Rheinland Pfalz (Bremen Class Frigate) 1983

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She was one of the eight F122 Bremen-class frigates of the German Navy. Her hull number was F-209.All the Bremen class frigates were commissioned between 1982 and 1990. The design is similar to the Dutch Kortenaer class but uses a different hull and propulsion system. She was built for anti-submarine warfare as a primary task even though she was not fitted with towed array sonars. She was 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 (now Germany).

On the stamp it is wrongly stated as a United States ship, but a German ship.

Builders; Bremer Vulkan AG Weser Blohm & Voss Nordseewerke Howaldtswerke, Displacement; 3,680 tonnes, length; 130.50 m, beam; 14.60 m, draft; 6.30 m, propulsion; CODOG (Combined diesel or gas) 2 × MTU 20V956 TB92 diesel engines, 8.14 MW total 2 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbines, 38 MW total 2 × Renk STG 150-50 gearboxes, 10:1 (diesel) and 720:47 (turbine) 2 × propeller shafts, controllable pitch, five-bladed Sulzer-Escherpropellers, later replaced with seven-bladed ones from Wegemann & Co. 4 × Deutz MWM diesel-generators, 750 kW.

Speed; 30 knots, range; more than 4,000 nautical miles at 18 knots, complement; 202 crew plus 20 aviation, Sensors and processing systems; 1 × EADS TRS-3D air search radar(three-dimensional) 1 × WM 25 combined surface search and fire control radar I/J band 1 × Thales Nederland STIR 180 fire-control radar I/J/K band 1 × Kelvin Hughes Nucleus 5000 I band navigation radar 1 × STN Atlas DSQS-23BZ hull-mounted sonar.

Electronic warfare and 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: 2 × quadruple Harpoon anti-ship missile launchers, Antisubmarine warfare; 2 × Mark 32 324-mm twintorpedo launchers, 8 ×DM4A1 or Mark 46 torpedo.

Aircraft carried; place for 2 Sea Lynx Mk.88Ahelicopters equipped with torpedoes, air-to-surface missiles Sea Skua, and/or heavy machine gun.

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

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 modernised and a further adaptation of combat systems is foreseen in the near future.

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.

She was decommissioned in 22 March 2013.

Burkina Faso 1999, S.G.?, Scott: 1133h.

Source: Wikipedia.