The Type 103 Lütjens class was the last class of destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s in service with the German Navy

German Navy

The German Navy is the navy of Germany and is part of the unified Bundeswehr .The German Navy traces its roots back to the Imperial Fleet of the revolutionary era of 1848 – 52 and more directly to the Prussian Navy, which later evolved into the Northern German Federal Navy...

. They were replaced by the new Sachsen-class frigate

Sachsen class frigate

The F124 Sachsen class is Germany's latest class of highly advanced air-defense frigates. The design of the Sachsen class frigate is based on that of the F123 Brandenburg class but with enhanced stealth features intended to deceive any opponent's radar and acoustic sensors and incorporate also the...

s, designated frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

 even though they are much larger and more capable in all aspects than the Lütjens class destroyers.
Basically the ships were Charles F. Adams-class guided missile destroyer

Guided missile destroyer

A guided missile destroyer is a destroyer designed to launch guided missiles. Many are also equipped to carry out anti-submarine, anti-air, and anti-surface operations. In the U.S...

s but with some modifications to meet German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 requirements:

• Communication systems according to German standards. The Lütjens class had more aerials and a second mast mounted on the aft funnel, the large air surveillance radar was positioned further aft (above the funnel).
• Different funnel design. This was necessary because of the new antennas and radar location. On the Lütjens the exhaust gases were emitted sideways with two pipes on the port and starboard side of each funnel.
• New location of the sonar array: The Lütjens had its sonar dome located in a bulge directed forward in the bow and not under the bow to reduce the ship's draft
  Draft (hull)
  The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
  
  .
• Better crew accommodations.

The Lütjens class was upgraded to Type 103A in the 1970s with new digital fire-control

Fire-control system

A fire-control system is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director, and radar, which is designed to assist a weapon system in hitting its target. It performs the same task as a human gunner firing a weapon, but attempts to do so faster and more...

 computers and better missiles for the old Tartar SM1 missile system. The boilers were also converted to burn lighter oil for logistical reasons instead of the heavy fuel oil that needs to be preheated.

A second major refit began in the 1980s, with new fire control computers and radar

Radar

Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

 for the guns.

In the 1990s, the ships in the class each received two RAM

RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile

The RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile is a small, lightweight, infrared homing surface-to-air missile in use by the American, German, South Korean, Greek, Turkish, Saudi and Egyptian navies. It was intended originally and used primarily as a point-defense weapon against anti-ship cruise missiles...

 launchers and Chaff

Chaff (radar countermeasure)

Chaff, originally called Window by the British, and Düppel by the Second World War era German Luftwaffe , is a radar countermeasure in which aircraft or other targets spread a cloud of small, thin pieces of aluminium, metallized glass fibre or plastic, which either appears as a cluster of secondary...

 launchers.

With the decommissioning of Lütjens (D185) on December 18, 2003 the age of steam ended for the German Navy. Mölders (D186) became a Museum Ship at the German Navy Museum in Wilhelmshaven.

Note:
Speeds over 30 kn could only sustained for a limited time due to the enormous fuel consumption. With two active boilers the ship could achieve speeds up to 27 kn. Three boilers made 30 kn achievable. For any speed beyond 30 kn all four boilers were needed.

List of ships

Pennant number Pennant number In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers...	Name	Call sign Call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...	Commissioned	Decom- missioned	Fate
D185	Lütjens	DRAE	March 22, 1969	December 18, 2003	to be sold as target ship to the USA
D186	Mölders	DRAF	September 20, 1969	May 28, 2003	Museum ship Museum ship A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...  in Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...
D187	Rommel	DRAG	May 20, 1970	September 30, 1998	cannibalized Cannibalization of machine parts Cannibalization of machine parts, in maintenance of mechanical or electronic systems with interchangeable parts, refers to the practice of removing parts or subsystems necessary for repair from another similar device, rather than from inventory, usually when resources become limited... , 2004 scrapped in Turkey Turkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

All three ships were built by Bath Iron Works

Bath Iron Works

Bath Iron Works is a major American shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, United States. Since its founding in 1884 , BIW has built private, commercial and military vessels, most of which have been ordered by the United States Navy...

 in the USA. They were named after famous German officers that died in 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...

. In service they formed the 1. Zerstörergeschwader (first destroyer squadron) and were based in Kiel

Kiel

Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...

.