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FRIGATE LÜBECK The The advanced guided-missile frigate LÜBECK was commissioned on 19 March 1990 the last of a total of eight BREMEN class frigates. Together with her sister ships, the KÖLN, KARLSRUHE and AUGSBURG, the LÜBECK belongs to the 2nd Frigate Squadron and is home-ported in Wilhelmshaven. Due to their broad spectrum of capabilities, the frigates constitute the core of maritime task forces. Together with European and NATO partners, they provide a show of presence in the focal geographical areas of the North Sea, the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Thus they ensure the free and peaceful passage of the transatlantic sea lines of communication (SLOC) and underline the fact that Germany is prepared to assume responsibility within the international community of states and play a role in shaping security and stability.
German Navy Construction Milestones and Main Characteristics The hull of the frigate LÜBECK was built at Thyssen-Nordseewerke in Emden. The ship was fitted out by Bremer Vulkan AG in Bremen-Vegesack, the general contractor for the Class 122 frigates. Laid down 5 June 1987 Naming ceremony 15 October 1987 Launched 19 October 1987 Fitting out 1 August 1988-14 March 1990 Commissioned 19 March 1990 Complement 222 military personnel Length overall 426.5 ft (130.0 m) Beam 47.6 ft (14.5 m) Draft 21.3 ft (6.5 m) Displacement 3,800 ts Propulsion CODOG (Combined Diesel or Gasturbine) 2 5,200-hp V-20 diesel engines for cruising speeds of up to 21 knots 2 25,000-hp gas turbines for a maximum speed of 30 knots 2 shafts with controllable-pitch propellers 1 rudder blade located on the ship s centre line Westland SEA LYNX MK 88 shipboard helicopter Armament and Electronic Equipment 1 fully automatic 76-mm OTO MELARA gun mount for antiaircraft / antiship warfare octuple launcher for NATO SEASPARROW antiair missiles 8 HARPOON antiship missiles 2 launchers with 21 RAM close-in air defence missiles each 4 torpedo tubes FL 1800 electronic warfare (EW) system 4 SRBOC chaff launchers 1 NIXIE torpedo decoy system 2 SEA LYNX MK88 ship-board helicopters with dipping sonar and torpedoes 1 TRS 3D air search radar 1 WM 25 surface search and fire control radar 1 STIR fire control radar 1 sonar system 1 MSP500 multisensor platform 1 Nucleus 2500 navigational radar 1 central computer for preparation of the tactical situation and weapon employment
FRIGATE LÜBECK Naval Base Wilhelmshaven The history of Wilhelmshaven Naval Base began on 20 July 1853 when Prussia purchased 335 hectares of land from the Grand Dutchy of Oldenburg to build a naval port. Port construction works began in 1863. To fit the needs of the rapidly growing Imperial Fleet the port was extended to comprise three entrances in 1909. The construction of a fourth port entrance began in 1935. As the base was badly damaged during World War II it was reconstructed in the years 1956/1957 to become the major North Sea base of the newly founded German Navy. Today, Wilhelmshaven Naval Base is the home of the German Destroyer Flotilla comprising 5,000 Navy personnel. With a total population of 75,000 inhabitants Wilhelmshaven is Germany s largest oil port and most important deepwater harbor. Naval Base Wilhelmshaven
German Navy LÜBECK A Ship s Name with a Long Tradition In 1848, the Hamburg Admiralty presented the new fleet of the German Confederation with a wooden paddle steamer referred to as a corvette. The merchant ship, previously employed on the route to England, was converted and equipped with an 84-pounder, a 32-pounder and two 18-pounder cannons. On 4 June 1849, the LÜBECK took part in the naval battle of Heligoland. When the German confederation fleet was disbanded in 1852, the paddle-wheel steam corvette was sold to Britain where she sailed as a merchant ship until she was scrapped in 1858. The second predecessor of the frigate LÜBECK was launched on 26 March 1904 in the presence of Admiral von Tirpitz, then Secretary of State in the Imperial Navy Department, and was commissioned for the Imperial Navy the following year. The small cruiser LÜBECK was the first large ship with turbine propulsion. After completion of her shakedown period, the small cruiser joined the scouting forces in September 1906. The LÜBECK s active peacetime service was already over by 1911, when she was decommissioned. At the beginning of World War I, the Naval Command ordered the reserve ship to be recommissioned and employed her within the framework of the Shore