''Main'' (A515) is the fifth ship of the s of the

German Navy 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 ...

Development

The ''Elbe''-class replenishment ships are also known as tenders of the

. In

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, this type of ship is called ''Versorgungsschiffe'' which can be translated as "supply ship" though the official translation in English is "replenishment ship". They are intended to support German naval units away from their home ports. The ships carry

fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...

, provisions,

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

and other

matériel Materiel or matériel (; ) is supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context. Military In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers eith ...

and also provide medical services. The ships are named after German rivers where German parliaments were placed.

Construction and career

''Main'' was launched in June 1993 in

Bremen-Vegesack Vegesack is a northern district of Bremen, the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (Freie Hansestadt Bremen). Geography ''Vegesack'' is located about north from the centre of Bremen-city at the mouth of the river Lesum, b ...

, Germany. She was commissioned on 10 June 1994. ''Main'' returned to her home port in Eckernförde on 13 April 2017. In addition to their own on-board crew, doctors, military police, language mediators and an Austrian boarding team were also embarked, so that the crew comprised around 105 women and men.

Gallery

File:A515 Main U-33 NOCO2014 04.JPG, ''Main'' and U-33 on 31 August 2014 File:A515 Main U-33 NOCO2014 06.JPG File:Elbe-class A515.jpg, ''Main'' on 21 March 2017 File:USS Oscar Austin (DDG-79) and the German submarine tender Main (A515) moored in Eckernförde (Germany) on 1 October 2017 (171001-N-UY653-020).JPG, USS Oscar Austin and ''Main'' on 1 October 2017

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Main (A515) Elbe-class replenishment ships 1993 ships Ships built in Bremen (state)