Flyvefisken class patrol vessel
Encyclopedia
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Royal Danish Navy
The Royal Danish Navy is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish, Greenlandic and Faroese territorial waters...
. The class is also known as the Standard Flex 300 or SF300 class.
Containerised weapon systems
The Flyvefisken ships were constructed using an innovative modular design known as StanFlexStanFlex
StanFlex is a modular mission payload system used by the Kongelige Danske Marine ....
: they have a standard hull in which containerised weapons or systems can be placed. This allows them to rapidly change roles, typically in 48 hours. This enables the ships to be configured to perform the following roles:
- Surveillance/pollution control
- Combat
- Mine countermeasures/minehunter (MCM)
- Minelayer
The containers measure 3.5 × 3 × 2.5 metres. One container goes on the foredeck; the other three go on the quarterdeck behind the superstructure and funnel. Furthermore the ships are built using the sandwich principle - a layer of fiberglass
Fiberglass
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
either side of a core of PVC
PVC
Polyvinyl chloride is a plastic.PVC may also refer to:*Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military honor*Peripheral venous catheter, a small, flexible tube placed into a peripheral vein in order to administer medication or fluids...
cell foam. This forms the structure from keel to top of mast. This building method has reduces maintenance costs - so much so that 20 years on the new Diana and -Holm class have been built using the same materials.
Replaced three different vessels
The Flyvefisken class replaced three different vessels in the Danish Navy: Six torpedo boatsMotor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy.The capitalised term is generally used for the Royal Navy boats and abbreviated to "MTB"...
of the Søløven class (1965–90), six coastal minesweeper
Coastal minesweeper
Coastal minesweeper is a term used by the United States Navy to indicate a minesweeper intended for coastal use as opposed to participating in fleet operations at sea....
s of the Sund class (1955–99) and eight seaward defence craft
Patrol boat
A patrol boat is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defense duties.There have been many designs for patrol boats. They may be operated by a nation's navy, coast guard, or police force, and may be intended for marine and/or estuarine or river environments...
of the Daphne class (1961–91). It was possible because of the containerised systems and modern technology.
The replaced vessels used World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
(or WWI
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
) tactics: The Søløven boats were light plywood
Plywood
Plywood is a type of manufactured timber made from thin sheets of wood veneer. It is one of the most widely used wood products. It is flexible, inexpensive, workable, re-usable, and can usually be locally manufactured...
boats propelled by three turboshaft
Turboshaft
A turboshaft engine is a form of gas turbine which is optimized to produce free turbine shaft power, rather than jet thrust...
s, which attacked the enemy ships with torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es in 54 knots hit-and-run
Hit-and-run tactics
Hit-and-run tactics is a tactical doctrine where the purpose of the combat involved is not to seize control of territory, but to inflict damage on a target and immediately exit the area to avoid the enemy's defense and/or retaliation.-History:...
attacks. The Flyvefisken class is not that fast, but their Harpoon missiles are sufficient for the task.
The Sund class (Adjutant class minesweeper
Adjutant class minesweeper
The Adjutant class minesweepers were built by the United States in the early 1950s, then loaned to foreign countries under the Military Defense Assistance Pact. Initially classified as motor minesweepers , in February 1955, they were reclassified as coastal minesweepers ....
s) were built of wood, bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
and other non-magnetic materials. They swept mine fields
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
by trawling through the area with paravanes
Paravane (weapon)
The paravane is a form of towed underwater "glider". It was developed by Cdr Usborne and Lt Burney financed by Sir George White, founder of the Bristol Aeroplane Company....
on tow separating magnetic and acoustic generators for the bottom mines, and chain cutters for the horned mines. The Flyvefisken class is a minehunter
Minehunter
Minehunters are mine countermeasure vessels that actively detect and destroy individual naval mines. Minesweepers, on the other hand, clear mined areas as a whole, without prior detection of mines...
and locates the mines with side-scan sonar
Side-scan sonar
Side-scan sonar is a category of sonar system that is used to efficiently create an image of large areas of the sea floor...
and neutralize them one by one with a ROV.
The Daphne class attacked submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s by dropping depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s to a preselected depth, while sailing past the submarine. The Flyvefisken class fights submarines with anti-submarine homing torpedoes
Anti-submarine weapon
An anti-submarine weapon is any one of a range of devices that are intended to act against a submarine, and its crew, to destroy the vessel or to destroy or reduce its capability as a weapon of war...
.
