The Type 404 ''Elbe''-class replenishment ships of the

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were built to support its squadrons of Fast Attack Craft, submarines and minesweeper/hunters, as such they are usually referred to as tenders. The ships carry fuel, fresh water, food, ammunition and other matériel. They also have a medical station aboard but

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s are not part of their standard complement and will have to be flown in. The tender also manage

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for the ships they support at sea and can carry out minor repairs of assigned ships. For this purpose ''Elbe''-class tenders assigned to fast attack craft squadrons, for example, carry the SUG repair and support shop specialized for these boats on their deck in a set of 13 standard containers. Extensive communication gear and accommodations enable them to serve as squadron flagship. While in general all ''Elbe''-class tenders are quickly configurable to be reassigned to support other squadrons, one of the six ships is usually modified to support German submarines - carrying batteries for reloading for example. This ship - currently ''Main'' - while still being of the same class, and easily reconfigurable - is often named as a separate "sub-class" due to this larger modification.

List of ships

The ships were named after German rivers.

Gallery

Image:Tender Elbe A511.jpg, Tender ''Elbe'' in

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. Image:Cuxhaven marine 02.jpg, Tender ''Elbe''. Image:Tender A 513 Rhein.jpg, Tender ''Rhein'' in Eckernförde File:German Navy replenishment ship Werra in London.jpg, ''Werra'' in

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File:Elbe-class_A515.jpg, ''Main'' in Catania File:Autocannon MLG27.jpg, MLG-27 onboard ''Elbe''-class tender ''Rhein''. File:A516 Cv53NjXfVR.png, ''Donau'' in the

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Base of

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References

- German Navy, official homepage * https://web.archive.org/web/20050130085054/http://www.tender-elbe.de/seiten/typenbla.htm {{Ship classes of the Deutsche Marine Auxiliary replenishment ship classes Elbe class replenishment ship Elbe class replenishment ship