Niels Juel-class corvette

The Niels Juel class was a three-ship class of corvettes formerly in service with the Royal Danish Navy. They were built in Denmark at Aalborg Shipyard and were launched in the period 1978–1980. In 1998–2000 the three vessels had a mid-life update, as well as a large update on the electrical systems.

F356 Peter Tordenskiold
Class overview
Name: Niels Juel class
Builders: Aalborg Værft A/S
Operators:  Royal Danish Navy
Preceded by:

Peder Skram-class frigate

Triton-class corvette
Succeeded by: Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate
Built: 1978–1980
In commission: 1980–2009
Planned: 3
Completed: 3
Scrapped: 3
General characteristics
Type: Corvette
Displacement: 1,450 tonnes
Length: 84 m (276 ft)
Beam: 10.3 m (34 ft)
Draft: 4.8 m (16 ft)
Installed power:
  • 25,700 shp (19,200 kW) gas turbine
  • 4,800 bhp (3,600 kW) on diesel engine
Propulsion:
Speed: 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) (with turbine)
Range:
  • 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
  • 1,020 nautical miles (1,890 km; 1,170 mi) at 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Endurance: 25 days
Complement:
  • 93 standard
  • 110 during operations
Armament:

The three ships were named Niels Juel (NATO abbreviation NIJU), Olfert Fischer (NATO abbreviation OLFI) and Peter Tordenskiold (NATO abbreviation PETO). All three vessels were named after famous Danish admirals, with the debatable exception of Peter Tordenskjold, a Norwegian-born officer who served during the personal union of Norway and Denmark from 1415 to 1814.

These ships were replaced by the Iver Huitfeldt-class frigates.[1] All three ships were retired in 2009 [2] and were scrapped in 2013 at Munkebo, Denmark.[3][4]

Design

During the mid-life refit, the corvettes were modified to be able to use the StanFlex modular mission payload system; two module slots were installed aft of the superstructure.[5]

Duties
Niels Juel in the Baltic Sea, June 2005

The corvettes played an active role in solving a wide spectrum of duties, including escort and protection of other vessels. They were built to the requirements of the Cold War era, notably the need for guarding and convoy duty in the strategically important Danish Belts. Like many assets built during this period, adapting it to changing needs in the post–Cold War period was challenging, but the Niels Juel class benefited from being built from the outset as austere, economical vessels with a large number of possible roles to play. Also among the various tasks for the corvettes were coast guard duties in Danish national waters, as well as intelligence gathering.

It was normal routine for the Danish corvettes to participate in international operations. On several occasions, the vessels took part in operations for NATO, UN, OSCE and coalition forces.

List of ships
Name Number Laid Down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned Status
Niels Juel F354 20 October 1977 17 February 1978 26 August 1980 18 August 2009 Scrapped in 2013
Olfert Fischer F355 6 December 1978 12 January 1980 16 October 1981 18 August 2009 Scrapped in 2013
Peter Tordenskiold F356 3 December 1979 30 April 1980 2 April 1982 18 August 2009 Scrapped in 2013

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-09-16. Retrieved 2009-01-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. http://forsvaret.dk/ssg/elementer/udsmykning/Pages/default.aspx%5B%5D
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-04-11. Retrieved 2013-02-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ""Westsund" towing first of fregat". Archived from the original on 2014-11-09.
  5. Lok, Joris Janssen (24 April 2006). "New Danish combat support ships offer greater flexibility for NATO operations". International Defence Review. Jane's Information Group.


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