German destroyer Rommel
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{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=FGS Rommel D187 passing USS Iowa.jpg |Ship image size=300px |Ship caption=Rommel on exercise in the Atlantic in 1986 }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=Germany |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Germany|naval}} |Ship name=Rommel |Ship namesake=Erwin Rommel |Ship ordered= |Ship builder=Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine |Ship laid down=22 August 1967 |Ship launched=1 February 1969 |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned=2 May 1970 |Ship decommissioned=30 September 1998 |Ship struck=30 June 1999 |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship homeport=Kiel |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honors= |Ship fate=Scrapped, 2004 |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Ship class= {{sclass|Lütjens|destroyer}} |Ship displacement= {{convert|4460|t|LT|0|abbr=on}} |Ship length= {{convert|134|m|abbr=on}} |Ship beam= {{convert|14|m|abbr=on}} |Ship draft= {{convert|6.4|m|abbr=on}} |Ship depth= |Ship hold depth= |Ship propulsion=*4 × high pressure superheated steam boilers
|Ship speed= {{convert|33|kn|lk=in}} |Ship range= |Ship boats= |Ship capacity= |Ship troops= |Ship complement=337 officers and men |Ship armament=*2 × 127 mm/54 Mk 42 mod 10 guns
|Ship notes= }} |
The German destroyer D187 Rommel was one of three {{sclass|Lütjens|destroyer|0}} guided-missile destroyers, a modified version of the American {{sclass|Charles F. Adams|destroyer|4}}, built for the Bundesmarine (West German Navy) during the 1960s.
Design and description
The Charles F. Adams class was based on a stretched {{sclass|Forrest Sherman|destroyer}} hull modified to accommodate smaller RIM-24 Tartar surface-to-air missiles and all their associated equipment. The ships had an overall length of {{convert|134.4|m|ftin|sp=us}}, a beam of {{convert|14.4|m|ftin|sp=us}} and a deep draft of {{convert|4.5|m|ftin|sp=us}}. They displaced {{convert|4526|t|LT|sp=us}} at full load. Their crew consisted of 333 officers and enlisted men.
The ships were equipped with two geared General Electric steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by four D-V2M water-tube boilers. The turbines were intended to produce {{convert|70000|shp|lk=in}} to reach the designed speed of {{convert|36|kn|lk=in}}. The Lütjens class had a range of {{convert|4500|nmi|lk=in}} at a speed of {{convert|20|kn}}. Unlike their half-sisters, the ships had two macks.Gardiner, Chumley & Budzbon, p. 143
They were armed with two 5"/54 caliber Mark 42 gun forward, one each forward and aft of the superstructure. 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 {{convert|12.75|in|adj=on|disp=flip}} Mk 32 torpedo tubes. The primary armament of the ships was the Tartar surface-to-air missile designed to defend the carrier battle group. They were fired via the single-arm Mk 13 missile launcher and the ships stowed a total of 40 missiles for the launcher.
Construction and career
Rommel was laid down on 22 August 1967 by Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine with the hull number DDG-30. She was launched on 1 February 1969, and christened Rommel by Lucie Maria Rommel, widow of Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel. The vessel was commissioned on 2 May 1970, and was added to the 1. Zerstörergeschwader (first destroyer squadron), based in Kiel. She operated for 28 years.
On 30 September 1998, Rommel was decommissioned. The operating licence for the boilers had expired and it was not considered efficient to refit her. She was towed to Wilhelmshaven to be cannibalised for spare parts to support her two sister ships, {{ship|German destroyer|Lütjens|D185|2}} and {{ship|German destroyer|Mölders|D186|2}}. These two vessels continued to serve for five more years. In 2004 the hull of Rommel was scrapped in Turkey.
Notes
{{Reflist|30em}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1982|isbn=0-87021-733-X}}
- {{cite book|last1=Gardiner|first1=Robert|last2=Chumbley|first2=Stephen|last3=Budzbon |first3=Przemysław|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995|year=1995|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=1-55750-132-7|name-list-style=amp}}
External links
{{commons category|D187 Rommel (ship, 1970)}}
{{Charles F. Adams class destroyer}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rommel (D187)}}
Category:Lütjens-class destroyers
Category:Ships built in Bath, Maine