This is a list of naval ship classes that were in service with the Bundesmarine (navy of West Germany), or are still in service with the German Navy (navy of reunited Germany). Some projects, that were not built or future designs are also present.
The type codes The post-war navy of western Germany introduced a three digit code system to designate every class of vessel they ordered to design or acquired from foreign nations. Even some classes that were only built for export got such codes, most prominently the Type 209 submarine. After reunification the German Navy kept the system, codes for ships from the former forces of East Germany (Volksmarine) were added. (See #Former NVA units).
The code is sometimes prefixed with a letter according to the category of the ships, e.g.: U for submarines (U-Boot) Z for destroyer (Zerstörer) F for frigates (Fregatten) S for fast attack craft (Schnellboote)
Upgrades to the design or major refits of already built ships are marked with a postfixed letter, beginning with A for the first modification. This letter is usually spoken and sometimes written according to the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, e.g. class 206 alpha for the upgraded Type 206 submarine.
The codes are grouped with a two-level categorization, the first digit defines the first category. Categories are usually further subdivided in blocks.
In each block of type codes, the numbers were assigned chronologically for designed types. Classes acquired from foreign nation or from World War II were given numbers near the end of their block. Sometimes a block is further divided, e.g. Types 120–139 have apparently been split in frigates (120–129) and corvettes (130–139) with the upcoming Type 130 corvette.
The type codes starting with 0 are not used, and also the digit 0 is skipped at the start of a category, i.e. codes 000–099, 100, 200… are not used.
Individual ships in a class are designated with two digit number following a slash, e.g. 123/02 for the frigate F216 Schleswig-Holstein, second ship of the Type 123 Brandenburg class.
List of classes 100-199 surface combatants + 101–119 Zerstörer (Destroyer) Type Class Pennantnumbers Number In service Notes/Fate 101 Hamburg D181–184 4 1964–1994 upgraded to 101A, all scrapped 103 Lütjens D185–187 3 1969–2003 upgrades 103A and 103B, 1 museum ship, the others scrapped 119 Fletcher D170–180 6 1958–1982 1 used as target ship, 1 scrapped, 4 sold to Greece (later scrapped),
+ 120–139 Fregatten und Korvetten (frigates and corvettes) Type Class Pennantnumbers Number In service Notes/Fate 120 Köln F220–225 6 1961~1989 1 used as hulk, 1 scrapped, 4 sold to Turkey 121 Fregatte 70 cancelled project 122 Bremen F207–214 8 1982–2022 multi-purpose frigate, retired, 123 Brandenburg F215–218 4 1994–present Anti-submarine warfare frigate 124 Sachsen F219–221 3 2003–present Anti-aircraft warfare AEGIS frigate 125 Baden-Württemberg F222–225 4 2016–present Stabilisation and maritime surveillance frigate 130 Braunschweig F260–F264 5 2008-present Corvette, 5 ships active 138 Hunt / Black Swan F212–218 7 1958~1967 Former British frigates and sloops, used for training, all scrapped 139 Isles A50–51 2 1956~??? Former British naval trawlers, converted and redesignated Type 752
+ 140–159 Schnellboote (Fast Attack Craft) Type Class Pennantnumbers Number In service Notes/Fate 140 Jaguar / Type 55 20 1957~1975 6 Eberhard-Arnis, 1 Hirdis-Kiel, 1 used as target ships France, 1 scrapped, 10 sold to Turkey scrapped, 1 museum ship (P6083 Kranich, scrapped 2007) 141 Seeadler P6068–6077 10 1958~1976 sold to Greece last scrapped 2005/2006 142 Zobel P6092–6101 10 1961~1984 6 sold to Turkey, 1 Lürssen Shipyard, 3 German Navy (1 for training Ship safety device) 143 Albatros P6111–6120 10 1976~2005 6 sold to Tunisia, 2 sold privately, 2 can be bought or will be scrapped (2007) 143A Gepard P6121–6130 10 1982~2016 10 retired 144 cancelled project with CODAG propulsion 145 cancelled project of a missile boat 146 cancelled project of a torpedo boat 148 Tiger P6141–6160 20 1972–2002 French origin & powered by Lürssen-Bremen, 6 sold to Chile, 5 to Egypt, 6 to Greece and 3 scrapped 149 Silbermöve P6052–6057 10 1956–1967 No former World War II of the German Kriegsmarine, new order from the German Bundesgrenzschutz/German Coastguard, unfortunately an offence against the Potsdam Agreement, seizure by the U.K., first in service of the Baltic Fishery Protection Service (Verband Klose), later in the 1. Schnellbootgeschwader of the German Navy 150 50t patrol boat (cancelled project) 151 50t patrol boat (cancelled project) 152 Nasty P6191–6192 2 1960–1973 From Norway, for trials 153 Vosper motor torpedo boat P6193–6194 2 1962–1967 British origin, for trials 157 ??? 21 1969–??? small patrol craft, given to Bundesgrenzschutz
+ 160–169 Tragflügelboote (Hydrofoils) Type Class Pennantnumbers Number In service Notes/Fate 160 cancelled project, Schlichting design 161 cancelled project, Lürssen design 162 NATO project, Bundesmarine withdrew 1977, resulted in the US Pegasus-class hydrofoil, Type 143 built instead
+ 170–179 U-Jagdboote (Submarine hunters) Type Class Pennantnumbers Number In service Notes/Fate 179 La Fouguex(?) 1 1958 French design, Licence built for NATO (?)
