Small anniversary on the Hohe Düne

 15 years 1st Corvette Squadron

Home of the corvettes: Warnemünde; Photo: PIZ Marine

The 1st Corvette Squadron celebrates its 15th anniversary on 26 June 2021. It is still the youngest seagoing unit in the German Navy.
The current commander, Frigate Captain Florian Feld (46), took over command of the squadron on 7 March 2019. He has been the seventh commander of the corvettes and their subordinate personnel since 2006. "15 years of the 1st Corvette Squadron - that's actually still quite young in terms of tradition. But at the same time a sign that we are modern and dynamic. And that we will continue to 'grow up' - with the addition of five more corvettes, our organisation will then comprise over 1,000 men and women," explains the current commander. The squadron's coat of arms was developed with the help of an ideas competition. It was approved on 30 June 2007 and added to the coat of arms. It shows a knight, a symbol of strategy and tactics, in front of a shield in the Hanseatic colours red and white, a symbol of free trade by sea. The five stars on the left represent the existing corvettes, while the stars on the right represent the Squadron Staff, the Corvette Operational Training Centre and the System Support Group. The swords testify to the operational and defence readiness of the corvettes.
The first five corvettes were commissioned between 2008 and 2013. The "Magdeburg" was the first to be deployed in September 2012.

Frigate Captain Florian Feld, Photo: Lindhorst, hhk

Corvette in the UNIFIL mission. Since 2014, the corvettes and their crews have been continuously involved in deployments and mission-equivalent obligations in all maritime missions. Participation in additional international exercises is now part of the daily workload. Five further corvettes have already been ordered as part of a supplementary procurement programme (2nd batch) and are due to be delivered in stages from around the mid-2020s.

One contemporary witness who was able to accompany the transition from the speedboats to the corvettes is Stabsbootsmann Roland Schmidt (49). He has been working for the corvette squadron in Warnemünde ever since it was commissioned. He says: "In the beginning, the corvettes had to overcome a number of challenges until all the so-called technical 'teething troubles' were overcome. The biggest change, however, was the fact that the fast patrol boats were always travelling at sea as part of a convoy, while the corvette had to survive at sea as an individual. The many national and international exercises and deployments today bring the corvettes back together with other seagoing units to form a large, profitable community."

Corvette Erfurt at the FK - Shooting 2019, Photo: M. Mohr