The
German navy has decided to retire early the Type 143A fast patrol boats
(FPBs) Nerz and Dachs and the Type 333 minehunters Kulmbach and Laboe
on 31 March 2012.The boats were already taken out of use last spring
and their crews made available for other vessels. The boats are over
20 years old, with the Nerz having entered service on 14 July 1983,
the Dachs on 22 March 1984, the Laboe on 7 December 1989 and the Kulmbach
on 23 May 1990. |