German frigate Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein is a Brandenburg-class frigate of the German Navy.

Schleswig-Holstein in Hamburg Harbour, 2008
History
Germany
NameSchleswig-Holstein
BuilderHowaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, Kiel
Laid down1 July 1993
Launched8 June 1994
Commissioned24 November 1995
Identification
StatusActive
General characteristics
Class and typeBrandenburg-class frigate
Displacement3,600 tons (4,490t full load)[1]
Length138.85 metres (455.5 ft)[1]
Beam16.7 metres (55 ft)[1]
Draught4.35 metres (14.3 ft) (6.3 metres (21 ft) over sonar)[1]
Propulsion
Speed>29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph)[1]
Range4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km; 4,600 mi)at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)[1]
Complement26 officers, 193 enlisted[1]
Sensors and
processing systems
Electronic warfare
& decoys
Armament
Aircraft carriedTwo Sea Lynx helicopters equipped with ASW torpedoes, or air-to-surface missiles Sea Skua, and a heavy machine gun.

Construction and commissioning

Schleswig-Holstein and the three other frigates of the Brandenburg class were designed as replacements for the Hamburg-class destroyers. She was laid in 1993 at the yards of Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, Kiel and launched in June 1994. After undergoing trials, she was commissioned on 24 November 1995, and assigned to 6. Fregattengeschwader. After the naval structure was reorganised, Schleswig-Holstein was assigned to 2. Fregattengeschwader, based at Wilhelmshaven.

Service

Schleswig-Holstein was deployed as part of the Maritime Task Force of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon between September and December 2009, serving as the flagship of the taskforce commander, Flotilla Admiral Jürgen Mannhardt.[2] On 19 May 2010 she replaced the frigate Emden on deployment with Operation Atalanta off the Horn of Africa. She spent 124 days with the taskforce there, and together with the EUNAVFOR flagship De Grasse, was involved in escorting ships from the World Food Program and the African Union Mission in Somalia. Schleswig-Holstein was replaced in this task by the frigate Köln in September 2010.[3]

From June to December 2014 Schleswig-Holstein deployed on behalf of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, escorting the MV Cape Ray across the Mediterranean, replacing the previous escort, the frigate Augsburg. The Cape Ray was carrying out the destruction of Syrian chemical weapons.[4][5] On the completion of this mission Schleswig-Holstein then deployed on the Cougar 2014 exercises in the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf, in which she escorted a British amphibious combat group consisting of HMS Ocean, HMS Bulwark, RFA Lyme Bay and RFA Wave Knight.[6]

From June to November 2015 Schleswig-Holstein was deployed with the EU Navfor Med mission in the Mediterranean, assisting in rescuing migrants from shipwrecks and other dangerous situations.[7][8][9][10][11][12] On 22 July she rescued 111 people.[13] On 24 August a pregnant Somali woman rescued from a refugee boat by HMS Enterprise gave birth to a child aboard the ship, the first to ever be born aboard a ship of the German Navy. At the suggestion of the attending medical personnel, the child was named Sophia.[14] This was a name associated with German naval ships named Schleswig-Holstein, as the earlier destroyer Schleswig-Holstein had used the radio call sign "Sophie X". This was itself a reference to the early battleship SMS Schleswig-Holstein, which had been dedicated to Princess Louise Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, as have later ships of the name.[15] EUNAVFORMED was subsequently renamed "Operation Sophia", after the baby born aboard Schleswig-Holstein.[15][16] After participating in the rescue of a total of 4,224 shipwrecked refugees Schleswig-Holstein returned to her home port of Wilhelmshaven on 9 November 2015.[17]

References

  1. Wertheim, Eric (2007). The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems. Naval Institute Press. p. 246. ISBN 9781591149552.
  2. "Marine - Pressemeldung/ Pressetermin: Zwei Fregatten an einem Vormittag in Wilhelmshaven zurückerwartet". presseportal.de. 9 December 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  3. "Fregatte Schleswig-Holstein beteiligt sich an Atalanta-Mission" (in German). Marine.de. 20 May 2010. Archived from the original on 17 January 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2010. Alt URL
  4. "Fregatte Schleswig Holstein kehrt nach Wilhelmshaven zurück". www.marine.de (in German). Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  5. "Weder furchtsam noch verwegen! - Übergabe bei der MEM OPCW". www.marine.de (in German). 8 July 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  6. "Cougar 2014 Die Schleswig-Holstein schützt einen Britischen Verband". www.marine.de (in German). 11 September 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  7. Presse- und Informationszentrum Marine (7 November 2015). "Fregatte "Schleswig-Holstein" zurück von der Küste Libyens". Marine (in German). Bundeswehr. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  8. "Erst mal gucken". EU startet Mittelmeer-Mission gegen Schlepper (in German). Tagesschau.de. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  9. "Seenotrettung im Mittelmeer" (in German). Bundeswehr. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  10. "Seenotrettung Mittelmeer: Fregatte Schleswig-Holstein rettet 544 Menschen" (in German). Bundeswehr. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  11. "Mittelmeer: Koptische Christen beten nach ihrer Rettung" (in German). Bundeswehr. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  12. "Seenotrettung Mittelmeer: Besatzung der Fregatte Schleswig-Holstein rettet 522 Menschen" (in German). Bundeswehr. 21 June 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-07-22. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  13. "EU-Einsatz im Mittelmeer: Fregatte Schleswig-Holstein nimmt 283 Menschen an Bord". Bundeswehr. 23 July 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  14. "Seenotrettung: Geburt auf deutscher Fregatte" (in German). Presse- und Informationsstab BMVg. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  15. "About us". EUNAVFOR MED Operation Sophia. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  16. "German Frigate Ends Operation Sophia Mission". navaltoday.com. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  17. "WZonline.de - Aktuelle Nachrichten, Bilder und Videos aus Wilhelmshaven und Friesland". Wilhelmshavener Zeitung. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2016.

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