200–299 subsurface combatants + 201–249 U-Boote (Submarines) Type Class Pennantnumbers Number In service Notes/Fate 201 Type 201 S180–182 3 1962~1967 350 ton coastal submarines 202 Type 202 S172–173 2 1965~1966 100 ton mini submarines, a large fleet was initially planned, used for trials only 203 cancelled project 204 cancelled project 205 Type 205 S183–191 10 1962~2005 450 ton coastal submarines, U11 was upgraded to 205A and U12 to 205B 206 Type 206 18 1973~2011 500 ton, 12 have been upgraded to 206A, 7 of them still in service 207 Kobben class (Type 207) 16 Type 205 version for Norway and Denmark (lately used only by Poland) 208 Cancelled project or maybe used internally for TR-1700 class 209 Type 209 over 60 1200-1600 ton boats, for export only 210 Ula class (Type 210) 6 1200 ton boats, Built for Norway 211 cancelled project or maybe used internally for Dolphin class 212 Type 212 S181–186 6 2005–present 1800 ton, design upgraded to 212A, also built in/for Italy 213 Type 213 planned enhanced 2nd batch of Type 212 214 Type 214 larger export sub, based on Type 209 with some enhancements from Type 212 240 Type 240 S170–S171 2 1957–1968 Upgraded former Kriegsmarine Type XXIII U-boats 241 Wilhelm Bauer Y880 1 1960–1968 Upgraded former Kriegsmarine Type XXI U-boat
Type numbers 250–299 are not assigned.
300–399 mine warfare vessels + 301–319 Hochseeminensuchboote (ocean-going minesweeper) Type Class Pennantnumbers Number In service Notes/Fate 319 M type 11 1956–1963 former Kriegsmarine boats, 4 used as target ships (1 sunk), 6 redesignated as 730, others scrapped
+ 320–329 Küstenminensuchboote (coastal minesweepers) Type Class Pennantnumbers Number In service Notes/Fate 320 Lindau M1070–1087 18 1958–1980 12 upgraded to type Type 331, 6 to 351 321 Vegesack M1250–1255 6 1959–1969 French origin, sold to Turkey
+ 330–339 Minenjagdboote (minehunters) Type Class Pennantnumbers Number In service Notes/Fate 331 Fulda 12 1972–2000 1 museum ship, 2 scrapped, 2 each to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, 1 to Georgia, 1 to Gibraltar 332 Frankenthal M1058–1069 12 1992–present 333 Kulmbach M1091–1096 5 upgraded Type 343 boats 339 6 1956–1970 former French Navy vessels, Canadian origin, all scrapped
+ 340–369 Schnelle Minensuch- und Minenkampfboote sowie Räumfahrzeuge (fast minesweepers, mine warfare ships and clearing vessels) Type Class Pennantnumbers Number In service Notes/Fate 340 Krebs M1050–1059 10 1959–1990 decommissioned 341 Scorpion 20 1959–1990 1 redesignated as Type 903, others decommissioned 342 cancelled project 343 Hameln M1090–1099 10 1989–2001 5 upgraded to Type 333, 5 to Type 352 350 project cancelled 1973 351 Ulm 6 1989–2000 352 Ensdorf 5 355 ERMISS cancelled project 359 Schütze 24 1956–1968 15 used as Type 730, 1 Type 732, 1 Type 739 360 Hansa W22 1 1958–1968 redesignated as Type 392 361 Hansa W21 1 1958–1968 redesignated as Type 391 362 W23–40 18 1961–1968 8 redesignated as Type 393, 10 Type 394 368 10 1956–1974 4 to Tanzania, 2 to Greece, 1 Type 740 368 Nordwind Y834 1 1956–present training boat 369 6 1956–1994 4 to Kazakhstan
+ 370–379 Minenleger (Minelayers) Type Class Pennantnumbers Number In service Notes/Fate 370 A1403–1405 3 1961–1971 Former USN LSTs, 1 scrapped, 2 to Turkey
Type numbers 380–389 Netzleger und Netzleichter (net layers and net lighters) were cancelled projects.
