Having concluded her deployment to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 1, German Navy submarine U 34 returned to her homeport in Eckernförde, Germany.
The Type 212 A submarine set sail for Scotland with the ‘Foxtrott’ crew at the end of March. She joined SNMG 1 to participate in the international exercise Joint Warrior 161.
Stefan Mayer, Deputy Commander, 1st Submarine Squadron, said: “They (U 34 crew) have represented the German Navy in the exercise lead by Britain which had 40 participating units.”
“Other NATO units had a good opportunity to train with a submarine. NATO groups usually don’t have submarines as the submarines cannot travel as fast as surface ships,” Corvette Captain Busch said.
The next scheduled deployment, this time to the Norwegian coasts, of the U 34 is set for mid-May.
“We will be training our watch officers together with the tender ‘Main’. Then we will take part in an exercise with the Norwegian Navy with our ‘Delta’ crew. This exercise will provide us with an opportunity to deploy underwater torpedoes,” Busch concluded.
According to the German Navy, the U 34 and the ‘Delta’ crew will thereafter return to Eckernförde early July.