Today Sunday 14th April 2019 I decided Torry Docks overlooking Aberdeen Harbour Scotland was the place for me to be, various ships entering and leaving the harbour though I knew that four war frigates had arrived a day or so ago with whispers of today as their departure day, camera loaded, I decided to dedicate my afternoon down at Aberdeen Harbour Scotland, waiting on these beauty's to leave.
Tonight at 20pm I was rewarded , I post a few of the shots I captured of HDMS Thetis F357 leaving followed by the minesweepers behind her.
Meeting fellow photographers and enthusiasts who also arrived to see these beauty's head out to the North Sea made the evening a bit of an event, I had a great experience , loved it .
HDMS Thetis is a Thetis-class ocean patrol vessel belonging to the Royal Danish Navy.
In mid-1990s the ship served as a platform for seismic operations in the waters near Greenland. In 2002 she took over the role from her sister ship Hvidbjørnen as a platform for Commander Danish Task Group.
The role was handed over to Absalon in September 2007. From February - April 2008 Thetis served as a protection vessel for the World Food Programme chartered ships, carrying food aid, off the Horn of Africa. In 2009 the ship served as staff ship for the NATO Mine Countermeasure Group 1.
Kingdom of Denmark
Name:Thetis
Laid down:10 October 1988
Launched:14 July 1989
In service:1 July 1991
Identification:
IMO number: 3993600
MMSI number: 219522000
Callsign: OUEU
Status:in active service
General characteristics
Class and type:Thetis-class patrol frigate
Type:Off Shore Patrol Frigates
Displacement:3,500 tons full load
Length:112.3 m (368 ft 5 in)
Beam:14.4 m (47 ft 3 in)
Height:37.0 m (121 ft 5 in)
Draft:6.0 m (19 ft 8 in)
Installed power:
3 Detroit Diesel GM 16V 7163-7305 à 460
1 Detroit Diesel 6L-71N 1063-7005 à 120 Kw (EMG)
Propulsion:
3 × MAN B&W Diesel 12v28/32A-D à 2940 kW (3990 hk), single shaft
1 Brunvoll azimuth thruster (800 kW)
1 electrical Brunvoll bow thruster (600 kW)
Speed:>21.8 knots (40.4 km/h; 25.1 mph)
Range:8.700 nautical miles (16.112 km; 10.012 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Endurance:60 days
Boats & landing
craft carried:2 7m RHIBs
Complement:52 + aircrew and transients (accommodation for up to 101 in total)
Sensors and
processing systems:
1 Terma Scanter Mil 009 navigational radar
1 Furuno FR-1505 DA surface search radar
1 Plessey AWS-6 air search radar
1 SaabTech Vectronics 9LV 200 Mk 3 fire control system
1 SaabTech CTS-36 hull-mounted sonar
Thales TMS 2640 Salmon variable depth sonar
FLIR Systems AN/AAQ-22 SAFIRE thermal imager
Electronic warfare
& decoys:
1 Thales Defense Ltd Cutlass radar warning receiver
1 Thales Defense Scorpion radar jammer
2 Sea Gnat launchers (for chaff and flares)
Armament:
1 76-mm 62-cal. OTO Melara Super Rapid DP
7 12.7 mm heavy machine guns
4 7.62 mm light machine guns
1 depth charge rack and MU90 Advanced Lightweight Torpedo for anti-submarine warfare
Aircraft carried:1 Westland Lynx Mk.90B helicopter.From approx. 2016: MH-60R
Aviation facilities:Aft helicopter deck and hangar
Four Thetis class frigates for the Royal Danish Navy have been built by the Svendborg Shipyard with headquarters on the island of Funen in Svendborg, Denmark. The Thetis (F357) and Triton (F358) were commissioned in 1991, and Vaedderen (F359) and Hvidbjornen (F360) in 1992.
The Thetis Class are multi-role frigates for fishery protection, surveillance, air-sea rescue, anti-pollution and ice reconnaissance.
THETIS DESIGN
The frigates have a double-skinned hull divided by ten bulkheads into watertight compartments. The basic hull shape corresponds to that of a high-speed trawler. There are no bilge keels, but stabilisation is achieved by a combination of fin stabilisers from Blohm and Voss and a controlled passive tank system supplied by Intering.
The frigates are ice-strengthened and are able to proceed through 80cm of solid ice. The hull has an icebreaking bow and stem lines suitable for operations in ice with only one propeller. To minimise ice formation on the superstructure, all winches, capstans, etc. are placed under deck. The allowed amount of icing is 375t.
