Royal Danish Navy
Encyclopedia
The Royal Danish Navy (officially Kongelige Danske Marine in Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...

 but generally known as Søværnet or 'Sea Defence') is the sea-based branch
Naval warfare
Naval warfare is combat in and on seas, oceans, or any other major bodies of water such as large lakes and wide rivers.-History:Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Land warfare would seem, initially, to be irrelevant and entirely removed from warfare on the open ocean,...

 of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...

 of Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

ic and Faroese
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...

 territorial waters
Territorial waters
Territorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending at most from the baseline of a coastal state...

. Other tasks include surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...

, search and rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...

, icebreaking
Icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...

, oil spill recovery and prevention
Oil spill
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is mostly used to describe marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters...

 as well as contributions to international tasks and forces.

During the period 1509-1814 when Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 was in union with Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

, the Danish Navy was part of the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy
Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy
The Royal Danish-Norwegian Navy or The Common Fleet also known simply as the Danish Navy was the naval force of the united kingdoms Denmark and Norway from 1509 to 12 April 1814. The fleet was established when the Royal Danish Navy and the Royal Norwegian Navy was combined by King Hans, when he...

. Until the copenhagenization
Copenhagenization (naval)
Copenhagenization refers to the practice of confiscating the warships of a defeated enemy. It first occurs when the British fleet under Admiral Gambier defeated the Dano-Norwegian fleet in the Second Battle of Copenhagen in 1807....

 of the navy in 1807 the navy was a major strategic influence in European geographical area, but since then it had remained of a smaller size. Despite this the navy is now equipped with a number of large state-of-the-art vessels commissioned since the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

. This can be explained by its strategic location as the NATO member controlling access to the Baltic
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

.

Danish Navy ships carry the prefix KDM (Kongelige Danske Marine) in Danish, but this is translated to HDMS (Her / His Danish Majesty's Ship) in English. Denmark is one of several NATO member states whose navies do not deploy submarines.

History

The geographic layout of Denmark (not including Greenland and the Faroe Islands) has a coastline to land area ratio of 1:5.9. By comparison, the figure for the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 is 1:92.1 and for the USA, 1:493.2 Denmark therefore naturally has long-standing maritime traditions, dating back to the 9th century when the Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

s had small but well-organised fleets. They were often based in a small number of villages, usually with a common defence agreement. As the Viking ship
Viking ship
Viking ships were vessels used during the Viking Age in Northern Europe. Scandinavian tradition of shipbuilding during the Viking Age was characterized by slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together...

s, usually of the Knarr
Knarr
The Knarr is a Bermuda rigged, long keeled, sailing yacht designed in 1943 by Norwegian Erling L. Kristofersen. Knarrer were traditionally built in wood, with the hull upside down on a fixed frame, then attaching the iron keel after the hull was completed. The hull planks were manufactured with...

type, were light, and therefore easy to transport from village to village over land. With time, the defence pacts gave rise to larger, more offensive fleets which the Vikings used for plundering coastal areas. In the period after the Vikings and up to the 15th century, the fleet consisted mainly of merchant vessels. Indeed, it is said that king Valdemar Sejr
Valdemar II of Denmark
Valdemar II , called Valdemar the Victorious or Valdemar the Conqueror , was the King of Denmark from 1202 until his death in 1241. The nickname Sejr is a later invention and was not used during the King's own lifetime...

 had more than 1,000 ships during the conquest of Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

 in 1219. Together they carried more than 30,000 soldiers with horses and supplies.

Records exist of a unified Danish navy from the late 14th century. Queen Margaret I
Margaret I of Denmark
Margaret I was Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden and founder of the Kalmar Union, which united the Scandinavian countries for over a century. Although she acted as queen regnant, the laws of contemporary Danish succession denied her formal queenship. Her title in Denmark was derived from her...

, who had just founded the Kalmar Union
Kalmar Union
The Kalmar Union is a historiographical term meaning a series of personal unions that united the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway , and Sweden under a single monarch, though intermittently and with a population...

 (consisting of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

, Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

, Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...

, Shetland, Orkney, parts of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 and parts of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

) ordered the building of a navy — mainly to defend the union against the Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...

. Earlier the national fleet had consisted of vessels owned and operated by the nobility
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

, but the country as such did not have a navy. The earlier monarchs
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...

 therefore had to rely on conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...

 from the nobility, which was not always easy as the monarchy itself often had enemies within the nobility. Queen Margaret I gave instructions for a navy to be constituted and maintained under the control of the monarchy. The nobility still had to provide crews (which consisted mainly of "volunteered" farmers) for these ships, though the core crew-members (i.e. masters, master-at-arms
Master-at-arms
A master-at-arms may be a naval rating responsible for discipline and law enforcement, an army officer responsible for physical training, or a member of the crew of a merchant ship responsible for security and law enforcement.-Royal Navy:The master-at-arms is a ship's senior rating, comparable in...

 and master carpenters
Carpenter
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....

) could be employed by the monarch. There were also education officers
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...

, mainly levied from the nobility.

