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| German Navy | |
|---|---|
| Marine | |
 | |
| Founded | 2 January 1956; 69 years ago (1956-01-02) |
| Country |  Germany |
| Type | Navy |
| Size | 15,531 personnel (August 2024)[1] 65 ships 56 aircraft |
| Part of | Bundeswehr |
| Headquarters of the German Navy | Rostock (Navy Command) |
| Mottos | Wir. Dienen. Deutschland. (We. Serve. Germany.) |
| March | "Gruß an Kiel [de]" |
| Anniversaries | 14 June |
| Engagements | |
| Website | marine.de |
| Commanders | |
| Inspector of the Navy | Vice AdmiralJan Christian Kaack |
| Deputy Inspector of the Navy | Vice AdmiralRainer Brinkmann |
| Chief of Staff | Rear AdmiralFrank Martin Lenski [de] |
| Notable commanders | |
| Insignia | |
| Ensign |  |
| German Navy Deutsche Marine |
|---|
|
| Components |
| Command |
| Equipment |
| History and traditions |
| Awards, decorations, and badges |
TheGerman Navy (German:Deutsche Marine,pronounced[ˈdɔʏtʃəmaˈʁiːnə]ⓘ) is part of the unifiedBundeswehr (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as theBundesmarine (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, whenDeutsche Marine (German Navy) became the official name with respect to the 1990 incorporation of the East GermanVolksmarine (People's Navy). It is deeply integrated into theNATO alliance. Its primary mission is protection of Germany's territorial waters and maritime infrastructure as well assea lines of communication. Apart from this, the German Navy participates in peacekeeping operations, and renders humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. It also participates in anti-piracy operations.[2]
German Naval history has its roots in the naval history of theHoly Roman Empire, to which theDutch Navy and even theSpanish Navy once belonged. Proper German language early maritime history is represented by theHanseatic League and theBrandenburg Navy, laterPrussian Navy.
The modern German Navy traces its roots back to theReichsflotte (Imperial Fleet) of therevolutionary era of 1848–52. TheReichsflotte was the first German navy to sail under theblack-red-gold flag. Founded on 14 June 1848 by the orders of the democratically electedFrankfurt Parliament, theReichsflotte's brief existence ended with the failure of the revolution and it was disbanded on 2 April 1852; thus, the modern day navy celebrates its birthday on 14 June.
The smallPrussian Navy evolved in 1867 into theNorth German Federal Navy, which was mainly for coast defence. It became theImperial German Navy in 1871. From 1919 to 1935, only a smallReichsmarine was permitted. UnderNazi Germany, it was transformed into theKriegsmarine, which was disbanded in 1945 after theend of World War II in Europe.
Between May 1945 and 1956, theGerman Mine Sweeping Administration and its successor organizations, made up of formerKriegsmarine members, became something of a transition stage for the German navy, allowing the futureMarine to draw on recently experienced personnel upon its formation. Also, from 1949 to 1952 theUnited States Navy maintained theNaval Historical Team in Bremerhaven. This group of formerKriegsmarine officers acting as historical and tactical consultants to the Americans, was significant in establishing a German element in the NATO senior naval staff. In 1956, withWest Germany's accession to NATO, theBundesmarine (Federal Navy), as the navy was known colloquially, was formally established. In the same year the East GermanVolkspolizei See (literally People's Police Sea) became theVolksmarine (People's Navy). During the Cold War all of the German Navy's combat vessels were assigned toNATO'sAllied Forces Baltic Approaches's naval commandNAVBALTAP.
With the accession of formerEast Germany's states to the Federal Republic of Germany in 1990 theVolksmarine along with the wholeNational People's Army became part of theBundeswehr. Since 1995 the nameGerman Navy is used in international context, while the official name since 1956 remainsMarine without any additions. As of August 2024, the strength of the navy is 15,531 men and women.[1]
A number of naval forces have operated in different periods. See
German warships permanently participate in all four NATO Maritime Groups. The German Navy is also engaged in operations against internationalterrorism such asOperation Enduring Freedom and NATOOperation Active Endeavour.
