The Jacob van Heemskerck class frigate was a class

Ship class

A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship-type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, the is a nuclear aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class....

 of frigates of the Royal Netherlands Navy

Royal Netherlands Navy

The Koninklijke Marine is the navy of the Netherlands. In the mid-17th century the Dutch Navy was the most powerful navy in the world and it played an active role in the wars of the Dutch Republic and later those of the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands...

. They were built to be an air defence version of the Kortenaer class frigate

Kortenaer class frigate

The Kortenaer class was a class of frigates of the Royal Netherlands Navy. They were built to be a general purpose frigate; able to combat all surface, submarine and aircraft targets. Like some of the other frigates of the 1970s and 1980s, they featured a COGOG propulsion system...

. 2 ships were built for the Dutch Navy and have recently been sold to the Chilean Navy

Chilean Navy

-Independence Wars of Chile and Peru :The Chilean Navy dates back to 1817. A year before, following the Battle of Chacabuco, General Bernardo O'Higgins prophetically declared "this victory and another hundred shall be of no significance if we do not gain control of the sea".This led to the...

. The helicopter was replaced by a Standard

RIM-66 Standard

The RIM-66 Standard MR is a medium range surface-to-air missile originally developed for the United States Navy . The SM-1 was developed as a replacement for the RIM-2 Terrier and RIM-24 Tartar that were deployed in the 1950s on a variety of USN ships...

 medium range SAM

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...

 system and associated radars

Ships

Two ships were built by Royal Schelde dockyard. The ships were named after Admirals as is usual practice in the Royal Netherlands Navy.

• F812 Jacob van Heemskerck ,

named after Jacob van Heemskerk

Jacob van Heemskerk

Jacob van Heemskerk was a Dutch explorer and later admiral commanding the Dutch fleet at the Battle of Gibraltar.-Arctic exploration:...

,

laid down 21 January 1981,

launched 5 November 1983,

completed 15 January 1986.

Sold to Chile in 2005 as the Almirante Latorre (named after Juan José Latorre

Juan José Latorre

Juan José Latorre Benavente Chilean Vice Admiral, one of the principal actors of the War of the Pacific, and hero of the Battle of Angamos.-Early life:...

) and is currently (2009) in service

• F813 Witte de With,

named after Witte Corneliszoon de With

Witte Corneliszoon de With

Witte Corneliszoon de With was a famous Dutch naval officer of the 17th century.- Early life and childhood :...

,

laid down 15 December 1981,

launched 25 August 1984,

completed 17 September 1986.

Sold to Chile in 2005 as the Capitán Prat (named after Arturo Prat

Arturo Prat

Agustín Arturo Prat Chacón was a Chilean navy officer. He was killed shortly after boarding the Peruvian armored monitor Huáscar at the Naval Battle of Iquique after the ship under his command, the Esmeralda, was rammed by the Peruvian monitor...

) and is currently (2009) in service