The German destroyer ''Lütjens'' was the lead ship of her class, a modified version of the American ''Charles F. Adams'' class, built for the '' Bundesmarine'' ( West German Navy) during the 1960s.

Design and description

The ''Charles F. Adams'' class was based on a stretched hull modified to accommodate an RUR-5 ASROC Launcher and all their associated equipment. The ships had an overall length of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a deep draft of . They displaced at full load. Their crew consisted of 333 officers and enlisted men. The ships were equipped with two geared General Electric

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

s, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by four D-V2M water-tube boilers. The turbines were intended to produce to reach the designed speed of . The ''Lütjens'' class had a range of at a speed of . Unlike their

half-sisters A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the subject. A male sibling is a brother and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child. While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised separat ...

, the ships had two macks.Gardiner, Chumley & Budzbon, p. 143 They were armed with two

5"/54 caliber Mark 42 gun The Mark 42 5"/54 caliber gun (127mm) is a naval gun (naval artillery) mount used by the United States Navy and other countries. It consisted of the Mark 18 gun and Mark 42 gun mount. United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fires a p ...

forward, one each forward and aft of the

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

. The ships were fitted with an eight-round ASROC launcher between the funnels. Close-range anti-submarine defense was provided by two triple sets of Mk 32 torpedo tubes. The primary armament of the ships was the

Tartar Tartar may refer to: Places * Tartar (river), a river in Azerbaijan * Tartar, Switzerland, a village in the Grisons * Tərtər, capital of Tartar District, Azerbaijan * Tartar District, Azerbaijan * Tartar Island, South Shetland Islands, Ant ...

surface-to-air missile designed to defend the carrier battle group. They were fired via the single-arm

Mk 13 missile launcher The Mark 13 guided missile launching system (GMLS) is a single-arm missile launcher designed for use on frigates and other military vessels. Because of its distinctive single-armed design, the Mark 13 is often referred to as the "one-armed bandit" ...

and the ships stowed a total of 40 missiles for the launcher.

Construction and career

The ship was named for Admiral Günther Lütjens, who commanded a battlegroup comprising the and the cruiser during

Operation Rheinübung Operation Rheinübung ("Exercise Rhine") was the sortie into the Atlantic by the new German battleship and heavy cruiser on 18–27 May 1941, during World War II. This operation to block Allies of World War II, Allied shipping to the United ...

(Exercise Rhine). Lütjens was killed when ''Bismarck'' was surrounded by overwhelming British naval force on 27 May 1941 in the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

. She was laid down at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine on 1 March 1966 with the hull classification symbol DDG-28. She was launched on 11 August 1967 and commissioned on 22 March 1969. On 14 September 2001, three days after the terrorist attacks on 11 September, the crew of ''Lütjens'' manned the rails, and as they approached the destroyers and , they displayed an American flag and a banner reading "We Stand By You." After over 30 years of service and a travelled distance of ''Lütjens'' was decommissioned on 18 December 2003. She was the last

steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

-powered vessel and the last ship classified as a destroyer of the German Navy. LutjensHonors

Notes

References

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External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20051227153145/http://www.ddg28.de/
MaritimeQuest Lütjens D-185 photo gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lutjens (D185) Lütjens-class destroyers Ships built in Bath, Maine 1967 ships Steam turbine-powered ships