Presently the largest operation the German Navy is participating in isUNIFIL off the coast ofLebanon. The German contribution to this operation is two frigates, fourfast attack craft, and two auxiliary vessels. The naval component of UNIFIL has been under German command.[3]
The navy operates a number of development and testing installations as part of an inter-service and international network. Among these is theCentre of Excellence for Operations in Confined and Shallow Waters (COE CSW), an affiliated centre ofAllied Command Transformation. The COE CSW was established in April 2007 and officially accredited by NATO on 26 May 2009.[4] It is co-located with the staff of the German Flotilla 1 inKiel whose Commander is double-hatted as Director, COE CSW.
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In total, there are about65 commissioned ships in the German Navy, including; 11frigates, 5corvettes, 2minesweepers, 10minehunters, 6submarines, 11 replenishment ships and 20 miscellaneousauxiliary vessels. The displacement of the navy is 220,000tonnes.
Ships of the German Navy include:
In addition, the German Navy and theRoyal Netherlands Navy are in cooperation in the "Ark Project". This agreement made the Ark Project responsible for the strategic sealift of German armed forces where the full-time charter of threeroll-on-roll-off cargo and troop ships are ready for deployments. In addition, these ships are also kept available for the use of the other European NATO countries. The three vessels have a combined displacement of 60,000 tonnes.[7][8]Including these ships, the total ships' displacement available to theDeutsche Marine is 280,000 tonnes.
Procurement ofjoint support ships (either two JSS800 for an amphibious group of 800 soldiers, or three smaller JSS400), was planned during the 1995–2010 period but the programme appears now to have been abandoned, not having been mentioned in two recent defence reviews. The larger ships would have been tasked for strategic troop transport and amphibious operations, and were to displace 27,000 to 30,000 tons for 800 soldiers.[9]
Thenaval air arm of the German Navy is called theMarinefliegerkommando. TheMarinefliegerkommando operates 56 aircraft, in May 2021 it was announced that the German Navy intended to replace the P-3C aircraft withBoeing P-8 Poseidon MPA aircraft through a FMS agreement from 2025 onwards.[10]
| Model | Image | Origin | Type | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile cranes | |||||
| Grove GMK 4080-3 |  |  United States | Mobile crane | 5 (7 additional for the Joint Support Service) | 5 used by the German Navy, 7 to be used by the Joint Support Service.[11] Specifications:
|
| Merlo Roto 50.35 |  | Germany | Telescopic handler | — | — |
_of_the_German_Navy_at_RIAT_Fairford_17July2017_arp.jpg)
The German Navy is commanded by theInspector of the Navy (Inspekteur der Marine) supported by the Navy Command (Marinekommando) inRostock.
| NATO code | OF-10 | OF-9 | OF-8 | OF-7 | OF-6 | OF-5 | OF-4 | OF-3 | OF-2 | OF-1 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 German Navy[12] |  |  |  |  | -O7.svg) | -O6.svg) | -O5.svg) |  | -O4.svg) | -O3.svg) | -O1.svg) | |||||||||||||
| Admiral | Vizeadmiral | Konteradmiral | Flottillenadmiral | Kapitän zur See | Fregattenkapitän | Korvettenkapitän | Stabskapitänleutnant | Kapitänleutnant | Oberleutnant zur See | Leutnant zur See | ||||||||||||||
| NATO code | OR-9 | OR-8 | OR-7 | OR-6 | OR-5 | OR-4 | OR-3 | OR-2 | OR-1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| German Navy[12] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | No insignia | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Oberstabsbootsmann | Stabsbootsmann | Hauptbootsmann | Oberbootsmann | Bootsmann | Obermaat | Maat | Stabskorporal | Korporal | Oberstabsgefreiter | Stabsgefreiter | Hauptgefreiter | Obergefreiter | Gefreiter | Matrose | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| German Navy (Officer designate) | -O0.svg) | .svg) | .svg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oberfähnrich zur See | Fähnrich zur See | Seekadett | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As of August 2025, Germany plans to invest €350 billion in new equipment through 2041. These investments come on top of the special fund of €100 billion. This includes the following estimated budgets:[13]
| Leadership | |
|---|---|
| Equipment | |
| Ranks and insignia | |
