Belgian frigate Leopold I

Last updated

Hr.Ms. Karel Doorman (F827) (2158 009646).jpg
HNLMS Karel Doorman
History
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands
NameKarel Doorman
Namesake Schout-bij-nacht Karel Doorman
Builder Koninklijke Schelde Groep, Vlissingen (Netherlands)
Laid down26 February 1985
Launched20 April 1988
Commissioned31 May 1991
Decommissioned2006
IdentificationF827
FateSold to Belgium on 22 December 2005, and transferred on 29 March 2007
Naval Ensign of Belgium.svg Belgium
NameLeopold I
Namesake King Leopold I of Belgium
Christened29 March 2007, by Queen Fabiola of Belgium
AcquiredPurchased on 22 December 2005, from the Royal Netherlands Navy
In service29 March 2007
Homeport Zeebrugge Naval Base
Identification
MottoAudaces Fortuna Juvat ("Fortune favours the bold"; Latin)
StatusActive
Badge Leopold 1 crest.jpg
General characteristics
Class and type Karel Doorman-class frigate
Displacement2,800 tonnes
Length122.325 m (401 ft 3.9 in)
Beam14.37 m (47 ft 2 in)
Draught6.2 m (20 ft 4 in)
Speed24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph)
Complement15 officers, 70 NCOs, 60 sailors
Armament
Aircraft carried1 x NH90 NFH helicopter

Leopold I (F930) is a Karel Doorman-class frigate of the Marine Component of the Belgian Armed Forces. Prior to 29 March 2007, the ship was known as HNLMS Karel Doorman (F827). It is one of the two frigates of this class purchased from the Royal Netherlands Navy on 22 December 2005.

Contents

HNLMS Karel Doorman

Karel Doorman, view from the stern Bouw van het fregat Karel Doorman (F827) bij de Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde. Het schip tijdens een van de proefvaarten (2158 009631).jpg
Karel Doorman, view from the stern

HNLMS Karel Doorman was the first ship of the Karel Doorman class of multi-purpose frigates (also known as "M-fregat" class). She was the third ship in the Royal Netherlands Navy to be named after Admiral Karel Doorman, who was killed during the Battle of the Java Sea. The ship was laid down on 26 February 1985, launched on 20 April 1988 and commissioned on 31 May 1991.

She took part in anti-drug operations in the Caribbean together with the US Navy, was part of the UN operations in the Adriatic Sea during the conflicts in the former republics of Yugoslavia, as well as various NATO exercises.

Leopold I

Belgian frigate Leopold I LEOPOLD I 6875.JPG
Belgian frigate Leopold I

On 20 July 2005, the Belgian government decided to buy two of the remaining six Dutch M-class frigates to replace the two remaining frigates of the Wielingen class (Wielingen and Westdiep) then in service with the Belgian Naval Component. On 22 December 2005, Karel Doorman and Willem van der Zaan were sold to Belgium.

Karel Doorman was taken out of service in 2006 and turned over to the Belgian Marine Component on 29 March 2007 where the ship was christened Leopold I, in honour of the first King of the Belgians, by Queen Fabiola of Belgium at Zeebrugge Marine Base. The patronage of Leopold I was accepted by the city of Nivelles. Willem van der Zaan was commissioned into the Belgian Marine Component as Louise-Marie in April 2008.

East African deployment

Leopold I embarked upon her first official mission for the Naval Component on 5 September 2007. She was deployed to East Africa as part of the international mission against Somali pirates. The operation was given the codename East African Venture. On 30 November 2007 she arrived back at her home port of Zeebrugge, marking the end of the deployment.

Fight against ISIL

In November 2015, a French Navy press release stated that Leopold I would be part of the Charles de Gaulle task force launching strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Her deployment took place from 18 November 2015 to 4 January 2016. [1]

Coronavirus pandemic

Belgian Defense announced on 25 March 2020 that a crew member had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. [2] The sailor had been evacuated via air to Den Helder on 20 March 2020 after he began showing symptoms, and was quarantined at home when the test returned positive on 24 March. [3] [4] [5] As a precaution, the ship broke off from its operation with the French carrier battle group led by Charles de Gaulle and returned to Zeebrugge on 27 March 2020, about a month earlier than planned. [3] [6]

Related Research Articles

The Royal Netherlands Navy is the maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It was founded on 8 January 1488, making it the third-oldest naval force in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goalkeeper CIWS</span> Close-in weapon system

The Goalkeeper CIWS is a Dutch close-in weapon system (CIWS) introduced in 1979. It is an autonomous and completely automatic weapon system for short-range defence of ships against highly maneuverable missiles, aircraft and fast-maneuvering surface vessels. Once activated the system automatically undertakes the entire air defence process from surveillance and detection to destruction, including the selection of the next priority target.

