SAS President Steyn
Open-knowledge reference entry
SAS President Steyn was the second of three President-class Type 12 frigates built in the United Kingdom for the South African Navy (SAN) to use during the 1960s. The ship spent most of her career training and made many visits to foreign ports in Africa, Western Europe and Australia. In the late 1960s, she was modernized and equipped to operate a helicopter. In the mid-1970s, President Steyn played a minor role in the Angolan Civil War as a part of South African operations against the communists. The ship was withdrawn from service in 1980 and was sunk as a target in 1991. This happened after financial problems prevented her from being reactivated.
Description
The President-class ships displaced 2,170 long tons (2,200 t) at standard load and 2,605 long tons (2,647 t) at deep load. They had an overall length of 370 ft 0 in (112.78 m), a beam of 41 ft 0 in (12.5 m) and a mean deep draught of 17 ft 6 in (5.33 m). The ships were powered by a pair of English Electric geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by two Babcock & Wilcox boilers. The turbines developed a total of 30,000 shaft horsepower (22,000 kW) which gave a maximum speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph).
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