Frankenthal-class minehunter

The Type 332 Frankenthal-class minehunter is a class of German minehunters. The ships are built of non-magnetic steel. Hull, machinery and superstructure of this class is similar to the original Type 343 Hameln-class minesweeper, but the equipment differs.

M1064 Grömitz, already equipped with the MLG 27
Class overview
Builders
Operators
Preceded byHameln-class minesweeper
Subclasses
In commission1992–present
Planned12
Completed12
Active10
Retired2
General characteristics
TypeMinehunter
Displacement650 t
Length54.4 m (178 ft)
Beam9.2 m (30 ft)
Draft2.6 m (8 ft 6 in)
Propulsion
Speed18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement41
Sensors and
processing systems
  • 1 × hull mounted DSQS-11A mine hunting sonar
  • DRBN 32 navigation radar
Electronic warfare
& decoys
Armament
Notes
  • mine diver equipment, decompression chamber
  • crane

Slightly modified Frankenthal-class minehunters are also operated by the Turkish Navy, where they are referred to as the A class. In the beginning of 2019, the Indonesian Navy ordered two minehunters based on a modified Frankenthal class, referred to as Pulau Fani class, with a length of 62 metres.[1]

List of ships

All active German ships are currently stationed in Kiel at the Baltic Sea. M1058, M1059, M1062, M1065 and M1069 are part of the 3. Minensuchgeschwader (3. mine sweeper squadron). The others belong to 5. Minensuchgeschwader. M1060 Weiden was sold to United Arab Emirates in 2006. As the German Navy closed the naval base at Olpenitz, all ships were relocated to Kiel and their squadrons incorporated into the Einsatzflottille 1 (Flotilla 1).[2]

Pennant
Number		 Name Call
sign		 Shipyard Commissioned Decommissioned
M1066FrankenthalDREYLürssen16 December 1992Sold to UAE (now M02 Al Murjan)
M1060WeidenDRESAbeking & Rasmussen3 March 1993Sold to UAE (now M01 Al Hasbah)
M1061RottweilDRETKrögerwerft7 July 1993Refitted to be used with the SEK-M
M1063Bad BevensenDREVLürssen9 December 1993
M1067Bad RappenauDREZAbeking & Rasmussen19 April 1994Refitted to be used with the SEK-M
M1064GrömitzDREWKrögerwerft23 August 1994
M1068DattelnDRFALürssen8 December 1994
M1065DillingenDREXAbeking & Rasmussen25 April 1995
M1069HomburgDRFBKrögerwerft26 September 1995
M1062Sulzbach-RosenbergDREULürssen23 January 1996
M1058FuldaDRFC5 June 1998
M1059WeilheimDRFD26 November 1998

Incidents

On 21 February 2007, Grömitz ran onto a reef in the Floro fjord while on tour in western Norway and remained stranded in a spectacular way until being salvaged.[3]

In October 2018, the Iranian-backed Yemeni rebel group Ansar Allah released a video which included images that confirmed it sank one of the UAE Navy's Frankenthal class mine-countermeasures vessels in July 2017 in Al-Mukha. The video identified the vessel as Al-Qasnah and said it was attacked on 29 July 2017, which corresponds to a claim it made at the time that it had attacked an Emirati warship with a "suitable weapon".[4]

  • M1064 Grömitz
    M1064 Grömitz
  • M1063 Bad Bevensen at the Kiel Week 2007
    M1063 Bad Bevensen at the Kiel Week 2007
  • A Pinguin B3 mine-hunting ROV
    A Pinguin B3 mine-hunting ROV

References
  1. "Contract signed for two mine counter measure vessels". Abeking & Rasmussen. 5 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  2. "Minenjagdboot FRANKENTHAL-Klasse". Deutsche Marine. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
  3. Image
  4. Houthi Rebels In Yemen Attacked Another UAE Ship and That's All We Know For Certain
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frankenthal class.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.