In the 15th century, especially during the reign of King Hans, Danish trade expanded appreciably, increasing the need for the delivery of merchandise. As shipping was the ideal means of transport at the time, Danish maritime interests had to be further protected. King Hans is credited with establishing the Common Fleet
Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy
The Royal Danish-Norwegian Navy or The Common Fleet also known simply as the Danish Navy was the naval force of the united kingdoms Denmark and Norway from 1509 to 12 April 1814. The fleet was established when the Royal Danish Navy and the Royal Norwegian Navy was combined by King Hans, when he...

 in 1509, substantially increasing the number of professional crewmembers. They were mainly petty criminals, who had to choose between working in the king’s navy or imprisonment. They received basic training in seamanship and carpentry enabling them to sail the ships. Responsibility for weaponry and combat was still in the hands of conscripted farmers. For these, the country was divided into a number of counties — known in Danish as skipæn (the term skip being related to the Danish word for ship, skib), which would later serve as the Danish diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

s. It was also during this period that dedicated naval bases and shipyards were founded. They would build, maintain and fit out the king’s navy. The first record of a dedicated naval base is Bremerholmd (later Gammelholm
Gammelholm
Gammelholm is a predominantly residential neighbourhood in the city centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is bounded by the Nyhavn canal, Kongens Nytorv, Holmens Kanal, Niels Juels Gade and the waterfront along Havnegade...

) in the year 1500.

The founding of the Danish navy is often viewed in Denmark as taking place on 10 August 1510 when King Hans appointed his vassal Henrik Krummedige
Henrich Krummedige
Henrich Krummedige , was born circa 1464 in Norway and died in 1530. He was a Danish-Norwegian nobleman and a member of both the Norwegian and Danish National Councils and played an extensive role in the politics of the era...

 to become "chief captain and head of all our captains, men and servants whom we now have appointed and ordered to be at sea."

When King Frederick II
Frederick II of Denmark
Frederick II was King of Denmark and Norway and duke of Schleswig from 1559 until his death.-King of Denmark:Frederick II was the son of King Christian III of Denmark and Norway and Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg. Frederick II stands as the typical renaissance ruler of Denmark. Unlike his father, he...

 was crowned in 1559, he immediately began expanding the navy further. The number of bases, yards and vessels rose rapidly and substantial resources were used for new ship designs, weaponry, training and battle tactics. Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, which had become an independent country, dominated a large part of the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

, threatening Danish merchant interests. In retaliation, Denmark closed the Øresund in 1568, laying the first seeds for the Scanian War
Scanian War
The Scanian War was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark-Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish provinces along the border with Sweden and in Northern Germany...

 (1675–1679), only eight years after the end of the second Nordic War
Northern Wars
Northern Wars is a term used for a series of wars fought in northern and northeastern Europe in the 16th and 17th century. An internationally agreed nomenclature for these wars has not yet been devised...

 (1657–1660), during which Denmark lost the now Swedish provinces of Skåne, Halland and Blekinge. During this period further resources were allocated to the navy. Cort Adler and Niels Juel
Niels Juel
Niels Juel was a Dano–Norwegian admiral. He was the brother of the diplomat Jens Juel.-Biography:Niels Juel was born the son of Erik Juel and Sophie Clausdatter Sehested, both were descendant of Danish nobility, who lived in Jutland where the father had a career as a local functionary and judge...

 led the Danish navy to a victory in the Battle of Køge Bay
Battle of Køge Bay
The Battle of Køge Bay was a naval battle between Denmark-Norway and Sweden that took place in the bay of Køge 1–2 July 1677, during the Scanian War, while Christian V was king of Denmark. It resulted in what may be Denmark's greatest naval victory....

 in 1667.

King Christian IV
Christian IV of Denmark
Christian IV was the king of Denmark-Norway from 1588 until his death. With a reign of more than 59 years, he is the longest-reigning monarch of Denmark, and he is frequently remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious and proactive Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects...

 (crowned in 1588) continued in his father's footsteps. In the beginning of the 17th century, he considerably expanded the naval workships. In Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

, where the navy resided, he built a large number of homes for crewmembers and workshop craftsmen — the most famous being Nyboder
Nyboder
Nyboder is a historic row house district of former Naval barracks in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was planned and first built by Christian IV to accommodate a need for housing for the personnel of the rapidly growing Royal Danish Navy and their families during that time...

 (completed in 1631) which still stands in central Copenhagen.

General admiral lieutenant Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve
Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve, Count of Samsø
Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve was a Danish navy Admiral and Governor of Iceland. He was an acknowledged illegitimate son of Christian V of Denmark and Sophie Amalie Moth.-Life:...

 was appointed supreme commander of the navy in 1701. He raised the status of the naval profession and established Søkadetakademie, the predecessor of the Royal Danish Naval Academy
Royal Danish Naval Academy
The Royal Danish Naval Academy educates and commissions all officers for the Royal Danish Navy...

. In 1709, Peter Jansen Wessel joined the navy. He was later given the rank of admiral as a reward for his many victories - most famously at Marstrand and Dynekilden. He was later known as Tordenskjold.

In 1712, Tordenskjold succeeded in burning 80 Swedish naval cruisers. This played a large part in the outcome of the Great Nordic War
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...

 (1709–1720). Since Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

 now was at peace, the navy focused its resources on other parts of the world, resulting in colonisation of Africa
Colonisation of Africa
The colonisation of Africa has a long history, the most famous phase being the European Scramble for Africa during the late 19th and early 20th century.- Ancient colonialism :...

 and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

. A permanent naval presence of shifting strength was maintained in the Mediterranean Sea - protecting Danish-Norwegian interests in the region - mainly commerces against piracy. The Danish Mediterranean Squadron had throughout the seventeen and parts of the eighteen hundreds numerous minor engagements with The Barbary States. On several occasions these hostilities escalated to substantial actions. Some of the more notable, can be said to the Mediterranean Squadrons bombardment of Algiers in 1770 under the command of contreadmiral Frederik Christian Kaas, the then captain, and future Privy Councillor, Steen Andersen Bille
Steen Andersen Bille
The name of Steen Andersen Bille is closely associated with one extended family of Danish Naval Officers over four generations. Their relationships are as follows*Steen Andersen Bille Colonel and Vice-Commandant of Copenhagen....