French aircraft carrier <i>Charles de Gaulle</i> French aircraft carrier

Charles de Gaulle is the flagship of the French Navy. The ship, commissioned in 2001, is the tenth French aircraft carrier, the first French nuclear-powered surface vessel, and the only nuclear-powered carrier completed outside of the United States Navy. She is named after French president and general Charles de Gaulle.

HNLMS <i>Karel Doorman</i> (R81) Colossus class aircraft carrier

HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81) was a Colossus-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Formerly the British ship HMS Venerable, she was sold to the Netherlands in 1948 as a light attack carrier. In 1960, she was involved in the decolonization conflict in Western New Guinea with Indonesia. In the mid 1960s, her role was changed to anti-submarine warfare carrier and only ASW aircraft and helicopters were carried. An engine room fire took her out of service in 1968. She was sold to Argentina in 1969 and renamed ARA Veinticinco de Mayo.

<i>Karel Doorman</i>-class frigate Ship class

The Karel Doorman-class frigates are a series of eight multi-purpose vessels built for the Royal Netherlands Navy. Its namesake is Karel Doorman, a Dutch naval officer whose ship was struck by a Japanese torpedo in the Battle of the Java Sea in 1942, and went down with his ship as a result.

French frigate <i>Chevalier Paul</i> Horizon-class frigate of the French Navy

Chevalier Paul is a Horizon-class frigate of the French Marine Nationale commissioned in June 2009, the third vessel of the French Navy named after the 17th century admiral Chevalier Paul. The main mission of this type of ship is the escort and protection of a carrier strike group formed around an aircraft carrier, usually Charles de Gaulle or one of the aircraft carriers of the US Navy, or an amphibious operation carried out by amphibious helicopter carriers. The ship's specialty is air traffic control in a war zone, but it can be employed in a wide variety of missions, such as intelligence-gathering, special forces operations, or in protecting less well-armed vessels. Horizon-class frigates such as Chevalier Paul are the most powerful surface combatants that France has ever built. In service since the end of 2011, it bears the pennant number D621. Its namesake is Jean-Paul de Saumeur, better known as Chevalier Paul, a French naval officer born in Marseille in 1598.

The Force d'action navale is the 9,600-man and about 100-ship force of surface warships of the French Navy. As of August 2023, it is commanded by L’amiral Nicolas Vaujour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belgian Navy</span> Naval warfare branch of the Belgian Armed Forces

The Belgian Navy, officially the Naval Component of the Belgian Armed Forces, is the naval service of Belgium.

HNLMS <i>Karel Doorman</i> (A833) Multi-function support ship

HNLMS Karel Doorman is a multi-function support ship for amphibious operations of the Royal Netherlands Navy, which is also used by the German Navy. The ship replaced both of the navy's replenishment oilers: HNLMS Zuiderkruis and HNLMS Amsterdam. At 204.7 m she is the largest ship in service with the Royal Netherlands Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">40th Heli Squadron (Belgium)</span> Belgian military unit

The 40th Heli Squadron is a helicopter squadron of the Air Component based at Koksijde Air Base. It is dedicated to search and rescue, anti-submarine warfare and troop transportation operations. It operates four NH90 NFH helicopters. Before the arrival of the NH90 NFH the squadron operated Westland Sea King and Alouette III helicopters on behalf of the Maritime Component, the Squadron embarks a helicopter on F930 Leopold I and F931 Louise-Marie - Karel Doorman class frigates when sailing on deployment and has also have had helicopter embarked on Dutch frigates as well

