Die Schnellboot-Seite
Missiles on the S-Boats of the Bundesmarine/German Navy
Test-Phase
Tests with the American surface-air-missile (SAM) SM-1 "TARTAR", which also could be used in surface-to-surface mode, and was to be introduced in the navy with the destroyers class Z103 ("Lütjens"-Klasse), commenced in 1963. As test boat S-"Nerz" was equipped with a fire-control-system WM-20.
S-"Nerz" with WM-20-System as Testboat - Picture: Archives K. Scheuch
For tests with the British close-in-weapon-system (Surface-Air-Missile, SAM) SAM "SEACAT" the launching equipment was installed on both sides of the forward 40mm-gun. The tests with SEACAT were called off soon, since the optical fire-control of the missile until impact was not to be performed promisingly from a S-boat in seastate.
Bofors 40mm/L70 with Seacat-Starters - Picture: From H. Fock: Schnellboote Bd. 3
The trials with the missile TARTAR were also not promising but were continued for years since it was believed that the missile could be handled.
FK-Test-Units at Hörnum/Sylt - Picture: Ronny Meyer
The trials with SAM TARTAR were finally called off in 1969, since the missile was too heavy and too complex to be employed from S-boats. A further draw back was that the missile had to be "enlighted" throughout its flight with the firecontrol-radar because otherwize the missile would destruct itself.
Start of a SAM TARTAR from S-Nerz in the Northsea - Picture: Archives Hans Frank
In the meantime the plannings for a new class of boats (S-boat class 143) were conducted and since the boats were only to be commissioned in the first half of the 70es 20 boats of clayss La Combatante II (class 148) with the missile-system MM 38 EXECET were ordered in France and built by the shipyards CMN at Cherbourgh and Lürssen at Bremen.
MM38 EXOCET
The surface-surface missile-system (SSM) MM 38 (Exocet) is a development of the French Navy (Marine Nationale) by the company Aerospatiale, which was introduced in the Federal Navy with the boats of class 148 ("Tiger"-class) and was also planned to be integrated in the boats of classes 143 and 143 A. The missiles were fired from startcontainers which were mounted midships in groups of two on carriers. The firing-axis of the starboard missiles (missile 1 and missile 3) was 65 degrees and for the port-missiles (missile 2 and missile 4) 50 degrees out of the middle-line of the boat , the elevation angle was 15 degrees.
Empy containers were returned to the ammunition-depot or to a support-ship and substituted by loaded containers.
MM 38-Container cut open for Demonstration on 71 "Gepard" - Picture: Archives K. Scheuch
Target data were provided by the firecontrol computer and transmitted to the missile. The missile was started supported by a start power plant and was directed by the autopilot with its inertial navigation system during the first phase of its flight until it entered the target area and first in this second phase of the flight it went into the sea-skimmer-procedure at a hight of two to three meters over the face of the sea with active and/or passive radar locating driven by the march power plant. The speed of the missile was 0.93 Mach, the range was about 20 miles (37 km) .
The missile had a length of 5,20 m and a diameter of 35 cm. The wing span was about 1 m and the weight of the missile was 735 kg, thereof the warhead weighed 165 kg. An impact- and distnace detonator was triggering the load of the warhead. The power plant of the missile was solid-fuel operated.
Missile MM 38 at the Navy Museum - Picture: H. Klose
Missile MM 38 at the Navy Museum - Picture: H. Klose
MM 38 SDtart from S71 "Gepard" - Picture: Archives A. Zwoll
MM-38-Start from a Boat Class 148 - Picture: Archives B. Etzold
RIM
116 Rolling Airframe Missile
The close-in-weapon-system (CIWS) RIM 116 RAM (Rolling Airframe Missile)
entered already 1979 into its development-phase as a common project of the
USS (49%), Germany
(49%), and Denmark (2%).The Dual Mode Rolling Airframe (DMRA) after
Denmark called it off was developed by the American general contractor General Dynamics,
the American sub-contractor Raytheon and German subcontractors (Diehl, AEG, MBB, BGT),
which founded the consortium
RAMSYS GmbH. The missile got the
warhead, the proximity fuse, and the power plant (smoke reduced) of the
air-to air-missile 
Fire-and-Forget Dual Mode RAM Block 0 - Picture: RAMSYS
Missiles
RAM Block 0 needed a target allocation by FL 1800,
after the start the target was searched by radar and the missile got their
first target data from the radar, when the missile got IR-contact to the
target they went into the final approach guided to the target by IR.
Fire-and-Forget Infrarot-Mode RAM Block 1
- Picture: RAMSYS
Missiles
FK RAM Block 1,
however, need no target allocation by the EW-system but are going directly
into the IR-searchmode, which they maintain until impact.
RAM Block 1A - Picture: RAMSYS
Before the start the missiles are checked out bx the Missile Control Unit (MCU).
RAM MCU in the Ops-Room OPZ - Picture: Archives K. Scheuch
Start of a RAM - Picture: Archives T.Kunzmann
The demilitarized starter No. 47, which was installed on the museums-boat S71 "Gepard", is from the first production-line of 50 starters (40 for the Federal Navy an 10 for the USA), which were produced with American parts by company Translant at Ottobrunn.
RAM-Starter on S71 "Gepard" - Picture: Archives K. Scheuch
The RAM-missiles were delivered
in so called tri-packs and loaded with a loading-crane into the starter.
The 21 barrels had four riflings each and gave the RAM its rotation at the
start. The covers of the barrels were held by a joining bar which fitted
into a hole in one rifling. The covers were ejected in the firing process.
For trials a RAM-starter was installed on S69
"Habicht".
Tri-Packs
TRI-Pack
on the Loading
Crane
First
Tri-Pack loaded
Barrel
Caps
Riflings
in a Barrel
RAM-Start
Pitures:
Archives
K. Scheuch