's action at Tripoli in 1797, and commander Hans Georg Garde in a joint Scandinavian expedition in 1844 - which effectively ended the Barbary states' attacks on Scandinavian merchants in the region. A pact of neutrality was made between Denmark (including Norway) and Sweden, providing a solid basis for commercial expansion.

The British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

, under pressure from the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 in the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...

, became increasingly reluctant to allow Denmark to trade overseas as they believed Napoleon could benefit economically from Danish commerce. In 1801, they decided to attack a Danish line of defence, in the Battle of Copenhagen
Battle of Copenhagen (1801)
The Battle of Copenhagen was an engagement which saw a British fleet under the command of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker fight and strategically defeat a Danish-Norwegian fleet anchored just off Copenhagen on 2 April 1801. Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson led the main attack. He famously disobeyed Parker's...

, under the command of Admiral Hyde Parker. The defence line, under the command of Olfert Fischer
Olfert Fischer
Johan Olfert Fischer was a Danish officer in the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy. He commanded the Dano-Norwegian fleet against British forces under Lord Nelson during the Battle of Copenhagen on 2 April 1801.-Life and career:...

, was far smaller than the attacking force and was easily subdued. Denmark was therefore forced to make an agreement with the British. In the following six years, Denmark managed to stay clear of the Napoleonic Wars, until the events leading to the second Battle of Copenhagen
Battle of Copenhagen (1807)
The Second Battle of Copenhagen was a British preemptive attack on Copenhagen, targeting the civilian population in order to seize the Dano-Norwegian fleet and in turn originate the term to Copenhagenize.-Background:Despite the defeat and loss of many ships in the first Battle of Copenhagen in...

 in 1807. Britain was afraid the Danish fleet might fall under the control of Napoleon, perhaps tipping the balance in his favour. King Christian VII
Christian VII of Denmark
Christian VII was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death. He was the son of Danish King Frederick V and his first consort Louisa, daughter of King George II of Great Britain....

 refused to hand over his navy to the British for safekeeping until the end of the war, and the British attacked. After the battle, the Bombardment of Copenhagen (from 2 to 5 September) took place under Admiral Gambier. It is generally accepted as the first terror bombardment by a fleet, in which the terrorising of civilians was used to gain a political goal.

In 1814, Denmark and Norway were separated relatively peacefully, after more than 300 years together. At the same time the Common Fleet was split into the Royal Danish Navy and the Royal Norwegian Navy
Royal Norwegian Navy
The Royal Norwegian Navy is the branch of the Norwegian Defence Force responsible for naval operations. , the RNoN consists of approximately 3,700 personnel and 70 vessels, including 5 heavy frigates, 6 submarines, 14 patrol boats, 4 minesweepers, 4 minehunters, 1 mine detection vessel, 4 support...

.

The navy was slowly rebuilt, but it was nowhere near its former size. Faith was nevertheless placed in the navy, interests in Africa and the Caribbean still receiving considerable attention. In 1845, a two-year research expedition was launched on the corvette Galathea. In the Second Schleswig War (1864), the navy was still relatively small and old-fashioned. Only a few steam vessels were at hand and these had a large impact on the war. As a result, it was considered necessary for the navy to be modernised. By the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 (1914), the Danish navy was a very modern fleet, mainly equipped with armoured steam ships and only a very few sailing ships.

In the period between the two world wars, the Danish navy (as well as the rest of the Danish military forces) had low priority for the politicians, especially between 1929 and 1942 under Thorvald Stauning
Thorvald Stauning
Thorvald August Marinus Stauning was the first social democratic Prime Minister of Denmark. He served as Prime Minister from 1924 to 1926 and again from 1929 until his death in 1942....

. During the first year of the German occupation
Occupation of Denmark
Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark began with Operation Weserübung on 9 April 1940, and lasted until German forces withdrew at the end of World War II following their surrender to the Allies on 5 May 1945. Contrary to the situation in other countries under German occupation, most Danish...

 (1940–1945), the navy, assisted the occupying German forces with minesweeping, because of the political demand of keeping the infrastructure (ferry-lines) up and running. The tensions between the German soldiers and the Danish armed forces rose slowly and on 29 August 1943, they managed to scuttle 32 of its larger ships, while Germany succeeded in seizing 14 of the larger and 50 of the smaller vessels. This was due to a secret order, given directly to the captains by word of mouth by commander of the navy, Vice Admiral A. H. Vedel "to try to flee to the nearest neutral or nazi-opposed port. If that was not possible the ship should be scuttled at as deep a location as possible". The Germans later succeeded in raising and refitting 15 of the sunken ships. During the scuttling of the Danish fleet, a number of vessels were ordered to attempt an escape to Swedish waters, 13 succeeding. The score for the larger vessels was therefore: 32 vessels were sunk, 2 were in Greenland, 4 reached Sweden, 14 were captured by the Germans. As for the smaller vessels: 9 "patruljekuttere" reached Sweden, 50 others were captured by the Germans. By the autumn of 1944, these ships officially formed a Danish naval flotilla
Flotilla
A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...

 in exile. In September 1943, A. H. Vedel was fired by order of the prime minister Vilhelm Buhl
Vilhelm Buhl
Vilhelm Buhl was Prime Minister of Denmark from 4 May 1942 to 9 November 1942 as head of the Unity Government during the German occupation of Denmark of World War II, until the Nazis ordered him removed...

, because of his hostile actions towards the Germans. In November 1943, the Swedish authorities allowed 500 Danish soldiers in Sweden to train as "police troops". By the autumn of 1944, Sweden raised this number to 4,800 and recognised the entire unit as a Danish military brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...

 in exile.
In the post-war years, Denmark joined NATO in 1949. As a result, Denmark received large amounts of material and financing through the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...

