Rhein-class tender

The Type 401 Rhein-class tender was a class of tender ships which was laid down in 1958, christened in 1959 and put into service in 1961 and served as a support unit for the 3rd Schnellboot Squadron until they were decommissioned by 1992. A total of eight ships of this class were built, in addition to the ships Rhine, the Elbe, Main, Neckar, Ruhr, Weser, Werra and Danube.

Donau
Class overview
NameRhein class
Builders
Operators
Subclasses
  • Mosel class
  • Lahn class
Built1958-1964
In commission1961-1994
Planned13
Completed13
Retired13
General characteristics
TypeTender
Displacement2,370 tonnes (2,330 long tons)
Length99 m (324 ft 10 in)
Beam11.8 m (38 ft 9 in)
Draft3.4 m (11 ft 2 in)
Propulsion6 × Diesel motor, 2 × shafts, 14,400 kW (19,300 hp)
Speed21 knots (39 km/h)
Complement110 crew
Sensors and
processing systems		AN/SPS-6 air-search radar
Armament

Development

Tenders are used as supply and command ships and to supply combat units (FACs, anti-mine ships, submarines) with everything they need at sea. Long endurance at sea are only possible with these mother ships. The tenders take care of the supply of fuel, water and provisions, they also provide workshops, spare parts and tools as well as an infirmary with an operating theater for crews.

After decommissioning, four of the ships were scrapped, three sold to Turkey and one to Greece.

The Type 402 Mosel-class tender consists of three ships (Mosel, Isar, Saar) which are used to supply minesweepers.

The Type 403 Lahn-class tender are used to supply submarines with two ships of this subclass, Lahn and Lech.

Depending on the purpose (FAC or minesweeper tender), different drive concepts were used (diesel-electric drive or diesel engines).

Ships of class
Pennant number Name Builders Laid down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned Fate
Rhine-class tender
A58 Rhein Schlieker Werft 1958 10 December 1959 6 November 1961 26 June 1992[1]
A61 Elbe 1 September 1959 5 May 1960 17 April 1962 17 December 1992[1] Sold to Turkey as TCG Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Paşa (A-579) (ii)
A62 Weser Elsflether Werft 1 August 1959 11 June 1960 14 July 1962 25 July 1972[2] Sold to Greece as "Αιγαίον D-03".
A63 Main Lindenau Werft 23 July 1960 29 June 1963 25 November 1993[2]
A64 Ruhr Schlieker Werft 18 August 1960 2 May 1964 2 December 1971[2]
A66 Neckar Lürssen Werft 22 December 1960 26 June 1961 7 December 1963 30 November 1989[3] Scrapped in Turkey, 1993
A68 Werra Lindenau Werft 1 October 1959 26 March 1963 2 September 1964 21 March 1991[3]
A69 Donau Schlichting Werft 24 December 1959 26 November 1960 23 May 1964 1 December 1994[4] Sold to Turkey as TCG Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Paşa (A-579) (i), 1994[5]
Mosel-class tender
A67 Mosel Schlieker Werft
Blohm+Voss		 15 December 1960 8 June 1963 28 June 1990[3]
A54 Isar Blohm+Voss 14 July 1962 25 January 1964 29 December 1980[1] Sold to Turkey as TCG Sokullu Mehmet Paşa (A-577)
A65 Saar Norderwerft 15 December 1959 11 March 1961 11 May 1963 6 May 1992[2]
Lahn-class tender
A55 Lahn Flender-Werke 17 April 1961 21 November 1961 24 March 1964 25 April 1991[1]
A56 Lech 20 July 1961 4 May 1962 8 December 1964 30 June 1989[1]

Citations
  1. Koop, Breyer, S. 314
  2. Koop, Breyer, S. 315
  3. Koop, Breyer, S. 316
  4. Koop, Breyer, S. 317
  5. "Tender Donau". www.freundeskreis-schnellboote-korvetten.de. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
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