German frigate Niedersachsen (F208)

Frigate F208 Niedersachsen
Class overview
Builders:	Bremer Vulkan AG Weser Blohm + Voss Nordseewerke Howaldtswerke
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:	CODOG (Combined diesel or gas) 2 × MTU 20V956 TB92 diesel engines, 8.14 MW (10,920 hp) total 2 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbines, 38 MW (51,000 hp) total 2 × Renk STG 150-50 gearboxes, 10:1 (diesel) and 720:47 (turbine) 4 × Deutz MWM diesel-generators, 750 kW (1,010 hp)
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:	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 & 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 twin torpedo launchers, 8 × DM4A1 or Mark 46 torpedo
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.

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.

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

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Wikipedia