"Theodor Heuss" class lifeboat

Lifeboats must be fast and unusually seaworthy. They are equipped with triple screw drive as well as medical equipment and various navigation and communication devices for the search of damaged ships and survivors. For actions in shallow water a small auxiliary boat can be lowered. The ships of the "Theodor Heuss" class were constructed after long test series and became models for the later development of lifeboats of the German Maritime Rescue Service (Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger). The lifeboat "H. H. Meier" was built in 1960 as the last ship of this class, and therefore it was renamed "Theodor Heuss" when it was bequeathed to the Deutsches Museum in 1987.