SAS Spioenkop
 |
| History | |
|---|---|
 South Africa | |
| Namesake | Battle of Spion Kop |
| Ordered | 3 December 1999 |
| Builder | Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, Kiel |
| Laid down | 28 February 2002 |
| Launched | 2 August 2003 |
| Christened | Spionkop, F147 |
| Commissioned | 16 February 2007 |
| Homeport | Simonstown |
| Fate | Active service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Valour class frigate |
| Displacement | 3700 tons |
| Length | 121 metres (397 ft) |
| Beam | 16.34 metres (53.6 ft) |
| Draught | 5.95 metres (19.5 ft) |
| Propulsion | 2 diesels 5,920 kW each, 2 shafts for cruise; 1 gas turbine 20,000 kW, 1 waterjet |
| Speed | 30 knots (52 km/h) |
| Range | 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km) at 16 knots (30 km/h) |
| Complement | 117 |
| Armament | list error: <br /> list (help) 1x Otobreda 76 mm gun 2x 35 mm LIW (Denel) 35DPG dual purpose twin-barreled guns |
| Aircraft carried | 1 × SuperLynx 300 (can carry 2) |
SAS Spioenkop (F147) is the third of four Valour class frigates for the South African Navy.
Construction
They were manufactured by the European South African Corvette Consortium (ESACC), consisting of the German Frigate Consortium (Blohm+Voss, Thyssen Rheinstahl and Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werf), African Defence Systems (part of the French Thales defence group) and a number of South African companies.
The ships were built to the MEKO modular design concept, and are designated by the manufacturer as the MEKO A-200SAN class. Some controversy exists as to the class type of the vessel, with both the manufacturer and the South African Navy referring to it as a corvette, but other similar vessels in other navies being referred to as frigates. It has been claimed by some that the use of the word corvette was a political decision made by the South African government to ease criticism of the procurement of the vessels.
As with all the other ships of the Valour class, the Spioenkop is named after a famous South African battle or instance of great valour. In this case the famous Battle of Spioenkop between the Boers and Great Britain, during the Anglo-Boer War.
The SAS Spioenkop was built at the Blohm + Voss shipyards in Hamburg, Germany, and arrived in South Africa on 31 May 2004. It is currently nearing the final stages of weapons and systems installation and integration.
The commanding officer of the Spioenkop is Captain Chris Manig.
Notable Deployments
Exercise WHIPPET: Tactical Exercise
The South African Navy conducted its first combined tactical Exocet Missile firing exercise. The two frigates, SAS Spioenkop and SAS Mendi, fired the two missiles at MFV AZALEA, a derelict fishing trawler given to the SA Navy by I&J fishing company to sink. The firing was conducted on Thursday 28 June in Exercise Area Pandora, 50 nautical miles south of Cape Point.
Operation SIDEWY 2007
Exercise DOLPHIN 2008
Exercise GREENPOINT 2008
Operation CARAWAY: Far East Deployment
A three month, six-country visit in the Far East. Spioenkop visited Singapore from 3–8 October, Shanghai in the People’s Republic of China from 16–20 October, Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia from 25-29 October, Ho Chi Minh City in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam from 31 October to 05 November), Cochin in India from 14-20 November and Port Louis in Mauritius from 26 November to 1 December. The ship conducted naval exercises with the Singapore Navy, the People’s Liberation Army Navy of the People’s Republic of China, the Indian Navy and the Mauritian Coast Guard. The ships’ company also engaged in various diplomatic related activities with all the countries visited.