Type 402 Moselle class tenders - Possibly more for less in some sense?

de_Radio_Demon · May 3, 2024, 5:08am

Type 402 Moselle class tenders - Possibly more for less in some sense?

Would you like to see the Type 402 Moselle class tenders added to the game?

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Background and History
The Type 402 Moselle class tenders were a class of 3 tenders built during the 1960’s and were designed to support the minesweepers of the Bundesmarine, the Type 402 was the second iteration of what is referred to as the Rhein class tenders which were a series of 3 classes of tenders built starting in the late 1950’s though mostly built in the 1960’s, these classes were the Type 401 Rhein class, the Type 402 Moselle class, and the Type 403 Lahn class.

The Type 401 was the main version of these series of ships as they were the most numerous of the 3 with a total of 8 vessels which were tasked with supporting the torpedo boat squadrons of the Bundesmarine while the Type 402 which consisted of 3 vessels was design to support the minesweepers as mentioned before and the Type 403 class was designed to support the submarines of the fleet. What these ships all had in common was a hull as well as capability though the Type 403 did not have this to the same extent as the Type 402 has to the main class hence why the Type 402 and Type 403 are subclasses of the Type 401. Beyond the design role of tenders to which elements of the Bundesmarine they would be supporting the classes had much in common as they were built with capability to do much more than their classifications might indicate as they were designed in a way where they were useful in various roles which otherwise would not be suited to the likes of a mere tender but for much more. The design of the ships gave the unique place in the fleet as they had been designed with the ability to act in the role of a frigate, a minelayer, as well as a training vessel, plus the ability to deal with submarines to a more limited extent though this feature is probably the least notable due to the limited usability in such a role.

The armament of the Type 402 was identical to the Type 401, consisting of 2 French 100mm/55 MLE Model 1953 gun mounts with one placed at each end of the ship, an AA battery made up by 4 Breda Bofors 40mm/70 MEL 58 AA guns in single mounts, as well as the capacity to carry up to 70 naval mines and 10 depth charges split between 2 racks. The ships themselves also came with the same radars and sonar however despite the addition of a crane they actually displaced less than the Type 401, likely due to the fact that they were designed for handling minesweepers rather than a whole squadron of torpedo boats. In the end the class would remain in service until the latter half of the Cold War with one vessel taken out of service in 1980 and would later be sold to Turkey while the other two were decommissioned in 1990 and 1992.

Specifications
Displacement
2,330 tons standard
2,940 tons fully loaded

Length
98.5 m (323.2 ft)

Width
11.83 m (38.8 ft)

Draft
3.9 m (12.7 ft) to 5.2 m (17.2 ft) (Varies by source)

Propulsion
6 Maybach 16-cylinder diesels (varies on class as it can either be Diesel electric or just diesel)
2 Propeller shafts
12,600 hp

Speed
20.5 Knots (37.8 km/h; 23.5 mph)

Complement
163 to 114 (Varies by ships)

Sensors and systems
1 x DA-02 Air and surface search radar
2 x WM-45 fire control radars
1 x Kelvin Hughes 14/9 navigation radar
1 x Hull sonar (sonar is not specified)

Armament
Primary armament
2 x 100mm/55 MLE Model 1953 cannons (2 x 1)

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