. Furthermore several ships was purchased from the British and a number of vessels were transferred from the now disarmed 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...

.

During the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

, the Danish navy was rebuilt and modernised, the main assignment being to repel an invasion from the Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...

. Typical operations requiring training were minelaying
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...

 (the now disbanded minelayers of the Falster-class (17 kn, 2,000 GRT
Net register tonnage
Net register tonnage is a ship's cargo volume capacity expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated by reducing non-revenue-earning spaces i.e. spaces not available for carrying cargo, for example engine rooms, fuel tanks and crew quarters, from the ship's...

), was the worlds largest minelayers at their time - each had a complement of 280 900 kg mines) and sting attacks with small but fast combat craft (such as the Søløven-class torpedo boat
Torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...

s (54 kn, 158 GRT) and Willemoes-class missile torpedo boats
Missile boat
A Missile Boat is a small craft armed with anti-ship missiles. Being a small craft, missile boats are popular with nations interested in forming an inexpensive navy...

 (45 kn, 260 GRT) and a self-sustaining mobile missile battery (MOBA) equipped with targeting and guidance, capable of firing Harpoon missiles. The Danish intelligence capabilities were also expanded and the Danish 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 trained for very shallow water operations, while a special naval force - the Danish Frogman Corps
Danish Frogman Corps
The Danish Frogman Corps is an elite special forces frogman corps in the Royal Danish Navy.This corps was set up on June 17, 1957 based on the model of the British SBS...

 was created. The naval bases in Frederikshavn
Frederikshavn
This article is about a Danish town. For the German town, see Friedrichshafen, and for the Finnish town, see Fredrikshamn .Frederikshavn is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Its name translates to...

 and Korsør
Korsør
Korsør is a Danish town and port. It is out on the Great Belt, on the Zealand side, just south of where the Great Belt Bridge lands. It was the site of the municipal council of Korsør municipality - today it is part of Slagelse municipality...

 plus the fortresses at Langeland
Langeland
Langeland is a Danish island located between the Great Belt and Bay of Kiel. The island measures 285 km² and, as of 1 January 2010, has a population of 13,277. The island produces grain and is known as a recreational area. A bridge connects it to Tåsinge via Siø - a small island with a...

 and Stevns
Stevns Peninsula
Stevns Peninsula is a peninsula on Sjælland in Denmark. It is separated from Sjælland by the three streams Stevns Å, Tryggevælde Å and Kildeå.The main town of the peninsula is Store Heddinge, and most of the peninsula is covered by the Stevns Municipality....

 were created through NATO funds in the 1950s.

Since the end of the Cold War, the navy has been in a transitional phase, from local defence to global operations, with fewer but larger vessels able to operate for long periods at sea. It has also been more self-sustaining. Under the defence agreement (1995–1999) which initiated the process, several of the old "cold war" frigates and minesweepers were decommissioned. The 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...

 structure prior to this defence agreement was as follows:
  • 1st Squadron = The North Atlantic Squadron (Danish: 'InspektionsSkibsEskadren' (ISE)) with 5 ocean patrol vessels (1 Beskytteren-class, 4 Thetis-class), 3 ocean patrol cutters (Agdlek-class) and 4 icebreakers
  • 2nd Squadron = The Frigate Squadron (Danish: 'FreGatEskadren' (FGE)) with 2 frigates (Peder Skram-class), 3 corvettes (Niels Juel-class), 14 StanFlex-vessels (Flyvefisken-class) and 6 seaward defence craft (Daphne-class, decommissioned in 1991)
  • 3rd Squadron = The Mine Squadron (Danish: 'MineSkibsEskadren' (MSE)) with 4 minelayers (Falster-class), 2 cable-minelayers (Lindormen-class) and 7 minesweepers (Sund-class, decommissioned in 1999)
  • 4th Squadron = The Torpedo Boat Squadron (Danish: 'TorpedoBådsEskadren' (TBE)) with 13 torpedo-/missile boats (8 Willemoes-class, 5 Søløven-class), 2 oilers (Faxe-class) and a truck-detachment with missiles and radars called MOBA
  • 5th Squadron = The Submarine Squadron (Danish: 'UndervandsBådsEskadren' (UBE)) with 6 submarines (3 Tumleren-class, 3 Springeren-class) and the Frogmans Corps


In the defence agreement of 2000-2004, further restructuring of the navy was ordered, as well as the decommissioning of several units. Furthermore the only unit of Beskytteren-class was donated to the Estonian Navy
Estonian Navy
The Merevägi is the navy of Republic of Estonia and is part of the unified Kaitsevägi .In total, there are about four commissioned ships in the Estonian Navy, including three auxiliary ships; the displacement of the navy is under 10,000 tonnes making it one of the smallest navies in the world...

 as Admiral Pitka (A230)
EML Admiral Pitka (A230)
EML Admiral Pitka is a Beskytteren-class ocean patrol vessel of the Estonian Navy and belongs into the Estonian Navy Mineships Division. The commanding officer of the vessel is Senior Lieutenant Peep Laanisto...

