Bremen-class frigate

The eight F122 Bremen-class frigates of the German Navy are a series of frigates commissioned between 1982 and 1990. The design is based on the proven and robust Dutch Kortenaer class but uses a different propulsion system and hangar lay-out. 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.

Emden in July 2009
Class overview
Builders:
Operators:  German Navy
Preceded by: Köln-class frigate
Succeeded by: Brandenburg-class frigate
Built: 1979–1990
In commission: 1982–present
Completed: 8
Active: 1
Retired: 7
General characteristics
Type: Frigate
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:
  • ESM/ECM EADS FL 1800S
  • 2 × SCLAR decoys
  • SLQ-25 Nixie torpedo decoy
Armament:
  • Naval guns:
    • 1 × OTO-Melara 76 mm dual-purpose gun
    • 2 × Mauser MLG27 27 mm autocannons
  • Antiaircraft warfare:
    • 1 × 8-cell launch system, 16 × Sea Sparrow surface to air missiles
  • CIWS:
    • 2 × MK 49 launcher, 21 × RAM each
  • Anti-ship missiles:
  • Antisubmarine warfare:
Aircraft carried: Place for 2 Sea Lynx Mk.88A helicopters equipped with torpedoes, air-to-surface missiles Sea Skua, and/or heavy machine gun.

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 around 2016. Prior to that the Bremen class served 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 in the Northern Atlantic. 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 proven to be reliable platforms.

Notable actions

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

In 2012 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 Augsburg joined the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the south-eastern Mediterranean Sea to go to the Arabian Sea as part of the intervention against ISIS in the Syrian Civil War.[3][4]

Ships
Pennant Name Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned
F207BremenBremer Vulkan, Bremen9 July 1979 27 September 19797 May 198228 March 2014
F208NiedersachsenAG Weser, Bremen 9 November 19799 June 198015 October 198226 June 2015[5]
F209Rheinland-PfalzBlohm + Voss, Hamburg25 September 1979 3 September 19809 May 198322 March 2013[6]
F210EmdenNordseewerke, Emden23 June 1979 17 December 19807 October 198329 November 2013
F211KölnBlohm + Voss, Hamburg16 June 1980 29 May 198119 October 198431 July 2012[7]
F212KarlsruheHowaldtswerke, Kiel10 March 1981 8 January 198219 April 198416 June 2017
F213AugsburgBremer Vulkan, Bremen4 April 1987 17 September 19873 October 198930 June 2019
F214LübeckNordseewerke, Emden1 June 1987 15 October 198719 March 1990Planned for 2021

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

  • Frigate F207 Bremen
  • F208 Niedersachsen in New York, 2004
  • Frigate F211 Köln
  • Frigate F209 Rheinland-Pfalz
  • Frigate F214 Lübeck
  • Frigate F210 Emden at Portsmouth, UK, 2013.
  • Frigate F212 Karlsruhe in London, 2016.

See also

References
  1. Fiorenza, Nicholas (24 October 2011). "More Details Of German Cuts". Ares: A Defense Technology Blog. Aviation Week. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  2. Reuters (19 August 2012). "Syria rebels aided by Germany intel ship in fight against Assad forces, report says". Haaretz. Retrieved 20 August 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 December 2015, retrieved 6 December 2015
  5. marine.de
  6. "Kein Abschied für immer". 22 March 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  7. "Fregatte Köln: Ein letztes Kölsch zum Abschied". Express.de. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2013.

Sources
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