D187 Rommel was a 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...

 of the Bundesmarine (West German

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

 Navy) and later the Deutsche Marine (Navy of reunited Germany

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...

). It was the third and last ship of the Lütjens class

Lütjens class destroyer

The Type 103 Lütjens class was the last class of destroyers in service with the German Navy. They were replaced by the new Sachsen-class frigates, designated frigate even though they are much larger and more capable in all aspects than the Lütjens class destroyers.Basically the ships were Charles F...

, a modification of the Charles F. Adams class

Charles F. Adams class destroyer

The Charles F. Adams class is a ship class of 29 guided missile destroyers built between 1958 and 1967. Twenty three ships were built for the United States Navy, 3 for the Royal Australian Navy, and 3 for the West German Bundesmarine. The ships were based on the existing Forrest Sherman class, but...

.

Rommel was laid down August 22, 1967, 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...

 of Bath, Maine

Bath, Maine

Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 9,266. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County. Located on the Kennebec River, Bath is a port of entry with a good harbor. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its...

 with the hull number

Hull classification symbol

The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration use hull classification symbols to identify their ship types and each individual ship within each type...

 DDG-30. On February 1, 1969, she was launched and baptised Rommel by Lucie Maria Rommel, widow of Generalfeldmarschall

Generalfeldmarschall

Field Marshal or Generalfeldmarschall in German, was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire; in the Austrian Empire, the rank Feldmarschall was used...

 Erwin Rommel

Erwin Rommel

Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....

. On May 2, 1970, she was commissioned into the 1. Zerstörergeschwader (first destroyer squadron), based in Kiel.

On September 30, 1998, she had to be decommissioned, because the operating licence for the boilers expired. She was then towed to 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:...

 and cannibalised

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...

 for spare parts for her two sisters, Lütjens

FGS Lütjens (D185)

Lütjens was a guided missile destroyer of the Bundesmarine and later the Deutsche Marine . She was the lead ship of the Lütjens class, a modification of the Charles F. Adams class...

 and Mölders

FGS Mölders (D186)

D186 Mölders was a guided missile destroyer of the Bundesmarine and later the Deutsche Marine . It was the second ship of the Lütjens class, a modification of the Charles F. Adams class....

, which continued to serve for five more years. In 2004 she was finally 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...

.