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HDMS Olfert Fischer (F355)
Encyclopedia
HDMS Olfert Fischer (F355) is a of the Kongelige Danske Marine (Royal Danish Navy
Royal Danish Navy
The Royal Danish Navy is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish, Greenlandic and Faroese territorial waters...
, KDM).
Laid down in December 1978 and commissioned in October 1981, the corvette operated in the Persian Gulf on two occasions, first in 1990 and 1991 as part of the multinational fleet enforcing the United Nations sanctions against Iraq
Iraq sanctions
The Iraq sanctions were a near-total financial and trade embargo imposed by the United Nations Security Council on the nation of Iraq. They began August 6, 1990, four days after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, stayed largely in force until May 2003 , and certain portions including reparations to Kuwait...
, then again in 2003 in support of the United States-led invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. Oelfert Fischer was deployed as part of the NATO Standing Naval Force Atlantic (and its successor, the Standing NATO Response Force Maritime Group 1) on at least four occasions during her career.
Olfert Fischer and her two sister ships were decommissioned in August 2009, and are awaiting disposal. The corvette is to be replaced by a
Design
The corvettes are fitted with an Otobreda 76 mmOtobreda 76 mm
The Otobreda 76 mm gun is a naval artillery piece built by the Italian defence conglomerate Otobreda. It is based on the Oto Melara 76mm/L62 Allargato, which was bigger and heavier...
main gun, two quad RGM-84C Harpoon
Boeing Harpoon
The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile system, developed and manufactured by McDonnell Douglas . In 2004, Boeing delivered the 7,000th Harpoon unit since the weapon's introduction in 1977...
Surface-to-surface missile
Surface-to-surface missile
A surface-to-surface missile is a guided projectile launched from a hand-held, vehicle mounted, trailer mounted or fixed installation or from a ship. They are often powered by a rocket motor or sometimes fired by an explosive charge, since the launching platform is typically stationary or moving...
(SSM) launchers, a Mod 3 VLS Sea Sparrow Surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
(SAM) launcher carrying 12 missiles, two FIM-92A Stinger
FIM-92 Stinger
The FIM-92 Stinger is a personal portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile , which can be adapted to fire from ground vehicles and helicopters , developed in the United States and entered into service in 1981. Used by the militaries of the U.S...
SAM launchers, two 20 mm Oerlikon
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original design by Reinhold Becker of Germany, very early in World War I, and widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others...
anti-aircraft guns, seven 12.7 mm M/01 LvSa machine guns, and a Mark 3 Depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
launcher.
Olfert Fischers radar suite consists of two Terma Scanter Mil 009 units for navigation, an EADS TRS-3D air search unit, and a CelsiusTech 9GR 600 surface search unit. Fire control
Fire control
control of fire 'control of fire' is the practice of reducing the heat output of a fire, or reducing the area over which the fire exists, or suppressing or extinguishing the fire by depriving a fire of fuel, oxygen or heat ....
is provided by a CelsiusTech 9 LV 200 gun radar, and a General Dynamics Mk 95 missile radar. She is fitted with a Plessey PMS-26 hull-mounted sonar. The corvette is fitted with a Rascall Cutlass B-1 intercept unit, a Telgon HFD/F unit, and four 6-round Seagnat
Seagnat
The Seagnat Control System is a decoy system used on many NATO warships to safeguard against incoming missiles...
Mk 36 chaff launchers.
Construction
The three ships were built by Alborg Vaerft, at their shipyard in Alborg, Denmark. Olfert Fischer was the second to be built: she was laid down on 6 December 1978, and launched on 12 January 1980.Althoigh scheduled to commission on 25 May 1981, a fire broke out in the engine room eleven days prior, and the time required to repair the ship meant that she missed this date. Oelfert Fischer entered service on 16 October 1981. The corvette, along with her two sister ships, was based at Korsør
Korsør
Korsør is a Danish town and port. It is out on the Great Belt, on the Zealand side, just south of where the Great Belt Bridge lands. It was the site of the municipal council of Korsør municipality - today it is part of Slagelse municipality...
on Sealand Island.
Operational history
Following the Iraqi invasion and occupation of KuwaitInvasion of Kuwait
The Invasion of Kuwait, also known as the Iraq-Kuwait War, was a major conflict between the Republic of Iraq and the State of Kuwait, which resulted in the seven-month long Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, which subsequently led to direct military intervention by United States-led forces in the Gulf...
at the start of August 1990, the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
imposed sanctions against Iraq
Iraq sanctions
The Iraq sanctions were a near-total financial and trade embargo imposed by the United Nations Security Council on the nation of Iraq. They began August 6, 1990, four days after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, stayed largely in force until May 2003 , and certain portions including reparations to Kuwait...
, and asked that member nations contribute forces to help implement them. On 31 August, the Danish Parliament decided that a single ship, Olfert Fischer, would make up the Danish contribution. The corvette was to enforce the UN sanctions only; she was not to become involved in the developing Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
. She was accompanied and supported by a Norwegian supply ship. The Gulf War deployment, which ended in September 2001, was the first time a Danish warship had operated outside the European region. The deployment marked a change in Danish attitudes and actions towards international security and foreign policy.
During 1992, 1994, and 1995, Olfert Fischer was assigned to the NATO Standing Naval Force Atlantic.
StanFlex
StanFlex is a modular mission payload system used by the Kongelige Danske Marine ....
modular mission payload slots (which are normally fitted with two six-round Sea Sparrow launchers), while the air search radar was updated.
In 2003, Olfert Fischer, the submarine HDMS Sælen
HDMS Sælen (S323)
HDMS Sælen is one of the three Tumleren-class small coastal submarines of the Kongelige Danske Marine ....
, and a 380-strong force of soldiers were sent to the Gulf region to support the United States-led invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
.
During 2007, the corvette was assigned to the Standing NATO Response Force Maritime Group 1.