The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (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'' (People's Navy). It is deeply integrated into the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

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 ...

. 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

German Naval history has its roots in the naval history of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, to which the

Dutch Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...

and even the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, officially the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation ...

once belonged. Proper German language early maritime history is represented by the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

and the Brandenburg Navy, later Prussian Navy. The modern 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 the democratically elected

Frankfurt Parliament The Frankfurt National Assembly () was the first freely elected parliament for all German Confederation, German states, including the German-populated areas of the Austrian Empire, elected on 1 May 1848 (see German federal election, 1848). The ...

, 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. The small Prussian Navy evolved in 1867 into the North German Federal Navy, which was mainly for coast defence. It became the Imperial German Navy in 1871. From 1919 to 1935, only a small '' Reichsmarine'' was permitted. Under

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, it was transformed into the ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi 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 military branch, branche ...

'', which was disbanded in 1945 after the

end of World War II in Europe The end of World War II in Europe occurred in May 1945. Following the Death of Adolf Hitler, suicide of Adolf Hitler on 30 April, leadership of Nazi Germany passed to Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz and the Flensburg Government. Soviet Union, Soviet t ...

. Between May 1945 and 1956, the German Mine Sweeping Administration and its successor organizations, made up of former ''Kriegsmarine'' members, became something of a transition stage for the German navy, allowing the future ''Marine'' to draw on recently experienced personnel upon its formation. Also, from 1949 to 1952 the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

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 was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

'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

's Allied Forces Baltic Approaches's naval command NAVBALTAP. With the accession of former

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

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

National People's Army The National People's Army (, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (DDR) from 1956 until 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) and the (Bord ...

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 * '' Preußische Marine'' (Prussian Navy), 1701–1867 * '' Reichsflotte'' (Fleet of the Realm), 1848–52 * North German Federal Navy, 1867–71 * Imperial German Navy (''Kaiserliche Marine''), 1871–1919 * '' Reichsmarine'', 1919–35 * ''

'', 1935–45 * German Mine Sweeping Administration, 1945–48 * '' Volksmarine'', 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 violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

such as Operation Enduring Freedom and NATO

Operation Active Endeavour Operation Active Endeavour was a Navy, 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 ben ...

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

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. 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 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 language, French: ''Commandement allié Transformation'') is a military command (military formation), command of the NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), formed in 2003 after restructuring. ...

. 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 around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

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. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

, 5 corvettes, 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 minehunters, 6

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

, 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 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

s. Ships of the German Navy include: * 4 ''Baden-Württemberg''-class frigates F125 * 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 submarines and additional 212 CD class submarines In addition, the German Navy and the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...

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 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.

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 Boeing P-8 Poseidon MPA aircraft through a FMS agreement from 2025 onwards.

Weapons

Structure

The German Navy is commanded by the

Inspector of the Navy The Inspector of the Navy () 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 Inspector has been based at th ...

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

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

Formations

* Navy Command ('),

**'' Einsatzflottille 1'' (HQ

) ***1st Corvette Squadron (''1. Korvettengeschwader''), Warnemünde *** 1st Submarine Squadron ('), Eckernförde ***Submarine Training Centre (''Ausbildungszentrum Unterseeboote''), Eckernförde ***3rd Minesweeping Squadron (''3. Minensuchgeschwader''), Kiel *** Sea Battalion, Eckernförde *** Kommando Spezialkräfte Marine, 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 ***Naval Air Wing 3 (''Marinefliegergeschwader 3''), Nordholz ***Naval Air Wing 5 (''Marinefliegergeschwader 5''), Nordholz ** Naval Support Command ('' – MUKdo'') ** Naval Medical Institute ('), Kiel **

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. List of naval academies See also

* Military academy {{Authority control Naval academies, Naval lists ...

('),

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish language, Danish and ; ; ) is an independent city, independent town in the far north of the Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. After Kiel and Lübeck, it is the third-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg's ...

** Naval Petty Officer School ('), Plön ** Naval Engineering School ('), Parow, near

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish language, Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German language, German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklen ...

** Naval Operations School ('),

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (; ) is a city on the east bank of the Weser estuary in northern Germany. It forms an exclave of the Bremen (state), city-state of Bremen. The Geeste (river), River Geeste flows through the city before emptying into the Weser. Brem ...

** 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 ...

Ranks

Officers

Petty officers and enlisted seamen

Radio and communication stations

* DHO38 * DHJ58 * DHJ59

Future developments

* Three Type 424 Electronic reconnaissance ships ordered in July 2023 to replace the Type 423 '' Oste''. It will be delivered from 2029 to 2031. The cost of this project is €3.26 billion, and the financing comes from the regular defence budget. * 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 and

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; ; ) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic Philosophy, philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Seven Sages, founding figure ...

, for supplying four Multi-Purpose Combat Ship F126 frigates to the German Navy with an additional Order for 2 ships in 2024. 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 (Known as Type 212CD) will be designed & procured with the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy () is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for navy, naval operations of Norway, including those of the Norwegian Coast Guard. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 i ...

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 (in June 2024 increased to six) and two German – as well as Naval Strike Missiles for use on both German and Norwegian naval vessels." According to ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems the delivery of the two boats for the German Navy is scheduled for 2032 and 2034. * Five additional Braunschweig class corvettes are ordered and will be delivered 2020–2023. * NH90 NFH 'Sea Tiger' Helicopters ordered to replace

Lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...

in ASW/AsuW role, originally ordered by the German Army as NH90 TTH variant with deliveries planned from 2025 onwards. Up to 31 could be ordered. * 18 NH90 MRH 'Sealion' Helicopters are unarmed and replaced the 21 ''Sea King'' helicopters of Naval Air Wing 5 in SAR and ship-based Transport Role (VertRep) with deliveries from 2019 till 2023. * The Saab Skeldar has been ordered as a testbed for a future maritime UAV for the Braunschweig class corvette. * Integration of the German Navy Marines ( Seebataillon) in the

Netherlands Marine Corps The Royal Netherlands Marine Corps () is the elite naval infantry corps of the Royal Netherlands Navy, one of the four Netherlands Armed Forces, Armed Forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The marines trace their origins to the establishme ...

and use of the Amphibious ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy such as the joint support ship HNLMS Karel Doorman (A833) as of 2016. * In June 2020 it was announced that German Navy and

will cooperate and plan the future replacement of both the ''Sachsen''-class frigate and ''De Zeven Provinciën''-class frigate from 2030 onwards.

References

External links

*
The German Navy – Facts and Figures, 12th Edition, February 2013

Uniforms
{{Authority control Bundeswehr Navies by country