History                   

Fast Patrol Boat Squadron 5 was established on 1 October 1959 on the Baltic Sea. At first it consisted of 10 patrol/torpedo boats of the JAGUAR 140 class gradually entering the inventory until 1961. After tender MAIN was commissioned as the last unit of the force, itz operational and training activity could be finally taken up.

The coat of arms of 5th Fast Patrol Boat Sqardron dates back of this time. The eagle  of Lübeck in its right half symbolizes Neustadt on the Bight of Lübeck. The fact that in autumn 1959 the squadron was located furthest to the east is reflected by the eight-pointed cross of virture of the East Prussian Templar order in the left half.  

In spring 1968, after 9 years at its homeport Neustadt/Holstein, the entire force deployed to the newly constructed naval base Olpenitz for military and organizational reasons. Here the conversion to the Tiger class guided-missile fast patrol boats was carried out from1973 to 1975. Today, after the decommissioning of the fast patrol boats S52 STORCH in November 1992 and S51 HÄHER in June 1994, the squadron still consists of 8 boats and of the class 404 tender MAIN that was commissioned in June 1994.

During the more than 43-year history of the squadron, the force has many of hundreds of thousands of nautical miles an visited interesting ports suchs as Bordeaux, Brest, Stavanger, Bergen, Stockholm, Liverpool, London, Baltijsk, Gdynia, in Poland and Tallin in Estonia in the course of nurnerous of nurnerous exercises.

The squadron was closed down on 17.12.2002,
with the last four boats being taken out of commisssion the day before.