part of a major reorganization of the fleet. The , the , and the were merged. This brought all

fast attack craft A fast attack craft (FAC) is a small, fast, agile, offensive, often affordable warship armed with anti-ship missiles, gun or torpedoes. FACs are usually operated in close proximity to land as they lack both the seakeeping and all-round defensive ...

, mine warfare ships, and submarines of the German Navy under one organisational umbrella. The five

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

s of the ''Braunschweig'' class were integrated into the flotilla from 2008 onward. In 2012 the EF 1 was stationed in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. On 27 September 2016 the ''5th Minensuchgeschwader'', formerly part of ''Einsatzflottille 1'', was decommissioned in

, and was replaced by the (Support Squadron). On 16 November 2016 the ''7. Schnellbootgeschwader'' in

Warnemünde (, literally ''Mouth of the Warnow'') is a seaside resort and a district of the city of Rostock in Mecklenburg, Germany. It is located on the Baltic Sea and, as the name implies, at the estuary of the river Warnow. is one of the world's busie ...

was also decommissioned.

Subordinate units

1st Corvette Squadron

The ''1. Korvettengeschwader'' was created on 29th June 2006 with the commissioning of the first ''Braunschweig''-class corvettes and is stationed at Hohe Düne Naval Base near

. Five additional corvettes built to the same (slightly modernised) design were ordered in 2017 and are planned to be commissioned from 2022 on, beginning with F265 ''Köln''. * ''Braunschweig''-class (130) corvette ** F260 ''Braunschweig'' ** F261 ''Magdeburg'' ** F262 ''Oldenburg'' ** F263 ''Erfurt'' ** F264 ''Ludwigshafen am Rhein''

3rd Mine Countermeasures Squadron

''3. Minensuchgeschwader'' was raised on 15th October 1956 as 3rd Fast (''schnelles'') Mine Countermeasures Squadron in

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

and moved to Kiel from 1st August 1958 on. The squadron received its current name in February 1960. On 23rd September 1992, the squadron was temporarily disbanded but reinstituted on 2nd April 1996 in

Olpenitz Olpenitz (Danish: Olpenæs) is a part of the town Kappeln in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, at the mouth of the Schlei firth to the Baltic Sea. From 1964 until 2006, Olpenitz was the site of one of three major naval bases of the German Navy in the Ba ...

(today part of

Kappeln Kappeln ( da, Kappel) is a town in the district of Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the north bank of the Schlei, approx. northeast of Schleswig, and southeast of Flensburg. For the eastern Angeln and the n ...

). About a decade later, Olpenitz naval base was dissolved and the squadron returned to Kiel on 1st February 2006.50 years 3rd Mine Countermeasures Squadron
on https://www.presseportal.de/ (in German) With the 1st and 5th mine countermeasures squadrons having been disbanded, the 3rd squadron now unites all mine warfare vessels of the German Navy. * ''Frankenthal''-class (332) minehunter ** M1058 ''Fulda'' ** M1059 ''Weilheim'' ** M1061 ''Rottweil'' (fitted as diver support vessel) ** M1062 ''Sulzbach-Rosenberg'' ** M1063 ''Bad Bevensen'' ** M1064 ''Grömitz'' ** M1065 ''Dillingen'' ** M1067 ''Bad Rappenau'' (fitted as diver support vessel) ** M1068 ''Datteln'' ** M1069 ''Homburg'' * ''Ensdorf''-class (352) minesweeper (mostly used for recruitment and training) ** M 1090 ''Pegnitz'' ** M 1098 ''Siegburg''

Support Squadron

The ''Unterstützungsgeschwader'' commands five of the six ''Elbe''-class tenders and is stationed in Kiel. * ''Elbe''-class (404) tender ** A511 ''Elbe'' in Warnemünde ** A512 ''Mosel'' in Kiel ** A513 ''Rhein'' in Kiel ** A514 ''Werra'' in Kiel ** A516 ''Donau'' in Kiel

1st Submarine Squadron

'' 1. Ubootgeschwader'' and its units are stationed in

Eckernförde Eckernförde ( da, Egernførde, sometimes also , nds, Eckernför, sometimes also ) () is a German town in Schleswig-Holstein, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, on the coast of the Baltic Sea approximately 30 km north-west of Kiel. The population is ...

where the squadron was created on 1st October 1961. It was part of the ''Ubootflotille'' (Submarine Flotilla) which was stationed in Eckernförde and also commanded the 1st squadrons sister unit, ''3. Ubootgeschwader''. Both units were dissolved in 2006, with the remaining submarines being transferred to 1st squadron. * ''U-31''-class (212 A) submarine ** S182 ''U-31'' ** S182 ''U-32'' ** S183 ''U-33'' ** S184 ''U-34'' ** S185 ''U-35'' ** S186 ''U-36'' * ''Oste''-class (423) fleet service ship ** A50 ''Alster'' ** A52 ''Oste'' ** A53 ''Oker'' * ''Elbe''-class (404) tender ** A515 ''Main'' (fitted for submarine tending) * Wappen Ausbildungszentrum Uboote

Submarine Training Centre

Sea Battalion

Navy Special Forces Command

Naval Base Commands

* Naval Base Command

*Naval Base Command

The commander of EF 1 also functions as director of the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

-led Centre of Excellence for Operations in Confined and Shallow Waters, COE CSW.

Commanders

References

{{Authority control Military units and formations of the German Navy Kiel 2006 establishments in Germany