. With the decommissioning of the torpedo boats, the 4th squadron was disbanded and the remnants were transferred to the 2nd squadron. Other units were also decommissioned. The squadron structure now looked like this:
  • 1st Squadron with 4 ocean patrol vessels (Thetis-class), 3 ocean patrol cutters (Agdlek-class) and 3 icebreakers
  • 2nd Squadron with 3 corvettes (Niels Juel-class), 14 StanFlex-vessels (Flyvefisken-class), 2 oilers (Faxe-class) and a truck-detachment with missiles and radars called MOBA and a new truck-unit MLOG with shops, spare parts, mechanics, etc.
  • 3rd Squadron = The Mine Squadron (Danish: 'MineSkibsEskadren' (MSE)) with 4 minelayers (Falster-class) and 2 cable-minelayers (Lindormen-class)
  • 5th Squadron = The Submarine Squadron (Danish: 'UndervandsBådsEskadren' (UBE)) with 4 submarines (3 Tumleren-class, 1 Kronbrog-class - leased Swedish Näcken-class
    Näcken class submarine
    The Näcken class submarines, also known as the A14 type, were built for the Swedish Navy in the late 1970s. The boats were authorised in 1972 and the programme was completed in 1981. All boats were built by Kockums in Karlskrona. The boats had a teardrop hull and diving depth was 150m...

    ) and the Frogman Corps


On 1 January 2006, a major reorganisation was carried out as a part of the defence agreement of 2005-2009 (which also put an end to the 95 year old submarine service, with no intention of developing future submarine capability), when the former four squadrons were divided into two squadrons:
  • 1st Squadron - domestic affairs squadron
  • 2nd Squadron - foreign affairs squadron

Admiral Danish Fleet

The Admiral Danish Fleet
Admiral Danish Fleet
Admiral Danish Fleet is two things:* The English name of Søværnets Operative Kommando , the operationally supreme organisation of the Danish navy.* ADMDANFLT as a person is a kontreadmiral who is the chief of naval operations in Denmark, and as such the...

 (in Danish Søværnets Operative Kommando), led by a Rear Admiral, is directly responsible to the Danish Defence Command
Defence Command (Denmark)
The Defence Command of Denmark short FKO, is the Danish branch-combined military command and the top coordination and controlling authority of the Danish military...

.

The squadrons

The Danish fleet today is divided into two squadrons
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...

:
  • 1st Squadron, administratively based at Naval Base Frederikshavn
    Frederikshavn
    This article is about a Danish town. For the German town, see Friedrichshafen, and for the Finnish town, see Fredrikshamn .Frederikshavn is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Its name translates to...

    , handles all tasks regarding domestic affairs, such as maritime defence and sovereignty
    Sovereignty
    Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...

     of Danish
    Denmark
    Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

    , Greenland
    Greenland
    Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

    ic and Faroese
    Faroe Islands
    The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...

     territorial waters
    Territorial waters
    Territorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending at most from the baseline of a coastal state...

    , surveillance
    Surveillance
    Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...

    , search and rescue
    Search and rescue
    Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...

    , icebreaking
    Icebreaker
    An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...

     and oil spill recovery and prevention
    Oil spill
    An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is mostly used to describe marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters...

    . It has provided units for international tasks, such as the environmental recovery vessel Gunnar Seidenfaden for the cleanup after the Prestige oil spill
    Prestige oil spill
    The Prestige oil spill was an oil spill off the coast of Galicia caused by the sinking of an oil tanker in 2002. The spill polluted thousands of kilometers of coastline and more than one thousand beaches on the Spanish, French and Portuguese coast, as well as causing great harm to the local fishing...

     and the ocean patrol vessel Thetis
    HDMS Thetis (F357)
    HDMS Thetis is a Thetis-class ocean patrol vessel belonging to the Royal Danish Navy.In mid-1990s the ship served as a platform for seismic operations in the waters near Greenland. In 2002 she took over the role from her sister ship Hvidbjørnen as a platform for Commander Danish Task Group. The...

    for the protection force programme of WFP
    World Food Programme
    The World Food Programme is the food aid branch of the United Nations, and the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger worldwide. WFP provides food, on average, to 90 million people per year, 58 million of whom are children...

     chartered ships at the Horn of Africa
    Horn of Africa
    The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...

    . Vessels operated by 1st Squadron.
  • 2nd Squadron, administratively based at Naval Base Korsør
    Korsør
    Korsør is a Danish town and port. It is out on the Great Belt, on the Zealand side, just south of where the Great Belt Bridge lands. It was the site of the municipal council of Korsør municipality - today it is part of Slagelse municipality...

    , is specialized in foreign affairs. It conducts exercises for participation in various international tasks, such as providing protection force, disaster relief operations
    Emergency management
    Emergency management is the generic name of an interdisciplinary field dealing with the strategic organizational management processes used to protect critical assets of an organization from hazard risks that can cause events like disasters or catastrophes and to ensure the continuance of the...

     and non-combatant evacuation operation
    Non-combatant Evacuation Operation
    A non-combatant evacuation operation or NEO is an operation conducted to evacuate civilians from another country, generally due to a deteriorating security situation.-United States:...

    s. It permanently provides units for international standing maritime groups as well as supporting various maritime operations. Vessels operated by 2nd Squadron.

Naval Operational Logistic Support

The Naval Operational Logistic Support Structure (OPLOG), including the naval bases in Frederikshavn
Frederikshavn
This article is about a Danish town. For the German town, see Friedrichshafen, and for the Finnish town, see Fredrikshamn .Frederikshavn is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Its name translates to...

 and Korsør
Korsør
Korsør is a Danish town and port. It is out on the Great Belt, on the Zealand side, just south of where the Great Belt Bridge lands. It was the site of the municipal council of Korsør municipality - today it is part of Slagelse municipality...

 as well as several naval stations.

Naval bases

The naval bases' task is to provide logistic support for the ships and vessels, through the OPLOGs. This includes configuration, maintaining and repairing the units. Furthermore similar support is provided to civilian agencies (i.e. the Danish police
Police of Denmark
The police of Denmark is the interior part of the Danish legitimate force providers...

