The Type 404 Elbe class replenishment ships of the German Navy

German Navy

The German Navy is the navy of Germany and is part of the unified Bundeswehr .The German Navy traces its roots back to the Imperial Fleet of the revolutionary era of 1848 – 52 and more directly to the Prussian Navy, which later evolved into the Northern German Federal Navy...

 were built to support its squadron

Squadron (naval)

A squadron, or naval squadron, is a unit of 3-4 major warships, transport ships, submarines, or sometimes small craft that may be part of a larger task force or a fleet...

s of Fast Attack Craft

Fast Attack Craft

Fast Attack Craft are small, fast, agile and offensive warships, that are armed with anti-ship missiles, guns or torpedoes. These are usually operated in close proximity to land as they lack both the sea-keeping and all-round defensive capabilities to survive in blue water. The size of the vessel...

, submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

s and minesweeper/hunter

Minesweeper (ship)

A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...

s, as such they are usually referred to as tenders

Ship's tender

A ship's tender, usually referred to as a tender, is a boat, or a larger ship used to service a ship, generally by transporting people and/or supplies to and from shore or another ship...

.

The ships carry fuel

Fuel

Fuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by humans undergo combustion, a redox reaction in which a combustible substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the air...

, fresh water

Fresh Water

Fresh Water is the debut album by Australian rock and blues singer Alison McCallum, released in 1972. Rare for an Australian artist at the time, it came in a gatefold sleeve...

, food

Food

Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...

, ammunition

Ammunition

Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...

 and other matériel

Materiel

Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....

. They also have a medical station

Sick bay

A sick bay is a compartment in a ship used for medical purposes — the ship's hospital.The sick bay will contain the ship's medicine chest which may be divided into separate cabinets such as a refrigerator for medicines which require cold storage and a locked cabinet for controlled substances...

 aboard but doctor

Physician

A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

s are not part of their standard complement and will have to be flown in. The tender also manage waste disposal

Waste management

Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...

 for the ships they support at sea and can carry out minor repairs of assigned ships. For this purpose Elbe class tenders assigned to FAC

Fast Attack Craft

Fast Attack Craft are small, fast, agile and offensive warships, that are armed with anti-ship missiles, guns or torpedoes. These are usually operated in close proximity to land as they lack both the sea-keeping and all-round defensive capabilities to survive in blue water. The size of the vessel...

 squadrons, for example, carry the SUG repair and support shop specialized for these boats on their deck in a set of 13 standard containers.

Extensive communication gear and accommodations enable them to serve as squadron flagship.

While in general all Elbe class tenders are quickly configurable to be reassigned to support other squadrons, one of the six ships is usually modified to support German submarines - carrying batteries for reloading for example. This ship - currently A515 Main - while still being of the same class, and easily reconfigurable - is often named as a separate "sub-class" due to this larger modification.

List of ships

Pennant number Pennant number In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers...	Name	Call sign Call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...	Commissioned	Base	Unit
A511	Elbe	DRHU	January 28, 1993	Warnemünde Warnemünde Warnemünde is a sea resort and northmost district of Rostock in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, situated on the Baltic Sea in the northeast of Germany at the estuary of the river Warnow.- History :...	7th FAC Fast Attack Craft Fast Attack Craft are small, fast, agile and offensive warships, that are armed with anti-ship missiles, guns or torpedoes. These are usually operated in close proximity to land as they lack both the sea-keeping and all-round defensive capabilities to survive in blue water. The size of the vessel...  squadron
A512	Mosel	DRHK	July 1, 1993	Kiel Kiel Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...	5th Minesweeper squadron
A513	Rhein	DRHL	September 1, 1993	Kiel Kiel Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...	3rd Minesweeper squadron
A514	Werra	DRHM	December 9, 1993	Kiel Kiel Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...	3rd Minesweeper squadron
A515	Main	DRHN	June 10, 1994	Eckernförde Eckernförde Eckernförde is a German city in Schleswig-Holstein, Kreis Rendsburg-Eckernförde at the Baltic Sea near Kiel. The population is about 23,000.All German submarines are stationed in Eckernförde....	1st Submarine squadron
A516	Donau	DRHO	November 15, 1994	Warnemünde Warnemünde Warnemünde is a sea resort and northmost district of Rostock in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, situated on the Baltic Sea in the northeast of Germany at the estuary of the river Warnow.- History :...	1st Corvette squadron

The ships were named after German rivers.