HDMS Absalon (F341)
Absalon in 2019
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History | |
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Name | Absalon |
Namesake | Absalon |
Ordered | November 2001 |
Builder | Odense Staalskibsværft |
Laid down | 28 November 2003 |
Launched | 25 February 2004 |
Completed | 1 July 2004 |
Commissioned | 19 October 2004 |
Homeport | Frederikshavn |
Identification | |
Status | In active service |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Frigate |
Displacement | 6,300 tonnes |
Length | 137.6 m (451 ft 5 in) |
Beam | 19.5 m (64 ft 0 in) |
Draft | 6.3 m (20 ft 8 in) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 24 knots (44 km/h) |
Range | 9,000 nmi (17,000 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h) |
Boats & landing craft carried |
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Complement | 169 |
Sensors and processing systems | |
Electronic warfare & decoys |
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Armament |
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Aircraft carried | 2 × EH-101[1] or 2 × Westland Lynx |
Aviation facilities | Aft helicopter deck and hangars |
HDMS Absalon (F341) and her sister ship Esbern Snare are the largest ships ever built to serve the Royal Danish Navy (RDN),[2] and are the two members of the Absalon class.[3] The two ships in the Absalon class, named after Danish archbishop and statesman Absalon, received full operational status in 2007.
The ships are the first in a series of RDN vessels tasked with carrying out new types of missions, and are to form the backbone of the international operations that the RDN is increasingly focusing on.[4]
The Absalon-class ships are primarily designed for command and support roles, with a large ro-ro deck, but with their many offensive weapons and new anti-submarine weapons and tasks, the class was changed to frigates in 2020. While the following three frigates of the Iver Huitfeldt class will be equipped for a combat role and potentially equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles,[5] a first for the Danish Navy. Although similar to the Absalon-class vessels, these frigates will not have a large ro-ro deck.[6] the frigates received full operational status in 2010 and 2011, replacing the Niels Juel-class corvettes.
Absalon is one of a number of vessels to have been filmed by documentary makers to appear on the Mighty Ships TV programme, detailing the capabilities and stories of the ship and crew.[7]
Service[]
Somali counter-piracy mission[]
Starting in 2008, HDMS Absalon participated in the UN-led counter-piracy mission off Somalia and the east coast of Africa, acting as flagship to the Danish Task Group which led Task Force 150.[8] In September 2008, as part of the task force, Absalon was involved in the capture of 10 pirates, who were eventually set free. On 3 December 2008, after the mandate had been extended,[9] Absalon rescued a disabled skiff with suspected pirates aboard in the Gulf of Aden, 90 miles off the coast of Yemen;[10] the Somali craft was reported to hold rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47 assault rifles, and to have been adrift for several days. Absalon took the sailors and weapons aboard, sank the craft, and turned the sailors over to the Yemeni Coast Guard.[11] Absalon was reportedly the most successful counter-piracy warship in the Gulf of Aden, capturing 88 out of the 250 pirates detained.[12]
On 16 March 2009, Absalon, along with the Turkish frigate TCG Giresun, successfully prevented pirates from capturing the Vietnamese cargo ship .[13][14] Absalon's counter-piracy mission with NATO Task Force 150 in Somali waters ended 1 April 2009, after resulting in the capture of over 80 pirates, some of whom were transferred to the Netherlands for trial.[15]
On 5 February 2010, Absalon helped to rescue the crew of the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged merchant vessel , which was being hijacked by six armed pirates. Absalon dispatched a helicopter and a special forces team, deterring the pirates.[16] On 1 March 2010, Absalon was reported to have sunk a Somali pirate mother ship carrying several pirate speedboats in the Indian Ocean.[17]
On 7 January 2012, Absalon intercepted and boarded a Somali pirate mother ship in the Indian Ocean. The boarding crew freed 14 Iranian and Pakistani fishermen who had been held as hostages for over two months.[18]
The Mediterranean[]
On 30 November 2015, Minister of Defence Peter Christensen, announced that Absalon was to be moved to the Mediterranean Sea, in order to accommodate Turkey's request to NATO, for a larger military presence in the area.[19]
References[]
- ^ "Absalon Class Combat / Flexible Support Ship, Denmark". naval-technology.com. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ "Kronprinsen gav ny fregat navn". DR News (in Danish). 2 November 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ "Støtteskibe af ABSALON-klassen" (in Danish). Royal Danish Navy. Archived from the original on 26 January 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ "An Overview of Current, On-Going Danish Naval projects -- 2005-2009 Absalon class Command and Support Ship (CSS / Transport Frigate)". Canadian American Strategic Review. May 2008. Archived from the original on 24 June 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ Lok, Joris Janssen (July 2008). "Danish Modern : Commercial shipbuilding strategy cuts costs of frigates". Defence Technology International. pp. 28–29. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ "An Overview of Current, On-Going Danish Naval projects 2005-2009 Projekt Patruljeskib – a Patrol Ship or Heavily-Armed Future Frigate". Canadian American Strategic Review. July 2008. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ Mighty Ships Archived 2012-11-04 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Danish navy vessel leads operation against Somali pirates". Monsters and Critics. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
- ^ "ABSALON forlænget i ADEN-bugten". Forsvaret.dk. 2008-11-27. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
- ^ "Suspected pirates rescued in Gulf of Aden". CNN. 5 December 2008. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ Cowell, Alan (5 December 2008). "Danish Navy Rescues Suspected Pirates". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ Danish Newspaper Article[dead link]
- ^ "Đan Mạch, Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ cùng giải cứu tàu hàng Việt Nam". Viet bao.com (in Vietnamese). 16 March 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ "Vietnamese Cargo Ship Rescued From Pirates - Turkish Army". Morningstar.com. 16 March 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2009.[dead link]
- ^ Sørensen, Laura Marie (17 April 2009). "'Absalon' slap 83 pirater fri". Politiken (in Danish). Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ "Nato troops free ship off Somalia after pirate attack". BBC News. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ Lekic, Slobodan (2 March 2010). "NATO warship sinks pirate ship off Somalia". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ "Danish warship captures suspected pirate mothership, frees 14 people off the Horn of Africa". Worldnews.com. 8 January 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ "Denmark sends pirate hunter Absalon to the Mediterranean". DR.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 30 November 2015.
External links[]
Media related to IMO 9284441 at Wikimedia Commons
- 360° images
- Absalon-class support ships
- Ships built in Odense
- 2004 ships
- Amphibious warfare vessels of Denmark
- Piracy in Somalia