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Type 441 training ship Gorch Fock -class barque
German training ship Gorch Fock (1958) is a type 441 training ship Gorch Fock -class barque. It was built by Blohm & Voss.
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Gorch Fock
Johann Kinau , AKA "Gorch Fock"
German Navy
Blohm & Voss
804
23 August 1958
17 December 1958
Kiel
NATO pennant number A60 IMO number : 5133644 Call sign: DRAX MMSI number : 211210280
In active service
Type 441 training ship Gorch Fock -class barque
1760 tons
81.2 m (266 ft 5 in)
12 m (39 ft 4 in)
5.2 m (17 ft 1 in)
1,220 kW (1,640 hp)
Sail, auxiliary six-cylinder diesel engine
Three-masted barque
13.7 knots (25.4 km/h; 15.8 mph) under power
The 1933 Gorch Fock had already been designed to be a very safe ship: she had a righting moment large enough to bring her back into the upright position even when heeling over to nearly 90 ° . Nevertheless, some last-minute changes to the design were made in response to the Pamir disaster in 1957, especially concerning the strength of the body and the bulkheads as well as the lifesaving equipment, including the lifeboats .
The new ship was built by Blohm & Voss at Hamburg , and launched on 23 August 1958. The vessel was commissioned on 17 December of that year. Her home port is Kiel . Gorch Fock is a three-masted barque with a steel hull 81.2 metres (266 ft 5 in) long (without the bowsprit ) and 12 m (39 ft 4 in) wide. She has a draught of 5.2 m (17 ft 1 in) and a full load displacement of 1,760 tonnes (1,730 long tons ). Originally, she carried 1,952 square metres (21,010 sq ft) of canvas sails; later, she received slightly larger sails made of synthetic materials. The tops of her fore and main masts can be lowered so that she can navigate the Kiel Canal , otherwise she would be too tall for some of the bridges spanning the canal. Officially Gorch Fock is a Type 441 naval ship with the NATO pennant number A60 . Her international radio call sign is DRAX .
Gorch Fock is a three-masted barque with a steel hull 81.2 metres (266 ft 5 in) long (without the bowsprit ) and 12 m (39 ft 4 in) wide.
Gorch Fock is a three-masted barque with a steel hull 81.2 metres (266 ft 5 in) long (without the bowsprit ) and 12 m (39 ft 4 in) wide.
Over the years, various modernizations have been applied to the ship. She was fitted with air conditioning , the asbestos used originally was removed and replaced by less dangerous materials in 1991, and in that year she also received a new auxiliary engine, a six- cylinder diesel engine producing 1,220 kilowatts (1,640 hp ), giving the ship a top speed of 13.7 knots (25.4 km/h; 15.8 mph) under power. The interior has also been modified multiple times; technological advances made it possible to reduce the size of the galley and enlarge the crew quarters.
Gorch Fock has been in German Navy service as a training ship since 1958. Since she has been commissioned, more than 14,500 cadets have been trained on Gorch Fock . Gorch Fock participates in sailing parades and Tall Ships' Races, where she is in amicable rivalry with the Italian vessel Amerigo Vespucci . Other ships of the same class include USCGC Eagle , NRP Sagres , the first Gorch Fock and Mircea . Gorch Fock can host up to 350 passengers on board.
At least six sailors have died in incidents aboard Gorch Fock , either by falling from the rigging or by going overboard. In the aftermath of the latest accident, naval cadets refused to climb the rigging (the highest position on the main mast being 45 metres or 148 feet), and four of them were subsequently accused of "inciting rebellion". This was described as a mutiny in some accounts. Subsequently, officers' training on board Gorch Fock was suspended, pending a thorough review of training protocols as well as the entire training program. According to a 19 November 2010 statement issued by the German Fleet Command, the officer candidates then on board were to be flown back to Germany to continue their training while the ship was docked in Ushuaia , Argentina. The commanding officer was suspended, and a commission was appointed to investigate claims of sexual harassment and improper conduct. On 13 March 2011, all charges against the commanding officer were dismissed.
Reference text from Wikipedia contributors, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
German training ship Gorch Fock (1958) equipment records. Variants, orders and quantities are shown as reported in each inventory source; coverage is incomplete.
GermanyNavy exact named equipment holdings: Gorch Fock. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: LOGISTICS AND SUPPORT / AXS. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.