The German Navy (, ) is the

navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and part of the unified ''

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as 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 The ''Volksmarine'' (VM, ; en, People's Navy) was the naval force of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The ''Volksmarine'' was one of the service branches of the National People's Army and primarily performed a coasta ...

'' (People's Navy). It is deeply integrated into 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 ...

alliance. Its primary mission is protection of Germany's territorial waters and maritime infrastructure as well as

sea lines of communication Sea lines of communication (abbreviated as SLOC) is a term describing the primary maritime routes between ports, used for trade, logistics and naval forces. It is generally used in reference to naval operations to ensure that SLOCs are open, or in ...

. Apart from this, the German Navy participates in peacekeeping operations, and renders humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. It also participates in anti-piracy operations.

History

The German Navy traces its roots back to the ''

Reichsflotte The ''Reichsflotte'' (, ''Imperial Fleet'') was the first navy for all of Germany, established by the revolutionary German Empire to provide a naval force in the First Schleswig War against Denmark. The decision was made on 14 June 1848 by the F ...

'' (Imperial Fleet) of the revolutionary era of 1848–52. The ''Reichsflotte'' was the first German navy to sail under the

black-red-gold The national colours of the Federal Republic of Germany are officially black, red, and gold, defined with the adoption of the West German flag as a tricolour with these colours in 1949. As Germany was divided into West Germany and East Germany ...

flag. Founded on 14 June 1848 by the orders of the democratically elected

Frankfurt Parliament The Frankfurt Parliament (german: Frankfurter Nationalversammlung, literally ''Frankfurt National Assembly'') was the first freely elected parliament for all German states, including the German-populated areas of Austria-Hungary, elected on 1 Ma ...

, 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. Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F048237-0002, Kiel, Segelschiff

Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F048237-0002, Kiel, Segelschiff

Between May 1945 and 1956, the

German Mine Sweeping Administration The German Mine Sweeping Administration (GMSA) 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 its successor organizations, made up of former members of Nazi Germany's ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

'' (War Navy), became something of 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 West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

's accession to NATO, 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

Allied Forces Baltic Approaches Allied Forces Baltic Approaches (BALTAP) was a Principal Subordinate Command (PSC) of the NATO Military Command Structure, with responsibility for the Baltic Sea area. It was in existence from 1962 to 2002 and consisted of the Danish Armed Forces ...

's naval command NAVBALTAP. With the accession of

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

to the Federal Republic of Germany in 1990 the ''Volksmarine'' along with the whole

National People's Army The National People's Army (german: Nationale Volksarmee, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) a ...

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 April 2020, the strength of the navy is 16,704 men and women. A number of naval forces have operated in different periods. See * '' Preußische Marine'' (Prussian Navy), 1701–1867 *''

'' (Fleet of the Realm), 1848–52 *

North German Federal Navy The North German Federal Navy (''Norddeutsche Bundesmarine'' or ''Marine des Norddeutschen Bundes''), was the Navy of the North German Confederation, formed out of the Prussian Navy in 1867. It was eventually succeeded by the Imperial German Navy ...

, 1867–71 *

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Kaise ...

(''Kaiserliche Marine''), 1871–1919 *''

Reichsmarine The ''Reichsmarine'' ( en, Realm Navy) was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the ''Reichswehr'', existing from 1919 to 1935. In 1935, it became known as the '' ...

'', 1919–35 *''

'', 1935–45 *

, 1945–48 *''

'', the navy of

(GDR) 1956–90 * ''Marine'', 1956–present (''Bundesmarine'', colloquially)

Current operations

German warships permanently participate in all four NATO Maritime Groups. The German Navy is also engaged in operations against international

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

such as

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

and NATO

Operation Active Endeavour Operation Active Endeavour was a maritime operation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It operated in the Mediterranean Sea and was designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction. It had collateral benefit ...

. Presently the largest operation the German Navy is participating in is UNIFIL off the coast of

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. 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 is operating 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 Allied Command Transformation (ACT) ( French: ''Commandement allié Transformation'') is a military command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), formed in 2003 after restructuring. It was intended to lead military transformation of ...

. 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 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 ...

whose Commander is double-hatted as Director, COE CSW.

Equipment

Ships and submarines

In total, there are about 65 commissioned ships in the German Navy, including; 11

frigates A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

, 5

corvettes 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 sloop ...

