Frankenthal-class minehunter
German minehunter class
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The Type 332 Frankenthal-class minehunter is a class of minehunters of the German Navy. The ships are built of non-magnetic steel. The hull, machinery and superstructure of this class is similar to the original Type 343 Hameln-class minesweeper, but the equipment differs. The class forms the 3 Minesweeper Squadron of the German Navy. These function as mine countermeasures vessels. Two of these vessels contribute to the two Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Groups SNMCG 1 and SNMCG 2.[1]
 Grömitz, already equipped with the MLG 27 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders |
|
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | Hameln-class minesweeper |
| Subclasses | |
| In commission | 1992–present |
| Planned | 12 |
| Completed | 12 |
| Active | 10 |
| Retired | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Minehunter |
| Displacement | 650 t (640 long tons) |
| Length | 54.4 m (178 ft 6 in) |
| Beam | 9.2 m (30 ft 2 in) |
| Draft | 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Complement | 41 |
| Sensors & processing systems | |
| Electronic warfare & decoys |
|
| Armament |
|
| Notes |
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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 (203 ft 5 in).[2]
List of ships
All active German ships are currently stationed in Kiel at the Baltic Sea. Fulda, Weilheim, Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Dillingen, and Homburg are part of the 3. Minensuchgeschwader (3. mine sweeper squadron). The others belong to 5. Minensuchgeschwader. 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).[3]
| Pennant number |
Name | Call sign |
Shipyard | Commissioned | Decommissioned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1066 | Frankenthal | DREY | Lürssen | 16 December 1992 | Sold to UAE (now M02 Al Murjan) |
| M1060 | Weiden | DRES | Abeking & Rasmussen | 3 March 1993 | Sold to UAE (now M01 Al Hasbah) |
| M1061 | Rottweil | DRET | Krögerwerft | 7 July 1993 | Refitted to be used with the SEK-M |
| M1063 | Bad Bevensen | DREV | Lürssen | 9 December 1993 | |
| M1067 | Bad Rappenau | DREZ | Abeking & Rasmussen | 19 April 1994 | Refitted to be used with the SEK-M |
| M1064 | Grömitz | DREW | Krögerwerft | 23 August 1994 | |
| M1068 | Datteln | DRFA | Lürssen | 8 December 1994 | |
| M1065 | Dillingen | DREX | Abeking & Rasmussen | 25 April 1995 | |
| M1069 | Homburg | DRFB | Krögerwerft | 26 September 1995 | |
| M1062 | Sulzbach-Rosenberg | DREU | Lürssen | 23 January 1996 | |
| M1058 | Fulda | DRFC | 5 June 1998 | ||
| M1059 | Weilheim | DRFD | 26 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.[4]
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".[5]
Sabotage 2025
An act of sabotage was discovered on the minehunter Weilheim when the ship was in the shipyard at Rostock in February 2025. Several cable harnesses were cut with an axe. The Tene shipyard in Rostock regularly maintains warships for the German Navy and the Federal Police.[6][7]
This incident is part of a hybrid attack on the German Navy involving several acts of sabotage in January and February 2025, including against the corvette Emden and the German frigate Hessen.[8] According to the Inspector of the Navy, in addition to sabotage attempts from land and sea, there were cases of intrusions into naval bases and "attempts to make contact" with soldiers in uniform on their way home.[9]
Observers see these cases as Russian intelligence services using "disposable agents".[10][11]
Gallery
Grömitz
Bad Bevensen at the Kiel Week 2007
A Pinguin B3 mine-hunting ROV
See also
Equivalent minehunters of the same era