Ships in class
A total of 14 ships were built in the class, in three series:| Name | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Int. Callsign | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | ||||||
| P550 HDMS Flyvefisken(Flying fish) | 15 August 1985 | 26 April 1986 | 19 December 1989 | - a) LVS Zemaitis (P 11) | OVDA | MCM |
| P551 HDMS Hajen(Shark Shark Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago.... ) |
February 1988 | 6 August 1989 | 19 August 1990 | - a) LVS Dzukas (P 12) | OVDB | MCM |
| P552 HDMS Havkatten(Catfish Seawolf (fish) The Atlantic wolffish , also known as the Seawolf, Atlantic catfish, ocean catfish, wolf eel , or sea cat, is a marine fish, the largest of the wolffish family Anarhichadidae. They are commonly sighted throughout Asia... ) |
August 1988 | 13 January 1990 | 1 November 1990 | - | OVDC | MCM |
| P553 HDMS Laxen(Salmon Atlantic salmon The Atlantic salmon is a species of fish in the family Salmonidae, which is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and in rivers that flow into the north Atlantic and the north Pacific.... ) |
March 1988 | 20 May 1990 | 12 March 1991 | 7 October 2010 | OVDD | MCM |
| P554 HDMS Makrelen(Mackerel Atlantic mackerel The Atlantic mackerel , is a pelagic schooling species of mackerel found on both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean. The species is also called Boston mackerel, or just mackerel.... ) |
December 1988 | 8 January 1991 | 4 October 1991 | 7 October 2010 | OVDE | MCM |
| P555 HDMS Støren(Sturgeon Sturgeon Sturgeon is the common name used for some 26 species of fish in the family Acipenseridae, including the genera Acipenser, Huso, Scaphirhynchus and Pseudoscaphirhynchus. The term includes over 20 species commonly referred to as sturgeon and several closely related species that have distinct common... ) |
August 1989 | 1 September 1991 | 24 April 1992 | 7 October 2010 | OVBF | MCM |
| P556 HDMS Sværdfisken(Swordfish Swordfish Swordfish , also known as broadbill in some countries, are large, highly migratory, predatory fish characterized by a long, flat bill. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category, though elusive. Swordfish are elongated, round-bodied, and lose all teeth and scales by adulthood... ) |
- | 1 September 1991 | 1 February 1992 | 2 August 2006 | OVDG | MCM |
| Series 2 | ||||||
| P557 HDMS Glenten(Kite Kite (bird) Kites are raptors with long wings and weak legs which spend a great deal of time soaring. Most feed mainly on carrion but some take various amounts of live prey.They are birds of prey which, along with hawks and eagles, are from the family Accipitridae.... ) |
- | 1992 | 1 February 1992 | 7 October 2010 | OVDH | Combat |
| P558 HDMS Gribben(Vulture Vulture Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains... ) |
- | 1992 | 1 July 1993 | 7 October 2010 | OVDI | Surveillance |
| P559 HDMS Lommen(Loon Loon The loons or divers are a group of aquatic birds found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia... ) |
- | 1993 | 21 January 1994 | - a) LVS Aukstaitis (P 14) | OVDJ | Surveillance |
| P560 HDMS Ravnen(Raven Common Raven The Common Raven , also known as the Northern Raven, is a large, all-black passerine bird. Found across the northern hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids... ) |
- | 1994 | 7 October 1994 | 7 October 2010 | OVDK | Combat |
| P561 HDMS Skaden(European Magpie European Magpie The European Magpie, Eurasian Magpie, or Common Magpie, , is a resident breeding bird throughout Europe, much of Asia and northwest Africa. It is one of several birds in the crow family named as magpies, and belongs to the Holarctic radiation of "monochrome" magpies... ) |
- | 1994 | 10 April 1995 | 7 October 2010 | OVDL | Combat |
| P562 HDMS Viben(Northern Lapwing Northern Lapwing The Northern Lapwing , also known as the Peewit, Green Plover or just Lapwing, is a bird in the plover family. It is common through temperate Eurasia.... ) |
- | 1995 | 15 January 1996 | 7 October 2010 | OVDM | Combat |
| Series 3 | ||||||
| P563 HDMS Søløven(Sea lion Sea Lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear-flaps, long fore-flippers, the ability to walk on all fours, and short thick hair. Together with the fur seal, they comprise the family Otariidae, or eared seals. There are six extant and one extinct species in five genera... ) |
- | 1995 | 27 May 1996 | - | OVDN | Surveillance |
a) = Sold to Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, March 2007
The difference between the series is mainly in the configuration of the propulsion system. Series 2 is not equipped with hydraulic propulsion, but instead has an additional auxiliary engine, and Series 3 has one further auxiliary engine.