Kondor-class minesweeper

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Kondor I class

Ueckermünde (GS01) in Malta service as P30
Class overview
Builders	Peene-Werft, Wolgast
Operators	Volksmarine  German Navy Cape Verdean Coast Guard  Estonian Navy Maritime Squadron AFM  Tunisian National Navy
Succeeded by	Protector class (Malta) Diciotti class (Malta)
Built	1967-1970
In commission	1967-present
Completed	21 4 modified
Active	2
General characteristics
Type	Minesweeper
Displacement	339 tonnes (334 long tons)
Length	51.98 m (170 ft 6 in) o/a
Beam	7.12 m (23 ft 4 in)
Draft	2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)
Propulsion	MD 40 diesel engines
Speed	20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Range	1,900 nmi (3,500 km)
Complement	24
Armament	1 × 25 mm FlaK 2M-3 up to 28 mines or 20 depth charges

Kondor II class

Eisleben (312)
Class overview
Builders	Peenewerft shipyard
Operators	Volksmarine  German Navy  Indonesian Navy  Latvian Naval Forces  National Navy of Uruguay
Succeeded by	Tripartite class (Latvia)
Built	1971-1973
In commission	1971-present
Completed	30 2 modified
Active	10
Lost	1
Retired	2
General characteristics
Type	Minesweeper
Displacement	449 tonnes (442 long tons)
Length	59.52 m (195 ft 3 in) o/a
Beam	7.76 m (25 ft 6 in)
Draft	2.22 m (7 ft 3 in)
Propulsion	MD 40 diesel engines
Speed	18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Range	1,900 nmi (3,500 km)
Complement	29
Armament	3 × 25 mm FlaK 2M-3 up to 24 mines or 24 depth charges

The Project 89 minesweeper, also known as the Kondor class, was a class of minesweepers designed in the German Democratic Republic which was given the NATO designation of "Kondor". There were three versions, namely, the prototype unit, Project 89.0; the first version, Project 89.1 (NATO designation: Kondor I); and the second version, Project 89.2 (NATO designation: Kondor II).

The Kondor I vessel Kuhlungsborn was used by the German Coast Guard. In 1998 it was transferred to Cape Verde and was renamed Vigilante carrying the pennant number P 521.^[1] It is still in service.

The Kondor I vessels Komet and Meteor were transferred to Estonia as Vambola and Sulev in 1994. Sulev was scrapped in 2000 while Vambola remains laid up awaiting to be scrapped.

Nine Kondor II vessels were transferred to Indonesia around 1994. Six of the vessels are still in active service. KRI Kala Hitam (828) (ex-Sömmerda) and KRI Kelabang (826) (ex-Zerbst) were converted into patrol vessels due to minehunting equipment failures.^[2] KRI Pulau Rote (721) (ex-Wolgast) was decommissioned on 28 August 2019.^[3] KRI Pulau Rempang (729) (ex-Grimma) was decommissioned on 15 October 2021.^[4] KRI Pulau Romang (723) (ex-Pritzwalk) was decommissioned on 6 February 2024.^[5]

Two Kondor II vessels were transferred to Latvia in 1992 and were renamed Viesturs and Imanta. They were used as minehunters until they decommissioned in 2008.

Two Kondor I vessels, Ueckermünde and Pasewalk, were sold to Malta in 1992, where they were given the pennant numbers P30 and P31. A third ship, Boltenhagen, was also sold in 1997 and it was given the pennant number P29. The three vessels served with the Offshore Command of the Maritime Squadron of the AFM until they were decommissioned in 2004 and were replaced by more modern patrol boats. P29 was scuttled as an artificial diving site off Ċirkewwa in 2007,^[6] while P31 followed being sunk off Comino in 2009.^[7] As of 2013, P30 was laid up at Cassar Ship Repair Yard, Marsa.^[8]

Five Kondor I minesweepers were transferred to the Tunisian Navy as coastal patrol craft according to Jane's Fighting Ships for 1999-2000.^[9] Today only one is still in service.

The Kondor II vessels Riesa, Eilenburg, Bernau and Eisleben were transferred to Uruguay and renamed Temerario, Valiente, Fortuna and Audaz on 11 October 1991. Valiente was rammed by the Panamian freighter Skyros on 5 August 2000 and was torn in half with 8 sailors killed and 3 missing.^[10] Fortuna was scrapped and the other two are still in service.

• Hans Mehl, Knut Schäfer (2004). Die Seestreitkräfte der NVA (in German). Stuttgart: Motorbuchverlag. ISBN 3-61302406-3.
• ((East German Navy: German naval forces during the Cold War)), Volksmarine der DDR: Deutsche Seestreitkräfte im Kalten Krieg. 1999. by Friedrich Elchlepp, Walter Jablonsky, Fritz Minow, Manfred Röseberg. 360 pages. Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn, Hamburg-Berlin-Bonn. ISBN 3-8132-0587-8 paperback, ISBN 3-8132-0715-3 other. On page 231, "Verbleib der Schiffe und Boote nach Auflösung der VM" ((fate of ships after dissolution of the volksmarine)) ... Uruguay is listed as acquiring three Kondor-II class minesweepers.
• ((Ships and Boats of the East German Navy)), Schiffe und Boote der Volksmarine der DDR, by Manfred Röseberg, ISBN 3-935319-82-7, Ingo Koch Verlag Rostock, 2002
• ((The other German Navy)), Die andere deutsche Marine, by H.Mehl / K.Schäfer, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart, ISBN 3-613-01675-3
• ((Military Tech series: Minesweepers and Ramming-ships)), Heft Minensuch- und Räumschiffe, Reihe Militärtechnische Hefte, by Bernd Oesterle, 1983, Militärverlag der DDR, Berlin

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kondor class.

• Projekt 89.1 MSR - Kurz Kondor 1 (in German)
• Minensuch- und Räumschiff Projekt 89.1 parow-info.de (in German)
• "Kondors" at Shipbucket.com