, 2

minesweepers A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

, 10

minehunter A minehunter is a naval vessel that seeks, detects, and destroys individual naval mines. Minesweepers, on the other hand, clear mined areas as a whole, without prior detection of mines. A vessel that combines both of these roles is known as a ...

s, 6

submarines A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely o ...

, 11 replenishment ships and 20 miscellaneous auxiliary vessels. The displacement of the navy is 220,000

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

s. Ships of the German Navy include: * 4 ''Baden-Württemberg''-class frigates F125 (all delivered by January 2022) * 3 ''Sachsen''-class frigates F124 * 4 ''Brandenburg''-class frigates F123 * 5 ''K130 Braunschweig'' class corvettes (5 additional units in production, planned commissioning from 2025) * 6

Type 212 submarine The German Type 212 class (German: U-Boot-Klasse 212 A), also Italian ''Todaro'' class, is a diesel-electric submarine developed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) for the German and Italian navies. It features diesel propulsion and an a ...

s In addition, the German Navy and the

Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) is the Naval warfare, sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Denmark, Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Isla ...

are in cooperation in 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, the total ships' displacement available to the ''Deutsche Marine'' is 280,000 tonnes. Procurement of

Joint Support Ship A joint support ship (JSS) is a multi-role naval ship capable of launching and supporting "joint" amphibious operations. It also provides sea-lift, underway support, sea-basing and logistics capabilities for combined army and naval missions. Feat ...

s (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.

Aircraft

The naval air arm of 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 5 Boeing P-8 Poseidon MPA aircraft through a FMS agreement from 2025 onwards. , - , Lockheed P-3C Orion – CUP , United States , ,

MPA MPA or mPa may refer to: Academia Academic degrees * Master of Performing Arts * Master of Professional Accountancy * Master of Public Administration * Master of Public Affairs Schools * Mesa Preparatory Academy * Morgan Park Academy * Mound ...

, 2006 , 4 , , Former

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

, will be replaced in 2025 by 5 Boeing P-8 Poseidon , - ,

Boeing P-8 Poseidon The Boeing P-8 Poseidon is an American maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft developed and produced by Boeing Defense, Space & Security, and derived from the civilian Boeing 737-800. It was developed for the United States Navy (USN). Th ...

, United States , ,

, , , , 5 on order, entry into service 2025. , - ,

Dornier 228 The Dornier 228 is a twin-turboprop STOL utility aircraft, designed and first manufactured by Dornier GmbH (later DASA Dornier, Fairchild-Dornier) from 1981 until 1998. Two hundred and forty-five were built in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. In 19 ...

, Germany , , Pollution control , 1996 , 2 , , , - , NH90 Sea Lion , Germany , Rotorcraft ,

SAR SAR or Sar may refer to: Places * Sar (river), Galicia, Spain * Sar, Bahrain, a residential district * Sar, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran * Sar, Tibet, Tibet Autonomous Region of China * Šar Mountains, in southeastern Europe ...

/transport , 2018 , 13 , , Total of 18 on order, replacing the

Westland Sea King The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engin ...

, - , NH90 Sea Tiger , Germany , Rotorcraft , ASW , 2025 , , , Total of 31 on order, replacing

Westland Lynx The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose twin-engined military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led t ...

, - ,

Mk.88 , UK , Rotorcraft , ASW , 1981 , 21 , , Will be replaced by the NH90 Sea Tiger , - ,

Mk.41 , UK , Rotorcraft , SAR/transport , 1975 , 14 , , Being replaced by the NH90 Sea Lion , - , Sea Falcon , Sweden , UAV , ISR , , , 2 , Used as testbed for future UAVs on the corvettes, 8 more planned , - , Puma AE II , United States , UAV , ISR , 2019 , 6 , , 3 systems with 6 UAVs, dubbed "LARUS" in the German Navy , - , DJI Phantom 4 , China , Micro UAV , ISR , 2017 , 5 , ,

Structure

The German Navy is commanded by the

Inspector of the Navy The Inspector of the Navy (german: Inspekteur der Marine) is the commander of the Navy of the modern-day German Armed Forces, the Bundeswehr. Since the various bodies responsible for the high command of the German Navy were merged in 2012, the In ...

(''Inspekteur der Marine'') supported by the Navy Command (''Marinekommando'') 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 ...

Formations

* Navy Command ('),

**'' Einsatzflottille 1'' (HQ

) ::*1st Corvette Squadron (''1. Korvettengeschwader''),

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 ...

::* 1st Submarine Squadron ('),

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 ...