Maximum continuous speed is 20kt in 4m seas. The ships can stand wind gusts of 150kt during light ice conditions and operate in all sea conditions at speeds of 4kt to 5kt. The ships have an endurance of 8,300nm at varying speeds with a 10% fuel reserve.
COMMAND AND CONTROL
Infocom Electronics, based in Sonderborg, Denmark produced the frigate’s integrated information system, which is based on a digital fibre-optic switch with digital multipurpose subscriber stations.
The system handles all internal and external communications, including data link and message handling for the ship’s Command, Control and Communications (C3) system, supplied by Terma Elektronik of Lystrup, Denmark.
WEAPONS
The armament consists of one Oto Melara 76mm Super Rapid main gun, one or two 20mm guns from Oerlikon and depth charge throwers. The Super Rapid gun has a rate of fire of 120 rounds a minute and range of 16km. The fire control system is the Saab Systems 9LV 200 mk3. A FLIR Systems Inc AN/AAQ-22 SAFIRE thermal imaging system is used for surveillance.
HELICOPTER
The frigate has a landing deck with a landing spot for a single helicopter. Helicopter support arrangements include a Glide Path Indicator (GPI) and a flight refuelling system. The hangar is equipped for helicopter maintenance and has capacity to hold a Lynx helicopter without having to fold the helicopter tail.
SENSORS
The frigates are fitted with a BAE Systems AWS-6 air and surface search radar operating at G band, a Terma Scanter Mil surface search radar operating at I band, a Furuno FR-1505 DA navigation radar operating at I band and a Saab Systems 9LV mk3 fire control radar operating at I and J bands.
Sonar equipment consists of a Saab Systems hull-mounted type CTS 36 RDN and a Thales Underwater Systems (formerly Thomson Marconi) TMS 2640 Salmon Variable Depth Sonar (VDS).
COUNTERMEASURES
“The Thetis Class frigates are ice-strengthened and are able to proceed through 80cm of solid ice.”
The countermeasures suite includes the Thales Defence Ltd Cutlass radar warning receiver, a Thales Defence Scorpion radar jammer and two Sea Gnat launchers for chaff and infrared flares.
PROPULSION
The propulsion machinery consists of three MAN B&W V28/32 diesel engines with combined power of 9,000kW. The fitted bow thruster is able to hold the bow against an athwartship wind of 28kt. A retractable azimuth thruster is capable of propelling the ship at 10kt.
The bow and azimuth thruster are produced by Brunvoll A/S. There is also a shaft generator of 1,500kW, supplied by Volund Motorteknik A/S, and three GM diesel motors with Volund Teknik generators, each with an output of 480kW.
The machinery is controlled by an integrated ship control and surveillance system (SCSS) designed by Soren T. Lyngso. The system allows the vessel to sail with unmanned engine rooms, the entire installation being controlled, and visually supervised from the bridge or from other locations in the ship.
Namesake: Thetis is encountered in Greek mythology mostly as a sea nymph or known as the goddess of water, one of the fifty Nereids, daughters of the ancient sea god Nereus..
Newspaper Article On 2019s War Exercise In Scotland.
E River Clyde is set to play host to the largest military exercise in Europe.
The Faslane Naval Base will be at the heart of the biggest 'tactically-focused' training operation - called Exercise Joint Warrior - from 16 to 26 April.
The multi-national event is conducted in the spring and autumn of each year, with the base hosting key Royal Navy and RAF personnel involved in it.
They will be joined by another 150 personnel, many of them reservists, with a joint warfare operations centre set up at the base to co-ordinate and manage the massive exercise.
A total of 32 separate naval units from eight different countries are taking part, as well as a considerable military air presence and multiple land forces.
Faslane will berth many of the vessels during the exercise, with the ships using the base for quick and easy access to some of the maritime training areas off the west coast.
The UK, USA, Germany, Netherlands, France, Norway, Denmark and Canada are all contributing and Royal Navy Flagship, HMS Bulwark, will be hosting the Commander United Kingdom Task Group and Commander Standing NATO Maritime Group 1.
Meanwhile the UK's joint force HQ will deploy to practice its command function both afloat on the high-readiness helicopter and commando carrier, HMS Illustrious, and ashore. The aim of the exercise is to provide the highest quality training for all three armed services and the numerous visiting forces from allied nations.
To achieve this, Joint Warrior features a wide-ranging exercise scenario which brings into play every possible situation experienced in complex, modern conflicts. It involves three sovereign nations, some disputed territory, drug smuggling, piracy, state-sponsored terrorism and counter insurgency. The scenario develops over the two-weeks of the exercise, beginning with a period of military and political tension and evolving into simulated war fighting and potential state-on-state hostilities.
