The history of the German navy is amazing, there is no other like it. Twice Germany lost its entire navy after catastrophic defeats in world wars. After each loss, the country restored its naval forces in a fantastic time frame.
The state and quality of the navy in any country speaks of the level of science, industry and financial well-being. After all, the Navy has always been the most expensive and science-intensive defense resource. Germany is fine with all of the above.
The German Navy is now part of NATO. At first glance, their composition may seem modest and weak. But it would be a serious mistake to think so. The Germans in no way claim to dominate the Atlantic, they only help the American allies in this. But not everything is so clear.
German Navy today
The composition of the German Navy can be considered ideal in terms of balance, compactness and purpose. It includes a total of 38 combat units:
- submarines – 5;
- frigates – 10;
- corvettes– 5;
- minesweepers – 15;
- naval reconnaissance ships – 3.
Additional squad includes 30 military boats, 60 vessels with various support functions, 8 combat aircraft, 2 auxiliary aircraft, 40 helicopters.
The famous frigates of the German Navy are a special pride of the fleet. Now there are exactly ten of them in the fleet. All of them belong to different modifications. They clearly show the dynamics of the development of military equipment and the evolution of modern weapons.
New German submarines
The peculiarity of German submarines is that they are not nuclear. Submarines of the new generation of the 212 series float on hydrogen fuel. In terms of combat criteria, they are in no way inferior to their atomic counterparts, but in terms of "ste alth" they have no equal in the whole world.
A serious advantage of the 212 boats is their fiberglass hull. Thanks to this, the submarine cannot be detected from the air with a magnetic detector, as is the case with any other submarines.
Where did the German shipyards go
For the construction of a German almost toy flotilla, huge shipyards with a century-old history and famous workmanship are not needed. But the shipyards have not gone away, they continue to operate at full capacity, feel great, expand and earn great money. The fact is that today's Germany is a leading exporter of naval military equipment.
German quality has not gone away, export optionsmilitary vessels are among the most expensive in the world. The legendary glory of German submarines, combined with modern design, results in an international queue for their purchase. Serious buyers are waiting for their turn - for example, Canada and Austria. The number of buyers is not decreasing, despite the high cost of German weapons.
WWI: Kaiserlichmarine
At the beginning of the 20th century, burgher Germany turned into a young aggressive "predator", which had only one task - the seizure of colonies and imperial expansion of influence and power. Of course, the development of the German Navy was included in the priority list of urgent state affairs. It was then called the Kaiserlichmarine - the imperial naval forces.
In 1898, a special "Law on the Navy" was issued with a plan for the implementation of a huge number of new ships. Usually such plans are implemented late, incompletely or with an increase in the budget (it should be emphasized). But not in Germany. With each subsequent year, the plan was adjusted with an increase in the number of warships. Judge for yourself: in the period from 1908 to 1912. German shipyards annually laid down four heavy battleships - the largest and most complex types of warships in history.
Britain is the main naval adversary
The main enemy at sea was the Royal Navy of Great Britain. The French and Russians were not even considered in this confrontation. The main episode of the frenzied arms race at sea was the competition in dreadnoughts - squadronarmadillos.
During the period 1914-1918 the German Navy was a worthy opponent of the British. The new German ships had a higher speed in the water. The Germans were much more attentive to any kind of technical innovations, they knew how to quickly rebuild and adjust their plans.
The creator of the German fleet, Admiral Tirpitz, had his own "risk theory": if the German fleet becomes equal in strength to the British, then the British will avoid conflicts with Germany in general because of the high risk of losing world naval dominance. That's where the plans to build a fleet in incredible numbers, at a fantastic speed, using the technical innovations of the time came from - it was the "risk theory".
The end of this campaign was very sad. Under the Treaty of Versailles, the main part of the German fleet was transferred to the main enemy - the British as an indemnity. Part of the fleet was sunk.
WWII German Navy
Back in 1938, Hitler approved the ambitious plan "Z" for the development of the navy, which was supposed to radically change the structure of the fleet in six years, building an additional incredible number of warships. Submarines alone were to be launched in the amount of 249 pieces. Fortunately, the bulk of the plan remained on paper.
By the start of World War II in September 1939, the German Navy was already intimidating:
- 160 thousand people - members of sea crews;
- 2 heavy battleships - the largest and"advanced" in the world;
- 3 armadillos;
- 7 cruisers;
- 22 military destroyers;
- 12 latest destroyers;
- 57 diesel submarines.
But that's not all. The most interesting thing was later: for the period 1939-1945. 1100 submarines alone were built. The Third Reich managed to at least triple the number of combat units in its fleet.
The end of the 1939-1945 campaign for the German fleet became just as sad, everything happened again. Most of the ships were transferred as indemnity, some were sunk, some (mostly submarines) were disposed of.
But you and I know that German shipyards are alive, and Germany has found the perfect way to use its unique experience in military shipbuilding. Great lesson for everyone to remember.
