VIDEO: German tall ship ‘Gorch Fock’ celebrates 60 years of service

The German sail training ship Gorch Fock marked six decades of service in the navy on December 17, 2015. Marking the occasion, the German Navy released a video with archive footage of the Gorch Fock chronicling the ship’s years in service.

It all began in 1958 when the ship was launched at the Hamburg shipyard Blohm & Voss. A year later, the tri-mast made the first overseas sail.

The ship is the second one carrying this name and the sixth of its class. The five sister-ships were all built at the same shipyard before WWII. The 81-meter ship, which served to prepare generations of sailors for their duties in the German Navy, is home-ported in Kiel, Germany.

The Gorch Fock cost 8.5 million DM (Deutsche Mark) in 1958 and is now estimated to be worth around €50 million.

Naval Today Staff