|
High resolution picture
|
Unlike which had happened during the interwar period, after the disaster of the Second World War the (West/Federal) German Navy
had to be totally rebuilt. Initially light vessels were preferred but soon the requirements demanded larger vessels. The first
(relatively) large units were the frigates of the Köln class but soon, after the Federal Navy were allowed to exceed the limit of
3048 tonnes imposed by the Allies after the war, the path was opened for a new class of destroyers: the four ships of the Hamburg
class. These ships had a bulky superstructure and a rather low freeboard, with the main artillery turrets placed close to the ends
of the hull.
The destroyers of the Hamburg class were designed for operating in the Baltic Sea, where seaworthiness was less important
than speed, maneuverability and a powerful antiaircraft armament. They could transport mines which would constitute an extremely
useful armament in the agitated Baltic Sea. The lack of onboard helicopters was justified by the presence of aerial bases in the
Baltic coast, which would cover every probable operative area. The most important weakness of the initial design was the lack of
armament which could neutralize the largest warships; because of this the cannon turret in X position was replaced by two twin
launchers of Exocet surface-to-surface missiles.
Hamburg class: 4 units - Bayern (D-183), Hessen (D-184), Hamburg (D-181), Schleswig-Holstein (D-182)
Type: Destroyer
Length: 134 meters
Beam: 13.4 meters
Draught: 5.2 meters
Displacement (standard): 3393 tonnes
Propulsion: 2 x shaft, 2 x steam turbine Wahodag, 4 x boiler Wahodag, 68000 horsepower
Speed: 35 knots (64.8 kilometers/hour)
Range: 773 nautical miles (1431 kilometers) at 35 knots
Fuel: 684.8 tonnes of petrol
Complement: 282
Armament (as built): 4 x 100-millimeter cannon, 8 x 40-millimeter cannon, 2 x Bofors TT-2 antisubmarine rocket launcher,
5 x 533-millimeter torpedo tube, 90 x Mk 17 mine
Armament (in 1977): 3 x 100-millimeter cannon, 8 x 40-millimeter cannon, 2 x twin Exocet MM38 surface-to-surface missile launcher,
2 x Bofors TT-2 antisubmarine rocket launcher, 2 x 305-millimeter torpedo tube, 90 x Mk 17 mine
|
