On 5 October 2007, Belgium retired the Westdiep, its fourth and final Wielingen-class frigate. The ship, shown here, was constructed at Cockerill shipyard in Hoboken, Antwerp, and was the second of four frigates Belgium built during the late 1970s. Sister ships Wielingen, Wandelaar, and Westhinder served with the Westdiep ably through the decades, although the Westhinder was the first of the class to retire, decommissioning in 1993. The remaining three vessels soldiered on into the 21st century, retiring between 2004 and 2007. Bulgaria, which bought the Wandelaar in 2004 and renamed the vessel Druzki, has expressed interest in purchasing two additional ships of the class. The long-serving Wielingen class is being replaced in Belgian service by two retired Karel Doorman—class frigates transferred from the Netherlands and subsequently renamed the Leopold I and Louise Marie.
Australia's longest-serving guided-missile frigate, HMAS Adelaide, will be decommissioned from service on 19 January 2008. This past October the vessel, pictured here, returned to her homeport following a final exercise with allied warships in the Bay of Bengal. Launched on 21 June 1978 the Adelaide-class warship, known as an Oliver Hazard Perry—class frigate in the U.S. Navy, was built by Todd Shipyard in Seattle, Washington, and commissioned on 6 November 1980. In November 2005, HMAS Canberra was the first Australian member of the class to decommission. Other sisters, the Sydney, Darwin, Melbourne, and Newcastle have been significantly modified to launch advanced SM-2 surface-to-air missiles and were fitted with an 8-cell vertical launch system capable of carrying Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles. Following decommissioning at HMAS Stirling, the Adelaide will be sunk off the coast of Terrigal, New South Wales, where she will form an artificial reef.
In December 2007, Brazil accepted the Sir Galahad, a former British Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel, into service and renamed her the Garcia d'Avila. The tank landing ship had previously been named for an amphibious ship that was lost in an Argentine attack during the 1982 Falklands War. The Garcia d'Avila was launched on 13 December 1986 and built by Swan Hunter shipbuilders, at Wallsend-on-Tyne. Entering service in December 1987, the ship displaces 8,600 tons (full load) and carries 340 troops, though more than 500 can be transported in emergencies. Vehicles and personnel can be offloaded by way of bow and stern ramps. The vessel previously served with the British during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, prior to being refitted during 1997-98. She also served with British forces during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The Sir Galahad was decommissioned from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 2006.
Mr. Wertheim, a defense consultant in the Washington, D.C., area, is the author of The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, 15th edition, currently available from the Naval Institute Press at www.usni.org.