Berlin-class replenishment ship

A1411 Berlin
Class overview
Builders: Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft
Seaspan Marine Corporation(future)
Operators:  German Navy
 Royal Canadian Navy(future)
Preceded by: Protecteur class (Canada)
In commission: 2001
Planned: 5-6
Completed: 3
Active: Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Bonn
General characteristics
Type:Replenishment oiler
Displacement:20,240 tonnes
Length:173.7 m (569 ft 11 in)
Beam:24 m (78 ft 9 in)
Height:17.5 m (57 ft 5 in)
Draft:7.6 m (24 ft 11 in)
Propulsion:2 × MAN Diesel 12V 32/40 diesel-engines, 5,340 kW each
2 × reduction gears, 2 × controllable pitch four-bladed propellers
1 × bow thruster
4 × 1200 kW diesel generators
Speed:20 kn (37 km/h)
Complement:139 (+ 94)
Armament:4 × MLG 27 mm autocannons
Stinger surface-to-air missile (MANPADS)
Aircraft carried:2 × Sea King or NH90 helicopters
Aviation facilities:hangar and flight deck

The Type 702 Berlin class replenishment ship is a series of multi-product replenishment oilers, originally designed and built for service in the German Navy (Deutsche Marine). Besides the three ships built for German Navy, the design has been selected as the design for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) as a replacement for the two Protecteur class auxiliary oiler replenishment (AOR) vessels recently retired in 2014.[1]

German service

The Berlin class replenishment ships are the largest vessels of the German Navy.[2] In German, this type of ship is called Einsatzgruppenversorger which can be translated as task force supplier though the official translation in English is combat support ship, or in military parlance, a replenishment oiler.

They are intended to support German naval units away from their home ports. The ships carry fuel, provisions, ammunition and other matériel and also provide medical services. The ships are named after German cities where German parliaments were placed.

The initial requirement of the German Navy was for two ships of this class, built by Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft. A third unit was built by a consortium of several German shipyards and was launched in 2011.[3] On 13 September 2013, Bonn was commissioned into service by the German Navy at Wilhelmshaven.[4]

Royal Canadian Navy

Two ships will be procured to replace the two Protecteur class vessels currently operated by the RCN under the Joint Support Ship Project.[5] The ships will be built by Seaspan Marine Corporation at the Vancouver Shipyards facility located in North Vancouver, British Columbia.[1] The design was chosen over a design by BMT Technology. At the time, the option for a third was still possible.[6]

The two ships will be named Queenston and Chateauguay, for battles from the War of 1812.[7] Canadian sailors previewed Bonn in order to make themselves familiar with the design.[8]

General characteristics

Berlin (A1411)
MLG 27 on board Berlin

List of ships

Frankfurt am Main (A1412) departing Portsmouth, UK, 26 January 2009.
Berlin class
Pennant
number
Name Call
sign
Commissioned Homeport Fate
A1411Berlin DRKA 11 April 2001 Wilhelmshaven In active service
A1412Frankfurt am Main DRKB 27 May 2002 In active service
A1413Bonn[9] DRKC 13 September 2013 In active service

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Backgrounder: Joint Support Ship Design". Public Works and Government Services Canada. 31 May 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  2. "Berlin Class Fleet Auxiliary Vessels, Germany". naval-technology.com. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  3. "Dritter Einsatzgruppenversorger Klasse 702 ‑ Das Schiff und dessen Weiterentwicklung". MarineForum (in German) (4). 2009.
  4. "Einsatzgruppenversorger „Bonn“ in der Flotte angekommen". Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  5. Future Canadian Amphibious Assault Ship and Joint Support Ship
  6. "Feds pick off-the-shelf design for military resupply ships". CBC News. 2 June 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  7. "Minister Nicholson announces names for the Royal Canadian Navy’s new Joint Support Ships". National Defence. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  8. "German supply ship gives navy peek at new design". CBC News. 21 February 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  9. "Einsatzgruppenversorger Bonn schwimmt aus" (in German). German Navy. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2012.

External links

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