''Augsburg'' (F222) is the third ship of the s of the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...

Design

The Type 120 or ''Köln''-class frigates were built as smooth-deckers and had very elegant lines. The very diagonally cut bow and the knuckle ribs in the foredeck made it easy to navigate. The hull and parts 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 ...

were made of shipbuilding

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

, other superstructure parts were made of

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

. Due to the installation of

gas turbines A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...

, large side air inlets were necessary, which could be closed by lamellas. The stern was designed as a round stern. The large funnel was sloped and skirted. Behind the bridge superstructure stood the tall

lattice mast Lattice masts, or cage masts, or basket masts, are a type of observation mast common on United States Navy major warships in the early 20th century. They are a type of hyperboloid structure, whose weight-saving design was invented by the Russian ...

with

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

and other

antennas In radio engineering, an antenna or aerial is the interface between radio waves propagating through space and electric currents moving in metal conductors, used with a transmitter or receiver. In transmission, a radio transmitter supplies a ...

. The hull was divided into 13 watertight compartments. On the forecastle was a 10 cm gun, behind it, set higher, a 4 cm twin gun. Behind it stood two quadruple anti-submarine missile launchers 37.5 cm from Bofors. A 4 cm Bofors single gun on each side of the aft superstructure and another 4 cm double mount at the end of the superstructure. There was a second 10 cm gun on the quarterdeck. In addition, there were two 53.3 cm torpedo tubes behind the front superstructures. They were used to fire Mk-44 torpedoes. Mine rails were laid behind the torpedo tubes and ran to the stern.

Construction and career

''Augsburg'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

on 29 October 1958 and launched on 15 August 1959 in Stülcken & Sohn, Germany. She was commissioned on 7 April 1962. One of the last deployments of the ship was an official visit to the Dutch municipality of Den Helder in 1987. As of October 1 of the same year, the ship was out of service and was decommissioned on 30 August 1988. After that it was mothballed at naval arsenal

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

and was on sale. The ship was sold for demolition via the Vebeg, towed to

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

on 17 November 1989 and scrapped there in December.

Gallery

File:German frigate Augsburg (F222) underway in the North Sea in March 1971.jpg, ''Augsburg'' in March 1971 File:Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT) (schepen van lidstaten NAVO) breng, Bestanddeelnr 927-2732.jpg, ''Augsburg'' on 21 June 1974 File:STANAVFORLANT ships underway in 1982.jpg, ''Augsburg'' in 1982 File:NATO Task Group 100.1 ships during BALTOPS 1985.jpeg, ''Augsburg'' during

BALTOPS BALTOPS (Baltic Operations) is an annual military exercise, held and sponsored by the Commander, United States Naval Forces Europe, since 1971, in the Baltic Sea and the regions surrounding it. The purpose of BALTOPS is to train gunnery, replenis ...

in 1985

References

*Gardiner, Robert and Stephen Chumbley. ''Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995''. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1995. . *Prézelin, Bernard and A.D. Baker III. ''The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World 1990/1991''. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1990. .

External links

Fregatte Augsburg F222 (in German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Augsburg Köln-class frigates 1959 ships Ships built in Hamburg