''Hamburg'' is a ''Sachsen''-class

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

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 ...

Construction and commissioning

Built by

Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (often abbreviated HDW) is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Kiel. It is part of the ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) group, owned by ThyssenKrupp. The Howaldtswerke shipyard was founded in Kiel in 183 ...

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

, ''Hamburg'' was the second of the ''Sachsen'' class to be launched and then commissioned into the German Navy. She is based at

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 ...

, initially as part of ''1. Fregattengeschwader'' with the other ships of the ''Sachsen'' class, and from 9 January 2005 as part of the ''2. Fregattengeschwader'', which itself became part of the new ''

Einsatzflottille 2 ''Einsatzflottille 2'' (EinsFltl 2 or EF 2) is one of the three brigade-level units of the German Navy, in addition to '' Einsatzflottille 1'' and the Naval Air Command. It is based in Wilhelmshaven, Lower Saxony, and is subordinated to Navy Com ...

'' on 27 June 2005.

Service

''Hamburg'' joined

Operation Atalanta Operation Atalanta, formally European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia, is a current counter-piracy military operation at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean, that is the first naval operation conducted by the E ...

, the EU-led anti-piracy mission, in November 2010. She was on deployment with EUNAVFOR until March 2011. Between 24 March and 3 June 2013 ''Hamburg'' deployed with the carrier combat group, and was tasked with co-ordinating all flight movements within a radius of 180 km, including all take-offs and landings on the carrier. ''Hamburg'' was the first German ship to fully integrate into an American Strike group, and it was the first time in the history of the US Navy that a German frigate was entrusted with the sole protection of an American aircraft carrier. On 11 February 2014 ''Hamburg'' deployed from Wilhelmshaven with the frigates ''Mecklenburg-Vorpommern'' and ''Augsburg'', the corvette ''Oldenburg '' and the storeship ''Frankfurt am Main'' to take part in the navy's annual training and exercises. These concluded at Kiel on 20 June 2014, during which time the ships carried out manoeuvrers as far north as the Arctic Circle and as far south as the Equator, visiting 13 ports in nine countries. During this time she participated in the celebrations marking the 825th birthday of

Hamburg Harbour The Port of Hamburg (german: Hamburger Hafen, ) is a seaport on the river Elbe in Hamburg, Germany, from its mouth on the North Sea. Known as Germany's "Gateway to the World" (''Tor zur Welt''), it is the country's largest seaport by volume ...

from 9 to 11 May 2014, when she led a parade of ships into the harbour. From 20 August to 4 September 2014, ''Hamburg'' escorted the , carrying Syrian chemical weapons to be disposed of. ''Hamburg'' escorted ''Cape Ray'' through the Northeast Atlantic, across the North and Baltic Seas, to Finland and Germany. ''Hamburg'' later became the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) standing maritime immediate reaction force. SNMG2 consists of four to six destroyers and frigates. Its role is to provide NATO with an immediate operational re ...

, and on 8 June 2015 sailed from Wilhelmshaven for a Mediterranean deployment. She took part in the NATO exercise "Trident Juncture" and in

Operation Active Endeavour Operation Active Endeavour was a maritime operation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It operated in the Mediterranean Sea and was designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction. It had collateral benefit ...

, returning to Wilhelmshaven on 20 December 2015. On 4 August 2020 ''Hamburg'' sailed for 5-month deployment with

Operation Irini The European Union Naval Force Mediterranean Operation IRINI (EUNAVFOR MED IRINI) was launched on 31 March 2020 with the primary mission to enforce the United Nations arms embargo to Libya due to the Second Libyan Civil War. Operation IRINI is a ...

, the EU operation enforcing the United Nations arms embargo on Libya. The ship is expected to remain almost entirely at sea during the operation, so her personnel are not exposed to the coronavirus.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamburg Sachsen-class frigates 2002 ships Ships built in Kiel Frigates of Germany