Vasco da Gama-class frigate
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![]() NRP Corte Real
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Class overview | |
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Name | Vasco da Gama , MEKO 200 PN |
Builders | |
Operators | ![]() |
In commission | 1991 - present |
Completed | 3 |
Active | 3 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Frigate |
Displacement |
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Length | 115.9 m (380 ft) |
Beam | 14.8 m (49 ft) |
Draught | 6.2 m (20 ft) |
Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range | 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h) |
Complement |
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Sensors and processing systems | |
Electronic warfare & decoys |
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Armament |
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Aviation facilities | Flight deck and hangar for 2 Super Lynx Mk.95 helicopters |
The Vasco da Gama class is a class of frigates of the Portuguese Navy. Named in honor of the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, the ships are based on the German MEKO 200 design, and are Portugal's major surface ships. Portugal operates three ships of this class, which were built in Hamburg by Blohm + Voss (B&V) and by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) in Kiel, using modular construction techniques.
The project for the construction of three frigates of this class was authorized by the Portuguese Government in 1985, five years after the request of the Portuguese Navy for the acquisition of new surface ships. According to Conway's, 60% of the funding for these ships came from NATO military aid. Similar ships have been built for the navies of Greece, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand.
Ships[]
Pennant | Name | Laid down | Shipyard | Launched | Commissioned | Photo |
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F330 | Vasco da Gama | 2 February 1989 | B&V, Hamburg | 26 June 1989 | 18 January 1991 | ![]() |
F331 | Álvares Cabral | 2 June 1989 | HDW, Kiel | 6 June 1990 | 24 May 1991 | |
F332 | Corte-Real | 20 October 1989 | HDW, Kiel | 22 November 1991 | 1 February 1992 | ![]() |
Similar ships[]
- MEKO
- Hydra-class frigate - Greece
- Anzac-class frigate - Australia and New Zealand
- Barbaros-class frigate - Turkey
- Yavuz-class frigate - Turkey
See also[]
References[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vasco da Gama class frigates. |
- (in Portuguese) Vasco da Gama class, Portuguese Navy website
- Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995
- Vasco da Gama-class frigates
- Frigate classes