A submarine tender is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports

submarine 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 op ...

Development

USS Proteus USS Partick Henry HolyLoch 1961

Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel,

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, ...

es, and other supplies, nor to carry a full array of maintenance equipment and personnel. The tender carries all these, and either meets submarines at sea to replenish them or provides these services while docked at a port near the area where the submarines are operating. In some navies, the tenders were equipped with

workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the ...

s for maintenance, and as floating dormitories with relief crews. With the increased size and automation of modern submarines, plus in some navies the introduction of

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

, tenders are no longer as necessary for fuel as they once were.

Canada

Canada's first Submarine Depot Ship was .

Chile

The term used in the Chilean Navy is "submarine mother ship", as for example the BMS (buque madre de submarinos) ''Almirante Merino''.

China

China's

Type 926 submarine support ship Type 926 submarine support ship with NATO reporting name Dalao is a class of submarine rescue and supply ship developed by China for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and as of mid-2014, a total of three are in service. This ship is capable ...

is capable of replenishing submarines and rescuing those in distress.

Germany

Unable to operate a significant number of conventional surface tenders during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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 betwee ...

'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 ...

'' used Type XIV submarines (nicknamed ''milk cows'') for replenishment at sea.

Russia

The Russian Navy decommissioned all its Don and Ugra-class tenders inherited from the Soviet Navy by 2001. The last remaining ship of this class was , initially sold to the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...

in 1968 for use with their fleet of s. She was reportedly decommissioned in July 2006.

The Netherlands

The

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 ...

has one submarine support vessel, , commissioned in 1987, as a replacement of , then known as HNLMS Mercuur (A 856). Commissioned in 1956, as an ocean going Aggressive-class minesweeper, built in the US, and later used as a submarine tender.

United Kingdom

In the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

, the term used for a submarine tender is "submarine depot ship", for example and . List of Royal Navy submarine depot ships

United States

* ''See main article: List of US Navy submarine tenders'' In the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, submarine tenders are considered auxiliaries, with

hull classification symbol The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol (sometimes called hull code or hull number) to identify their ships by type and by ...

"AS". , the Navy maintains two such tenders, and .

References

External links

* {{Warship types of the 19th & 20th centuries Ship types