) and allied units like United nations

The support is mainly provided within the geographical areas of the naval bases. For Naval Base Korsør
Korsør
Korsør is a Danish town and port. It is out on the Great Belt, on the Zealand side, just south of where the Great Belt Bridge lands. It was the site of the municipal council of Korsør municipality - today it is part of Slagelse municipality...

 that is Zealand, Funen
Funen
Funen , with a size of 2,984 km² , is the third-largest island of Denmark following Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy, and the 163rd largest island of the world. Funen is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 454,358 inhabitants . The main city is Odense, connected to the...

, Bornholm
Bornholm
Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is...

 as well as the surrounding waters. For Naval Base Frederikshavn it is Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...

, Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

 and the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...

. Furthermore general support is provided for units participating in international operations in peacetime, as well as all units in crisis and wartime.

Naval stations

The navy maintains a number of naval stations. These are smaller stations with limited support functions. The best known is the publicly accessible Naval Station Holmen
Holmen naval base
Naval Station Holmen is one of several naval stations of the Royal Danish Navy, supplementing the two Danish naval bases in Frederikshavn and Korsør....

 in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

. There are also naval stations located in Esbjerg
Esbjerg
Esbjerg Municipality is a municipality in Region of Southern Denmark on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. Its mayor is Johnny Søtrup, from the Venstre political party...

, Kongsøre, on Møn
Møn
-Location:Møn is located just off the south-eastern tip of Zealand from which it is separated by the waters of the Hølen strait between Kalvehave and the island of Nyord, at the northern end of Møn. Further south is Stege Bugt...

, in Århus and Lyngsbæk.

Special forces units

The navy operates two special operation units
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...

.

The Frogmen Corps

The Frogmen Corps (Danish: Frømandskorpset) is an elite special force unit with the tasks of reconnaissance, assaulting enemy ships, sabotage of fixed installations as well as anti-terrorism work with the police.

Sirius Arctic Patrol

The Sirius Arctic Patrol is a special forces unit and dog sled
Dog sled
A dog sled is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing.-History:...

 patrol conducting long-range reconnaissance (LRRP) and enforcing Danish sovereignty as well as representing Denmark's military presence in Greenland.

Danish Task Group

The Danish Task Group is a mobile unit that is experienced in orchestrating exercises, organising insertions (search and rescue, non-combatant evacuation, disaster relief operations, etc.) and commanding naval, aerial and land-based units. It is composed of personnel from the Danish army, navy, air force and foreign ministry.

The naval school structure

Runs three main schools, with five special schools:
  • Naval NCO and Basic Training School (Danish: Søværnets Sergent- og Grundskole (SSG)) near Frederikshavn
  • Danish naval academy
    Royal Danish Naval Academy
    The Royal Danish Naval Academy educates and commissions all officers for the Royal Danish Navy...

     (Danish: Søværnets Officersskole) on Holmen
  • naval specialist schools (Danish: Søværnets specialskoler):
    • Naval Warfare School (Danish: Søværnets Taktikkursus (TAK)) at Naval Base Frederikshavn and Holmen
    • Naval Weapons School (Danish: Søværnets Våbenkursus (SVK)) on Sjællands Odde
      Sjællands Odde
      Sjællands Odde is a 15 km long peninsula on the northwest coast of Zealand between the Kattegat and Sejerø Bay. From the outermost point of the peninsula, Gniben, a reef juts some 10 km out into the Kattegat....

    • Naval Technical School (Danish: Søværnets Teknikkursus (TEK)) on Holmen
    • Naval Damage Control School (Danish: Søværnets Havarikursus (SHK)) near Frederikshavn
    • Naval Diving School (Danish: Søværnets Dykkerkursus (SDK)) on Holmen

International operations

The contemporary Danish navy, has participated in the following international operations:
Year Operation Participating units
1990-91 Operation Desert Shield  F355 Olfert Fischer
HDMS Olfert Fischer (F355)
HDMS Olfert Fischer is a of the Kongelige Danske Marine .Laid down in December 1978 and commissioned in October 1981, the corvette operated in the Persian Gulf on two occasions, first in 1990 and 1991 as part of the multinational fleet enforcing the United Nations sanctions against Iraq, then...

 (Niels Juel-class
Niels Juel class corvette
The Niels Juel class is a three-ship class of corvettes currently in service with the Royal Danish Navy. They were built in Denmark at Aalborg Shipyard and were launched in the period 1978-1980...

)
1993-96 Operation Sharp Guard
Operation Sharp Guard
Operation Sharp Guard was a multi-year joint naval blockade in the Adriatic Sea by NATO and the Western European Union on shipments to the former Yugoslavia. Warships and maritime patrol aircraft from 14 countries were involved in searching for and stopping blockade runners.The operation began on...

 
F354 Niels Juel (Niels Juel-class
Niels Juel class corvette
The Niels Juel class is a three-ship class of corvettes currently in service with the Royal Danish Navy. They were built in Denmark at Aalborg Shipyard and were launched in the period 1978-1980...

)
1999 Operation Allied Harvest N43 Lindormen (Lindormen-class)
29 November 2002 - 4 March 2003 Prestige Cleanup  A561 Gunnar Seidenfaden (Gunnar Thorson-class)
2003 Operation Iraqi Freedom  S323 Sælen (Tumleren-class), F355 Olfert Fischer
HDMS Olfert Fischer (F355)
HDMS Olfert Fischer is a of the Kongelige Danske Marine .Laid down in December 1978 and commissioned in October 1981, the corvette operated in the Persian Gulf on two occasions, first in 1990 and 1991 as part of the multinational fleet enforcing the United Nations sanctions against Iraq, then...

