SAS Mendi (F148)

SAS Mendi SAS Mendi
Career (South Africa)
Namesake:	SS Mendi
Ordered:	3 December 1999
Builder:	Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, Kiel
Laid down:	28 June 2002
Launched:	October 2003
Christened:	Mendi, F148
Commissioned:	20 March 2007
Homeport:	Simonstown
Fate:	Active service
General characteristics
Class and type:	Valour class frigate
Displacement:	3700 tons
Length:	121 metres (397 ft)
Beam:	16.34 metres (53.6 ft)
Draught:	5.95 metres (19.5 ft)
Propulsion:	2 diesels 5,920 kW each, 2 shafts for cruise; 1 gas turbine 20,000 kW, 1 waterjet
Speed:	30 knots (52 km/h)
Range:	8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km) at 16 knots (30 km/h)
Complement:	117
Armament:	1x Otobreda 76 mm gun 2x 35 mm LIW (Denel) 35DPG dual purpose twin-barreled guns 2x Mk1 Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, 8x MBDA MM 40 Exocet Block 2 surface-to-surface missiles (mounted in two four-cell launchers), 16x Umkhonto surface-to-air missiles (mounted in two eight-cell vertical launchers)
Aircraft carried:	1 × SuperLynx 300 (can carry 2)

SAS Mendi (F148) is the last of four Valour class frigates for the South African Navy.

Construction

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 defence 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 her as a "corvette", but other similar vessels in other navies being referred to as frigates. Some have claimed 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.^{[citation needed]}

As with all the other ships of the Valour class, the Mendi is named after a famous South African battle or instance of great valour. In this case the sinking of the SS Mendi in the English Channel during World War I. On the 23 August 2004, en-route from the shipyards to South Africa, the SAS Mendi and the HMS Nottingham (D91), a Type 42 destroyer, met at the site where the SS Mendi sank and lay wreaths in remembrance of those who died in service for their country

The SAS Mendi was built at the Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft shipyards in Kiel, Germany, and arrived in South Africa on 20 September 2004.

The commanding officer of the Mendi is Captain Jimmy Schutte.

Notable Deployments

• A deployment to Brazil and Ghana from Aug to Sep 2007
• Operation Boniso 2004
• The Fleet Review 2005
• SAGA training with the German Navy
• Exercising with FNS Nivose off Cape Point
• Conducted Exocet MM 40 missile firings with SAS Isandlwana in 2007
• Exercise Red Lion
• Exercised with HMS Southampton off Cape Town

External links

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