SAS Isandlwana (F146)
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | 3 December 1999 |
| Laid down: | 28 October 2001 |
| Launched: | 5 December 2002 |
| Commissioned: | 20 July 2006 |
| Fate: | In Service |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 3,700 tons |
| Length: | 121 m |
| Beam: | 16.34 m |
| Draught: | 5.95 m |
| Propulsion: | CODAG WARP: (2 diesels 5,920 kW each, 2 shafts for cruise; 1 gas turbine 20,000 kW, 1 waterjet) |
| Max speed: | 30 knots (56 km/h) |
| Range: | 8,000 nmi. at 16 knots (15,000 km at 30 km/h) |
| Complement: | 117-120 |
| Armament: | • One 76 mm Oto Breda gun, • Two 35 mm LIW (Denel) 35DPG dual purpose twin-barreled guns, • Two 20 mm Oerlikon Mk1 cannon, • Eight MBDA MM 40 Exocet Block 2 surface-to-surface missiles (mounted in two four-cell launchers), • Sixteen Umkhonto surface-to-air missiles (mounted in two eight-cell vertical launchers). |
| Aircraft: | 1 × SuperLynx 300 (can carry 2) |
SAS Isandlwana (F146) is the second of four Valour class frigates for the South African Navy.
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 defense 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 Isandlwana is named after a famous South African battle or instance of great valour. In this case the famous Battle of Isandlwana between the Zulu nation and Britain, at the beginning of the Anglo-Zulu War.
The SAS Isandlwana was built at the Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft shipyards in Kiel, Germany, and arrived in South Africa on 25 February 2004. It is currently nearing the final stages of weapons and systems installation and integration.
The commanding officer of the Isandlwana is Captain Bubele Mhlana. He took over control of the ship from former Captain Carl Wiesner.
SAS Isandlwana that last year took part in the Atlasur Excercise in cooperation with the fleets of Brazil and Chile.[1]
[edit] References
| Valour class frigates of the South African Navy |
|
SAS Amatola | SAS Isandlwana | SAS Spioenkop | SAS Mendi |
| List of ships of the South African Navy |