 (Niels Juel-class
Niels Juel class corvette
The Niels Juel class is a three-ship class of corvettes currently in service with the Royal Danish Navy. They were built in Denmark at Aalborg Shipyard and were launched in the period 1978-1980...

)
2006-08 United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, was created by the United Nations, with the adoption of Security Council Resolution 425 and 426 on 19 March 1978, to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon which Israel had invaded five days prior, restore international peace and security,...

 (UNIFIL)
P557 Glenten, P560 Ravnen (Flyvefisken-class
Flyvefisken class patrol vessel
The Flyvefisken class patrol vessels are warships of the Royal Danish Navy. The class is also known as the Standard Flex 300 or SF300 class.-Containerised weapon systems:...

), F356 Peter Tordenskiold (Niels Juel-class
Niels Juel class corvette
The Niels Juel class is a three-ship class of corvettes currently in service with the Royal Danish Navy. They were built in Denmark at Aalborg Shipyard and were launched in the period 1978-1980...

)
2007 Standing NRF Maritime Group 1
Standing NRF Maritime Group 1
Standing NATO Maritime Group One is one of NATO's standing maritime Immediate Reaction Forces. Prior to 1 January 2005 it was known as Standing Naval Force Atlantic...

 
F355 Olfert Fischer
HDMS Olfert Fischer (F355)
HDMS Olfert Fischer is a of the Kongelige Danske Marine .Laid down in December 1978 and commissioned in October 1981, the corvette operated in the Persian Gulf on two occasions, first in 1990 and 1991 as part of the multinational fleet enforcing the United Nations sanctions against Iraq, then...

 (Niels Juel-class
Niels Juel class corvette
The Niels Juel class is a three-ship class of corvettes currently in service with the Royal Danish Navy. They were built in Denmark at Aalborg Shipyard and were launched in the period 1978-1980...

)
2008 WFP
World Food Programme
The World Food Programme is the food aid branch of the United Nations, and the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger worldwide. WFP provides food, on average, to 90 million people per year, 58 million of whom are children...

 protection force at the Horn of Africa
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...

 
F357 Thetis
HDMS Thetis (F357)
HDMS Thetis is a Thetis-class ocean patrol vessel belonging to the Royal Danish Navy.In mid-1990s the ship served as a platform for seismic operations in the waters near Greenland. In 2002 she took over the role from her sister ship Hvidbjørnen as a platform for Commander Danish Task Group. The...

 (Thetis-class)
2008 Task Force 150
Combined Task Force 150
Combined Task Force 150 is a multinational coalition naval task force working under the 25 nation coalition of Combined Maritime Forces and is based in Bahrain established to monitor, inspect, board, and stop suspect shipping to pursue the "War on Terrorism" and in the Horn of Africa region ...

 
Danish Task Group and L16 Absalon
HDMS Absalon (L16)
HDMS Absalon and her sister ship HDMS Esbern Snare are the biggest ships ever to serve in the Royal Danish Navy , and are the two members of the Absalon class flexible support ships...

 (Absalon-class)
2009 Flagship SNMCMG1
Standing NRF Mine Countermeasures Group 1
Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation standing mine countermeasures Immediate Reaction Forces...

 
F357 Thetis
HDMS Thetis (F357)
HDMS Thetis is a Thetis-class ocean patrol vessel belonging to the Royal Danish Navy.In mid-1990s the ship served as a platform for seismic operations in the waters near Greenland. In 2002 she took over the role from her sister ship Hvidbjørnen as a platform for Commander Danish Task Group. The...

 (Thetis-class)
2009 Task Force 151
Combined Task Force 151
Combined Task Force 151 or CTF-151 or Combined Task Force One Five One is an international naval task force, set up in response to piracy attacks in shipping lanes off the coast of Somalia...

 
L16 Absalon
HDMS Absalon (L16)
HDMS Absalon and her sister ship HDMS Esbern Snare are the biggest ships ever to serve in the Royal Danish Navy , and are the two members of the Absalon class flexible support ships...

 (Absalon-class)
2010 Flagship SNMG1
Standing NRF Maritime Group 1
Standing NATO Maritime Group One is one of NATO's standing maritime Immediate Reaction Forces. Prior to 1 January 2005 it was known as Standing Naval Force Atlantic...

 
L17 Esbern Snare
HDMS Esbern Snare (L17)
HDMS Esbern Snare is an support ship, and is along with her sister ship, the HDMS Absalon , the largest combat vessel currently commissioned in the Royal Danish Navy....

 & L16 Absalon
HDMS Absalon (L16)
HDMS Absalon and her sister ship HDMS Esbern Snare are the biggest ships ever to serve in the Royal Danish Navy , and are the two members of the Absalon class flexible support ships...

 (both Absalon-class)

Vessels

The Danish navy currently operates 12 larger vessels (displacement
Displacement (ship)
A ship's displacement is its weight at any given time, generally expressed in metric tons or long tons. The term is often used to mean the ship's weight when it is loaded to its maximum capacity. A number of synonymous terms exist for this maximum weight, such as loaded displacement, full load...

 > 1,500 t(m)
Tonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...

), 4 medium-size vessels (1,500 t(m) > displacement > 500 t(m)) and 38 small vessels (500 t(m) > displacement > 15 t(m)) as well as a number of rigid-hulled inflatable boat
Rigid-hulled inflatable boat
A rigid-hulled inflatable boat, or rigid-inflatable boat is a light-weight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a solid, shaped hull and flexible tubes at the gunwale. The design is stable and seaworthy...

s, boats etc.