Belgian frigate <i>Louise-Marie</i> Belgian Navy frigate, purchased in 2005

Louise-Marie (F931) is a Karel Doorman-class frigate of the Marine Component of the Belgian Armed Forces that was commissioned in 2008. It is the second of the two frigates of this class that were purchased from the Royal Netherlands Navy on 22 December 2005. It was originally commissioned in 1991 in the Netherlands, where it served as HNLMS Willem van der Zaan (F829).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Atalanta</span> European anti-piracy military operation

Operation Atalanta, formally European Union Naval ForceSomalia, is an ongoing counter-piracy military operation at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean, that is the first naval operation conducted by the European Union (EU), in support of United Nations resolutions 1814, 1816, 1838, and 1846 adopted in 2008 by the United Nations Security Council. Since 29 March 2019, the operational headquarters is located at Naval Station Rota in Spain, having moved from London as a result of the British withdrawal from the EU.

Two ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy have been named HNLMS Willem van der Zaan in honour of the 17th century Schout-bij-nacht Willem Van Der Zaan.

Bulgarian frigate <i>Drazki</i>

Drazki is a Wielingen-class frigate of the Bulgarian Navy. Originally constructed for and operated by the Belgian Naval Component as Wandelaar, the frigate was designed as a platform capable of multiple uses as an escort during the Cold War in the North Sea and English Channel. The vessel uses weapons and sensor technology from NATO counterparts, which was one of the reasons the ship was acquired by the Bulgarian Navy in 2004. The frigate is currently in active service.

Chilean frigate <i>Almirante Riveros</i> (FF-18)

Almirante Riveros (FF-18) is a Karel Doorman-class frigate of the Chilean Navy. Built by the shipyard Koninklijke Schelde Groep in Vlissingen, the ship was previously in use by the Royal Netherlands Navy as HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes until 2006.

HNLMS <i>Abraham van der Hulst</i> (F832)

HNLMS Abraham van der Hulst was a ship of the Karel Doorman-class of multi-purpose frigates of the Royal Netherlands Navy where it used the radio call sign was "PAMF". Built by the shipyard Koninklijke Schelde Groep in Vlissingen. The ship is named after the Dutch Admiral Abraham van der Hulst. She was sold to the Chilean Navy where the ship was renamed Almirante Blanco Encalada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Sophia</span> European Union Military Operation in the Mediterranean Sea

Operation Sophia, formally European Union Naval Force Mediterranean, was a military operation of the European Union that was established as a consequence of the April 2015 Libya migrant shipwrecks with the aim of neutralising established refugee smuggling routes in the Mediterranean. The operational headquarters was located in Rome. The EU mandate for the operation ended on March 31, 2020. Operation Irini is the successor operation.

NRP <i>Dom Francisco de Almeida</i> (F334) Frigate

HNLMS Van Galen (F834) is a ship of the Karel Doorman class of multi-purpose frigates of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Built by the shipyard Koninklijke Schelde Groep in Vlissingen. The ship is named after captain and convoy commander Johan van Galen and served from 1994 to 2008 with the Dutch navy. The radio call sign of the frigate was "PAMG". In 2009 HNLMS Van Galen was sold to Portugal. The ship was transferred in 2010 to the Portuguese Navy, where the ship was put into service as the NRP Dom Francisco de Almeida (F334).

COVID-19 pandemic on <i>Charles de Gaulle</i> Ongoing COVID-19 viral pandemic on Charles de Gaulle

In April 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic reached the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and the Aeronaval Group of the Naval Action Force, its carrier battle group.

This article represents the structure of the Belgian Armed Forces as of May 2020:

References

  1. ↑ "Mission Arromanches 2 : Déploiment du GAN en Méditerranée orientale et dans l'Océan Indien". colsbleus.fr (in French). 18 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  2. ↑ @BelgiumDefence (25 March 2020). "Despite all the precautions taken, a case of contamination COVID19 has been confirmed among the crew of the frigate Leopold I." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. 1 2 "Contamination au Coronavirus: Le Leopold I Reste à Quais" (in French). Belgian Military. 27 March 2020. Archived from the original on 22 April 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  4. ↑ "Corona infection on board Belgian frigate Leopold I". vrt.be. 25 March 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  5. ↑ "Covid-19. Did Belgium make the right choice by interrupting the Foch mission". bruxelles2.eu. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  6. ↑ "French Carrier Strike Group Begins 'Foch' Deployment". navalnews.com. 22 January 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.