Bremen-class frigate

Frigate F208 Niedersachsen
Class overview
Builders:
Operators:  German Navy
Succeeded by: F125-class frigate
Completed: 8
Active:
  • Karlsruhe
  • Augsburg
  • Lübeck
Retired: 5
General characteristics
Displacement: 3,680 tonnes (3,620 long tons)
Length: 130.50 m (428 ft 2 in)
Beam: 14.60 m (47 ft 11 in)
Draft: 6.30 m (20 ft 8 in)
Installed power:
Propulsion: 2 × propeller shafts, controllable pitch, five-bladed Sulzer-Escher propellers, later replaced with seven-bladed ones from Wegemann & Co. ("Bremen" only)
Speed: 30 knots (56 km/h)
Range: more than 4,000 nmi (7,400 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h)
Complement: 202 crew plus 20 aviation
Sensors and
processing systems:
Electronic warfare
& decoys:
Armament:
Aircraft carried: Place for 2 Sea Lynx Mk.88A helicopters equipped with torpedoes, air-to-surface missiles Sea Skua, and/or heavy machine gun.

The eight F122 Bremen-class frigates of the German Navy were commissioned between 1982 and 1990. The design is similar to the Dutch Kortenaer class but uses a different hull and propulsion system. The ships were built for anti-submarine warfare as a primary task even though they are not fitted with towed array sonars. They are also suited for anti-aircraft warfare and anti-surface warfare.

This class of ship was one of the last to be constructed under post-war displacement limitations imposed by the WEU on West Germany.

All eight Bremen-class frigates will be replaced by the planned F125-class frigates, starting probably around 2016. Until then, the Bremen class serves as the backbone of the German Navy.[1]

Employment

During the Cold War period, the ships' main war task was to escort convoys for reinforcement and resupply of Allied forces in Europe. They frequently took part in NATO Standing Naval Forces. Since 1990, all ships have served in additional supporting missions such as the embargo operations against former Yugoslavia in the Adriatic Sea or Operation Enduring Freedom against the international terrorism.

During their lifetime, the ships' equipment has frequently been modernized and a further adaptation of combat systems is foreseen in the near future.

Notable actions

The Karlsruhe successfully assisted an Egyptian freighter repel pirates on December 25, 2008 in the Gulf of Aden.

In 2012 the Rheinland-Pfalz was reportedly used to gather intelligence on Syrian troop movements to be passed to the Free Syrian Army assist in their attacks on the Syrian Army.[2]

In December 2015 the Augsburg joined the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the south-eastern Mediterranean to go to the Arabian Sea as part of the intervention against ISIS in the Syrian Civil War.[3][4]

For more information on the makeup of French carrier battle groups: Carrier battle group § France

Ships

Pennant Name Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned
F207Bremen Bremer Vulkan, Bremen July 9, 1979 September 27, 1979 May 7, 1982 March 28, 2014
F208Niedersachsen AG Weser, Bremen November 9, 1980 June 9, 1980 October 15, 1982 June 26, 2015[5]
F209Rheinland-Pfalz Blohm + Voss, Hamburg September 25, 1979 September 3, 1980 May 9, 1983 March 22, 2013[6]
F210Emden Nordseewerke, Emden June 23, 1979 December 17, 1980 October 7, 1983 November 29, 2013
F211Köln Blohm + Voss, Hamburg June 16, 1980 May 29, 1981 October 19, 1984 July 31, 2012[7]
F212Karlsruhe Howaldtswerke, Kiel March 10, 1981 January 8, 1982 April 19, 1984
F213Augsburg Bremer Vulkan, Bremen April 4, 1987 September 17, 1987 October 3, 1989
F214Lübeck Nordseewerke, Emden June 1, 1987 October 15, 1987 March 19, 1990

All ships are based in Wilhelmshaven. Together they form the 4. Fregattengeschwader (4th Frigate Squadron) of the German Navy.

References

  1. ↑ Fiorenza, Nicholas (24 October 2011). "More Details Of German Cuts". Ares: A Defense Technology Blog. Aviation Week. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  2. ↑ Reuters (Aug 19, 2012). "Syria rebels aided by Germany intel ship in fight against Assad forces, report says". Haaretz. Retrieved 20 Aug 2012.
  3. ↑ "Kampf gegen IS-Terror : Fregatte „Augsburg" steht schon unter französischem Kommando". Handelsblatt. 6 December 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  4. ↑ Deutsche Marine steht an Frankreichs Seite, Bundesministerium der Verteidigung, 3 Dec 2015, retrieved 6 Dec 2015
  5. ↑ marine.de
  6. ↑ "Kein Abschied für immer". 2013-03-22. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
  7. ↑ "Fregatte Köln: Ein letztes Kölsch zum Abschied". Express.de. 2012-08-01. Retrieved 2013-02-22.

Sources

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