The navy ship programs are generally of the "newer but fewer" type. Many of the vessels are of more recent dates (Absalon-class from 2004–2005, Thetis-class from 1991–1994 and Flyvefisken-class from 1986–1995) or under replacement, i.e. the corvettes of the Niels Juel-class (1978–1980) are under replacement with three new Ivar Huitfeldt-class
Ivar Huitfeldt class frigate
The Iver Huitfeldt class will be a three-ship class of frigates entering service with the Royal Danish Navy in 2012 and 2013.-Background:...

 Frigates currently under construction for 2nd Squadron and the Barsø-class (1969–1973) will be replaced with 6 Diana-class small patrol crafts. Finally two of the three Agdlek-class (1973–1979) will be replaced with the new Knud Rasmussen-class
Knud Rasmussen class patrol vessel
The Knud Rasmussen-class is a class of offshore patrol vessel operating in the Royal Danish Navy from 2008. Built to replace the Agdlek-class patrol cutters on a one-by-one basis, the Knud Rasmussen vessels are significantly larger, enabling patrols further offshore.The ships' normal tasks include...

 vessels.

Aerial vehicles

From 1981 to 2011-01-01 the Royal Danish Navy operated Westland Lynx in various configurations. These helicopters relieved the previous fleet of Alouette III helicopters. By the end of their service in the navy, the fleet consisted of 8 SuperLynx Mk.90B (upgraded from Mk.23, Mk.80 & Mk.90) helicopters: S-134, S-142, S-170, S-175, S-181, S-191, S-249 & S-256. Helicopters S-035, S-187 and S-196 are decommissioned. S-035 (ex. G-BFDT and 3-H-41), S-249 (ex. G-BKBL and 3-H-43) and S-256 (ex. G-17-11 and 3-H-44) were originally built as Mk.23 version for the Argentine Navy
Argentine Navy
The Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force....

, but were hit with an embargo when the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...

 erupted and sold off to Denmark. S-035 never flew in the Danish Navy but it participated in the Falklands War as 3-H-41 (embarked on ARA Hércules
ARA Hércules
ARA Hércules is a Type 42 destroyer of the Argentine Navy or Armada de la República Argentina.She was transformed into a multi-purpose transport ship with Pennant Number B-52 and commissioned to the amphibious force in 1999.- History :...

). It is cut in two and the cockpit is used for tactical observer's simulator and the cabin is used for helicopter egress training by Danish special forces. The original 8 serials were S-134, S-142, S-170, S-175, S-181, S-187, S-191 and S-196, purchased as Mk.80-versions. S-170 hit the ground at a public display in Góraszka, Poland 1997-06-14 but was rebuilt. S-187 was lost near Vágar Airport
Vágar Airport
Vágar Airport is the only airport in the Faroe Islands, a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, and is located east of Sørvágur. Due to the Faroe Islands' rather anomalous status, the airport is not fully subject to the rules of the European Union...

 (1987-02-20) and S-196 in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

 (1985-08-14).
1 January 2011 the navy's helicopters were transferred to the air force's
Royal Danish Air Force
The Royal Danish Air Force is the air force of Denmark with the capability to undertake homeland defense and homeland security roles as well international operations.-History:...

 723rd squadron
Squadron (aviation)
A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...

. They are however still being deployed to Danish naval ships.

Ranks and insignia

The Danish navy ranks follows the NATO system of ranks and insignia
Ranks and insignia of NATO
Ranks and insignia of NATO are combined military insignia used by the member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.The rank scale is used for specifying posts within NATO.-Definitions:...

, as does the rest of the Danish armed forces.

The highest officer's rank is the OF-9 (Admiral) which is reserved for the Chief of Defence (only when this seat is occupied by a naval officer) and the Prince Consort of Denmark (à la suite
À la suite
À la suite was a military title, given to those who were entitled to wear a regimental uniform but otherwise had no official position. It can best be translated as "in the entourage of".In Prussia, these were:...

). Similarly, the OF-8 (Vice-admiral) is reserved for the Defence Chief of Staff). OF-7 (Kontreadmiral) is used by the Admiral Danish Fleet
Admiral Danish Fleet
Admiral Danish Fleet is two things:* The English name of Søværnets Operative Kommando , the operationally supreme organisation of the Danish navy.* ADMDANFLT as a person is a kontreadmiral who is the chief of naval operations in Denmark, and as such the...

 and OF-6 (Flotilleadmiral) by the chief of Danish Task Group as well as keepers of high-office positions. OF-4 and OF-5 are mainly chiefs of squadrons, schools and larger vessels. OF-1 through OF-3 are used in a variety of positions.

The Danish OR's
Other ranks, Denmark
Other ranks are a joined term for military personnel that are not officers of various forces, by the NATO system of ranks and insignia. These personnel are NCO's and privates/seamen/aircraftsmen. In the Danish military those ranks are:...

 also follow the NATO system, though there are no OR-6's and OR-4's (korporal) are only used in international missions.

Outside this ranking system there are physician
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 (who may wear the same insignia in the Army/Air Force but with a slight variation in the Navy), nurses and veterinarian
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....

s, while priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

s and judicial personnel wear totally different insignia and are without rank.

Besides the NATO-system, the Danish defence utilizes its own system, which for the navy is as follows:
  • Military personnel, level 400 (M400): Executive level: OF-5 though OF-9
  • Military personnel, level 300 (M300): Operational level: OF-1 through OF-4
  • Military personnel, level 200 (M200): NCO level: OR-4 through OR-9
  • Military personnel, level 100 (M100): Seamen level: OR-1 through OR-3

External links

Official website Flådens Historie - Danish Naval History Royal Danish Navy Tableware with Official Insignia or Logo
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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