::**Submarine Training Centre (''Ausbildungszentrum Unterseeboote''), Eckernförde ::*3rd Minesweeping Squadron (''3. Minensuchgeschwader''), Kiel ::* Sea Battalion, Eckernförde ::*

Kommando Spezialkräfte Marine Naval Special Forces Command, also called the ("Combat Swimmers", abbreviated "KSM") or (Deployment Group 3402) are an elite special forces unit of the Germany Navy, specializing in commando and amphibious warfare operations. They are the o ...

, Eckernförde ::*Naval Base Command Kiel (''Marinestützpunktkommando Kiel'') ::*Naval Base Command Eckernförde ::*Naval Base Command Warnemünde :*'' Einsatzflottille 2'',

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 ...

::*HQ 2nd Flotilla ::*2nd Frigate Squadron (''2. Fregattengeschwader''), Wilhelmshaven ::*4th Frigate Squadron (''4. Fregattengeschwader''), Wilhelmshaven ::*Auxiliary Squadron (''Trossgeschwader''), Wilhelmshaven ::*Naval Base Command Wilhelmshaven :* Naval Aviation Command ('),

Nordholz Nordholz is a village and a former municipality in the Cuxhaven (district), district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2015 it is part of the municipality Wurster Nordseeküste. It is situated approximately 25 km north of ...

::*Naval Air Wing 3 (''Marinefliegergeschwader 3''), Nordholz ::*Naval Air Wing 5 (''Marinefliegergeschwader 5''), Nordholz :*

Naval Support Command The ''Marineunterstützungskommando'' (MUKdo) is a command authority of the German Navy. The advance detachment began in the spring of 2012 in Roffhausen near Wilhelmshaven on the site of the former Olympic works with the establishment of the o ...

('' — MUKdo'') :* Naval Medical Institute ('), Kiel MSM-hauptgebaeude

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. See also * Military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pro ...

('),

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...

Naval Petty Officer School The ''Marineunteroffizierschule'' (MUS) is a naval petty officer school of the German Navy in Plön. It reports to the Head of Personnel, Training, Organization in the Navy Command in Rostock. History In the early days of the newly establishe ...

('),

Plön Plön (; Holsatian: ''Plöön'') is the district seat of the Plön district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and has about 8,700 inhabitants. It lies right on the shores of Schleswig-Holstein's biggest lake, the Great Plön Lake, as well as on ...

:* Naval Engineering School ('), Parow, near

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...

:* Naval Operations School ('),

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...

:* Naval Damage Control Training Centre ('),

Neustadt in Holstein Neustadt in Holstein (; Holsatian: ''Niestadt in Holsteen'') is a town in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, on the Bay of Lübeck 30 km northeast of Lübeck, and 50 km southeast of Kiel. History In World War I ...

Ranks

Officers

Petty officers and enlisted seamen

Radio and communication stations

* DHO38 * DHJ58 * DHJ59

Future developments

* The German government has announced the selection in January 2020 and contracting in June 2020 of

Damen Group The Damen Group is a Dutch defence, shipbuilding, and engineering conglomerate company based in Gorinchem, Netherlands. Though it is a major international group doing business in 120 countries, it remains a private family-owned company. Dame ...

as the main contractor, together with partners

Blohm+Voss Blohm is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Hans Blohm C.M. (born 1927), photographer and author *Hermann Blohm (1848–1930), German businessman and co-founder of German company Blohm+Voss *Linn Blohm (born 1992), Swedish handbal ...

and

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him ...

, for supplying four Multi-Purpose Combat Ship

MKS 180 frigate F126 or frigate 126 (''Fregatte 126'') is a planned German frigate class intended to replace the ''F123'' s in the German Navy. The ships are to be the largest surface warships to join the Navy since World War II. The first ship is planned to be c ...

s (''Mehrzweckkampfschiff 180'') to the German Navy with an option for 2 additional ships. The ships will be built at Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg and at other shipyard locations of the North German Lürssen Group. * Two further-developed Type 212 submarines with significant advancements (Common Design) will be designed & procured with Norway in the next decade. The contract was signed in July 2021, where according to the official statement the "NDMA and its German counterparts in the Bundesamt für Ausrüstung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr (BAAINBw) will acquire six new submarines – four Norwegian and two German – as well as

Naval Strike Missile The Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is an anti-ship and land-attack missile developed by the Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA). The original Norwegian name was Nytt sjømålsmissil (literally ''New sea target missile'', indicating ...

s for use on both German and Norwegian naval vessels." According to

ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems of Germany (often abbreviated TKMS) is a group