Service Division in the western and eastern Baltic. On 13 January 1916, the LÜBECK struck a mine on her return voyage from Libau to Kiel, resulting in a prolonged shipyard period at Stettin. After another short period of service as a target ship for the Submarine School, the ship was decommissioned in March 1918 and handed over to Britain after the end of the war. It wasn t until 40 years later that another ship by the name of LÜBECK was commissioned, this time for the Navy of the Federal Republic of Germany. The fifth of the KÖLN Class frigates, the ship joined the 2nd Escort Squadron in July 1963 and served in it for 25 years, contributing to the preservation of peace. The frigate was equipped for antisubmarine, antiaircraft and antiship warfare and took part in many national and multinational exercises. Du-
FRIGATE LÜBECK ring the 25 years in which she was in service, some 3,400 temporary-career volunteers, regulars and conscripts served on board the LÜBECK. On 1 December 1988, the frigate was the penultimate ship of her class to be decommissioned for the German Navy. Under the defence aid scheme within NATO, she was handed over to the Turkish Navy. The Sponsor City City s coat of arms Visitors to the Hanseatic City of Lübeck are greeted by seven towers and the Holstentor gate which bear witness to its colourful history. After its foundation in 1143, Lübeck developed brisk foreign trade with the Baltic area. In the mid-14th century, Lübeck became the chief city in the German Hanseatic League, a medieval trading association of German cities founded with the aim of protecting trade and settling all economic issues. The old traditions were revived over the past few years in the form of the Hanseatic Days of Modern Times which are held in rotation in various cities and in which about a hundred present or former Hanseatic cities now take part. The Hanseatic City enjoyed several periods of prosperity in the course of its impressive history. During these periods, many important architectural monuments, public buildings and churches, houses of merchant families, foundations, etc. were built, many of which have been preserved to this day or restored. Lübeck s development was shaped mainly by trade and shipping. However, various industrial products and other goods have also gained great importance, such as Lübeck marzipan and Lübeck Rotspon (a Bordeaux wine pressed in Lübeck), to mention just a few of Lübeck s famous culinary specialities. Today the modern industrial city, trading centre and port which has some
German Navy 215,000 inhabitants boasts a vibrant cultural and intellectual life. The port of Lübeck is the hub of traffic to Scandinavia. Europe s largest ferry terminal offers regular ferry links to Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania and Russia. These close ties to the sea are also the basis for the affiliation between the Hanseatic City of Lübeck and the frigate LÜBECK from which friendly contacts have developed over the years. The Hanseatic City of Lübeck supported the ship s development and followed it with great interest right from the outset. In October 1987 Mrs. Romi Knüppel, the wife of the then mayor of Lübeck, conducted the naming ceremony, giving the ship the official name of LÜBECK. Due to the stormy weather the launch of the ship had to be postponed at short notice. The : At home on the oceans of the world Moreover, the Hanseatic City had to wait for the final commissioning before it could greet its frigate on active service in March 1990. As the sponsor city, the Hanseatic City of Lübeck always considered it to be its task to be a home port for the crew on duty and to forge, maintain and deepen the many friendly contacts between the crew and the Hanseatic City. Countless friends of the frigate LÜBECK and her crew always feverishly await their visits to her sponsor city. Sponsor ships of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck have always been ambassadors for the city, as well. During its numerous tours of duty abroad the frigate LÜBECK followed in her predecessor s footsteps and did an excellent job in mastering this task in addition to its actual missions.
FREGATTE LÜBECK Contact Opdenhoffstraße 24 D-26384 Wilhelmshaven Phone: +49 4421 63001214 Email: fgs.lub@arcor.de Presse- und Informationszentrum Marine Uferstraße 0 D-24659 Glücksburg Phone: +49 4631 666-4400 Fax: +49 4631 666-4406 Email: piz@marine.de Internet: www.marine.de Imprint Published by: Layout: PIZ Marine Text: Photo: PIZ Marine, www.marine.de