In November 2016, the German Navy retired its last remaining Type 143A guided missile patrol craft. The four decommissioned units, which include the Hermelin, Zobel, Hyäne and Frettchen (pictured here) were survivors of a ten-vessel class built by German shipyards during the early 1980s. Displacing 390 tons fully loaded, the 189-foot Type 143As were also known as the Gepard-class. These vessels were an evolution of the earlier Type 143 missile boats, but were fitted with more advanced armament than their predecessors. Carrying four Exocet anti-ship missiles, a three-inch gun, and a 21-round Mk-49 RAM surface-to-air missile launcher, they typically operated with a crew of 34 and were powered to a top speed of 36 knots by four MTU diesel engines. Initially expected to retire by 2007, all ten underwent significant refits by the early 2000s, extending their lives more than a decade. Two were retired in 2012 and four more by late 2015.
On 25 October, Ireland’s Naval Service took delivery of a third Samuel Beckett-class offshore patrol ship from Babcock’s Appledore shipbuilders in the United Kingdom, just as the Irish government announced plans to acquire a new fourth unit. This additional order means that the namesake of the class Samuel Beckett (pictured here), along with sisters the James Joyce and the recently delivered William Butler Yeats, will now be joined by another unit sometime in 2018. These 2,000-ton patrol ships are based on the Irish Róisín-class vessels but feature a helicopter flight deck and hangar similar to the single-unit Eithne-class. With a length of 295 feet, beam of 46-feet, and draft of 12-feet, the Beckett-class serve the Irish Naval Service on EEZ patrols in the North Atlantic and are active on fisheries protection, search-and-rescue, and other general patrol duties. Each ship has a crew of 44 and is powered by twin Wärtsilä 6-cylinder diesels with a top speed of 23 knots. The main battery is one 76-mm OTO Melara cannon.
On 30 September, the U.S. Coast Guard transferred two retired Island-class patrol craft to the Republic of Georgia. The 110-foot patrol craft, formerly named the Jefferson Island (WPB-1340) and the Staten Island (WPB-1345, pictured) have been renamed the Ochamchire and Dioskuria respectively. These two 150-ton ships were built by Bollinger Shipyards and originally commissioned in 1991. They were decommissioned in October 2014. A total of 49 Island-class cutters entered U.S. Coast Guard service during the mid-1980s and early 1990s. For U.S. operations, they have a crew of 14 and are armed with a single 25-mm Mk-38 bushmaster gun and two .50 caliber machine guns. They are powered by two Caterpillar 3516 diesel engines, have a top speed of 29.7 knots, a range of 3,300 nm at eight knots, and five day endurance. They have been transferred under the U.S. government’s Excess Defense Articles program. The duo likely will arrive in Georgia during mid-2017 following completion of upgrades, outfitting, and final training of Georgian Coast Guard crews. In Georgian service, the cutters can be expected to conduct coastal patrol missions and help counter illegal smuggling and illicit activities.
Mr. Wertheim, a defense consultant, is the author of the 16th edition of The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, published by the Naval Institute Press (see www.usni.org).