+ 390–399 Binnenminensuchboot (inland waterway minesweepers) Type Class Pennantnumbers Number In service Notes/Fate 390 M2651 1 1966–present transformed to Type 740, two boats cancelled 391 Niobe M2661 1 transformed into Type 740 392 Hansa M2662 1 transformed into Type 732 393 Ariadne M2650–2657 8 1961–1992 1 hulk, most scrapped 394 Frauenlob M2658–2667 10 1966–2001 4 to Estonia, 1 museum ship
400–499 auxiliary ships + 401–419 Tender Type Class Pennantnumbers Number In service Notes/Fate 401 Rhein A58–66 8 1961–1993 4 scrapped, 3 sold to Turkey, 1 to Greece 402 Mosel A67,54,65 3 1963–1991 2 scrapped, 1 sold to Turkey 403 Lahn A55–56 2 1964–1991 scrapped 404 Elbe A511–516 6 1993–present 419 Oste A52,53 2 1956–??? Former Kriegsmarine tender, redesignated and assigned to Type 753 (A52) and 754 (A53)
+ 420–429 Flottendienstboote und U-Jagdboote (Fleet service ships and small submarine hunters) Type Class Pennantnumbers Number In service Notes/Fate 420 Thetis P6052–6056 5 1961–1992 Sold to Greece 421 Hans Bürkner A1449 1 1963–1990 Fleet service ship, scrapped 422 A50,52,53 3 1957–1988 Former Type 753 ships, Fleet service ships, 1 scrapped, one sold to Turkey, other to Greece 423 Oste A50,52,53 3 1988–present Confusingly share same Pennant number and name combinations as Type 422 class
+ 430–439 Torpedofangboote (Torpedo retrieving boats) Type Class Pennantnumbers Number In service Notes/Fate 430 Type 430 9 1966–present 6 upgraded to 430A, most sold to Greece, 1 maybe still in service 438 Type 438 7 1959–1989 Former Kriegsmarine boats 439 Type 439 18 1956–1976 Some of them redesignated as Type 740 or 945, used as patrol boats
+ 401–419 Schulschiffe (School ships) Type Class Pennantnumbers Number In service Notes/Fate 440 Deutschland A59 1 1963–1990 Upgraded to 440A, scrapped 441 Gorch Fock A60 1 1958–present Sailing ship 442 2 Sailing ship (planned)
500–599 landing craft + 501–539 Landungsboote (landing boats) Type Class Pennantnumbers Number In service Notes/Fate 502 LSM 1 1 decommissioned 520 Barbe 22 1965–present Utility landing craft, 5 different upgrades/versions (A–D), 10 to Greece, L762 still in service 521 LCM-8 28 1965–present 11 to Greece, decommissioned(?)
+ 540–599 not assigned Type Class Pennantnumbers Number In service Notes/Fate 540 Task force support ship (cancelled project?) 550 LSM L750–753 4 1958–1973 Former USN LSMs 551 LSM L754,755 2 1958–1967 Former USN LSMs 552 LCA 9 1958–1964 Former RN LCAs 553 LCM 11 1960–1973 Former USN LCMs 554 LCU LCU1 1 1959–1967 Former USN LCU, used as LCA leader 555 City of Havanna WS1 1 1961–1965 Former USN LSD, used as ferry and swimming barrack, sold to Greek Shipping company
600–699 small combatants This category was formally not used. Small NVA combatants were assigned here.
700–799 support vessels, docks, tugs, special vehicles