The Volksmarine was one of the service branches of the National People's Army and primarily performed a coastal defence role along the GDR's Baltic Sea coastline and territorial waters.

Disbanded one day before the official reunification of Germany, the Volksmarine served as the naval arm of the East German state for 34 years.

Only the coastal protection ships and some of the fast torpedo boats were provided by the Soviet Union, as were all helicopters, and some auxiliary craft were purchased from Poland.

It was operationally incorporated into the United Baltic Sea Fleets of the Warsaw Pact states, intended to serve alongside them in the event of war.

Routine duty was heavily focused on extensive reconnaissance activities, carried out mainly by the minesweepers and specialized electronic surveillance boats.

It was structured as follows (in 1985): Shore-based forces consisted of: The Volksmarine was equipped with: The People's Navy's band played a number of specially-composed musical pieces.

"Unsere Volksmarine" was also written for use at parades, while "Matrosen von Kronstadt" was an East German adaptation of the 1926 Soviet Navy song "Forward, Red Marines".