Baleares class
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Baleares (F71) during Exercise Ocean Venture 1981
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The Baleares class , also known as the F70 class , was a class of five general-purpose frigates belonging to the Armada Española . The ships were based on the frigates of the Knox-class frigate of the US Navy (USN). All five ships were built at Bazan (now Navantia ) in northwestern Spain.
history
The ships replaced the frigates of the Pizzaro class and formed the 31st escort flotilla with a home port at its place of birth in Ferrol in northwestern Spain.
Spain originally thought of having new British Leander- class frigates built locally. For political reasons, the United Kingdom had a Labor government and Spain was still under the Franco regime, this plan failed. Ultimately, the Knox class was chosen as the basis, in the service of the USN pure anti-submarine ships. However, since Spain needed a multipurpose frigate, the design was heavily modified as explained in the following section.
In the 1970s and 1980s until the arrival of the Santa María class from the late 1980s, the ships formed the backbone of the Spanish fleet and were regularly involved in USN or NATO maneuvers. Units of the class were in action in the Second Gulf War , patrolling the Red Sea and during the Yugoslav Wars .
On December 19, 2005, a severe boiler explosion occurred on the Extremadura , almost a year before it was decommissioned, while the boat was being heated up for the purpose of sailing, in which two guards were severely scalded, which they succumbed to a little later. The Spanish Navy later admitted that the wear and tear of the system, which is well over 30 years old, was partly responsible for the accident. A naval engineer charged in this regard in a military court was acquitted in 2012.
technology
The class is a modified version of the Knox class. The main differences are the replacement of the Sea Sparrow missiles and the anti-submarine helicopter with a standard missile launcher and associated radars. They received a SPS-52B - 3D search radar and an SPG-51 target illuminator for the SM-1 medium-range surface-to-air missiles , which are shot down by an Mk-22 launcher, there are a maximum of 16 guided weapons in the magazine Available. The long range SQS-26 low frequency sonar was replaced by the AN / SQS-23 G-MF sonar, while two Mk-25 tubes for Mk37 torpedoes were mounted elsewhere. The SQS-35 towed sonar (VDS: Variable Depth Sonar) was retained.
The ships were modernized several times during their service life. They received the TRITAN mission data system from Spain and the early warning system was also updated by domestic devices. In addition, Mk36 SROC decoy starters were scaffolded , as were two quadruple Harpoon starters amidships and two Meroka close-range defense systems. The original sonar has been replaced by a more modern, Spanish DE-1160LF device (a larger, lower-frequency version of the SQS-56 sonar). The Mk-25 torpedo tubes have been removed to provide accommodation for female crew members.
The maximum range of the ships of the Baleares class was given as 4,500 nautical miles at 20 knots. The top speed of the 35,000hp machine was 28 knots.
units
All ships were based in Ferrol in Galicia and named after Spanish regions.
| Identifier | Surname | Keel laying | Launch | put into service | decommissioned | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F71 | Baleares | 20th August 1970 | September 24, 1973 | March 30, 2005 | will be scrapped in Vigo | |
| F72 | Andalucía | March 30, 1971 | May 23, 1974 | December 15, 2005 | sunk as a target ship | |
| F73 | Cataluña | 3rd November 1971 | January 16, 1975 | June 30, 2004 | sunk as a target ship | |
| F74 | Asturias | May 13, 1972 | 2nd December 1975 | June 30, 2009 | open | |
| F75 | Extremadura | November 21, 1972 | November 10, 1976 | September 15, 2006 | open |
With the arrival of the frigates of the Álvaro de Bazán class , the ships were decommissioned in the first decade of the 21st century.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Retired frigate ´Baleares´ is scrapped. August 16, 2014, accessed August 23, 2014 .