Frigates: Adelaide Class

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greendragon
Posts: 179
Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2019 6:16 am

Frigates: Adelaide Class

Unread post by greendragon »

Possibly unnoticed has gone to history the pretty bright idea of purchasing two Adelaide class frigattes (mod OHP) for the Polish NAVY (PN).
The RAN put them on the sell desk - not for all because of modern weapons (AA in particular) and elctronics recently fitted on the ships.
Poland as the NATO member has been a proper buyer so for some two years from 2016 talks were carried out with both sides keen on making a deal.
Visit of the Polish President in 2018 to Australia was to be good occasion to officially sign the contract.
Unfortunately for the Australians (who would recover some money) and for very urgent needs of the PN the plans collapsed.
Purchasing the frigattes was entangled in Polish political swirl in which actually urgent defence needs (PN is very bad state with just two ex USS OHPs and couple of 35 yo Norwegian subs now not fully operational, plus couple of small corvette size warships, amphibious and mine warfare vessels).
While MOD opted for the RAS ships the Ministry of Maritime opposed strongly claiming the ships for the PN should - and would be built in the Polish navy yards run by the Gvt .
Sounds good but what it means?
It means no new ships for the PN in coming 10 plus years for the Gvt run yards have already showed they are not able to successfully design and construct even a medium size corvette type ships as was proved by the case of ORP Gawron multipurpose corvette armed with missiles which today name is ORP Slazak. It has been built for 17 years. A sad record.
In June 2019 the poor craft was still on trials and far from being operational.The ship has been using nickname ORP "Never", and is now classified as "the patrol ship" - pretty big of 1800/2100 tons, 30kts, armed with OTO 3in, 2x30mm canons and short range AA missile; the later rather "ravenge weapon" for outgoing attack a/c because of its born in infra-red specific of use.
Today the PN state is by many called critical - and a reaction of the MOD of a small remark by the (now former) PM Commander in his address that "Polish Navy waits for new ships" caused his dismissal in matter of couple of days .
Future purchase will be aimed at the subs but recently the military spendings have been put into the Land Forces (Patriot missiles, artillery, CC systems etc, etc) and in the latest intent of buying 32 ea of F35.
This change of priority or focusing spendings on land rather than sea means that buying cheap the Adelaides which would be operational with the PN in 2 max 3 years also have had a lot of sense and would provide so much needed improvement in the overall the PL Armed Forces capability.

Regards,

GD
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ivorthediver
Posts: 3659
Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:42 pm
Location: Cambridge Shore Battery

Re: Frigates: Adelaide Class

Unread post by ivorthediver »

Hi GD and welcome back home to the fold ;)

Thank you for your post which was both interesting , yet depressing for you .

You paint a very bleak picture of your Gov and its defence programme , and I can only sympathise with your plight , and commiserate with your feelings of anxiety and frustration at this state of affairs .
"What Ever Floats your Boat"
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jbryce1437
Posts: 1879
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2018 7:28 pm
Location: Roker, Sunderland

Re: Frigates: Adelaide Class

Unread post by jbryce1437 »

Sounds grim GD. It seems as if, pretty soon, the navy will be shore based.

Jim
HMS Raleigh 1963 , HMS Collingwood 1963 & 67 , HMS Ark Royal 1964-7, HMS Undaunted 1968-71, HMS Victory (Fleet Maintenance Group) 1971-72, HMS Exmouth 1972-74
JEM, EM, OEM, LOEM, POOEL
Then 28 years in the Fire Brigade
Retired since 2002
greendragon
Posts: 179
Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2019 6:16 am

Re: Frigates: Adelaide Class

Unread post by greendragon »

It has not last long from the 2019 when all this with the Russian threat appeared to be serious.
The Adelaides with their very much refitted and modern AA capabilities would be much help and useful for defense of the Polish shores.
When the PL minister of maritime announced that Poland is going to build its own design frigattes I said to myself - OK, not in my life.
Not in my life even if I would be 50 years younger.
Being frank Polish naval industry capabilities are no match to other countries yards and warship technologies.
The yards would always go slow for having a contract funded by the Gvt and employment stable for years.
So bye, bye frigattes and any other capable ships.

The last PLN submarine in active duty ORP Orzel (Kilo) the newest ( Norwegian Kobbenshave been already deactivated) sits in yard and is as a letter of her crew which entered some media revealed very dangerous to the crew. Any submerging of this ship was always a bet if she would go up .

It doesn't mean Poland spends too litlle for defense. It should be mentioned that the defence budget is more than recommended by NATO 3% of GNP and the latest purchases are contracts on F35, 250 ea Abrams tanks, Patriot batteries and own production of SP howitzers (guns and control by the UK) and many more.
Needs are huge indeed.

Future of the PLN is very bleak indeed.
Certainly Land Forces and Air Forces must be priority.
Baltic is a pond and it has not changed since 1939.
When war broke out in SEP 1939 the Germans did not operate there and put no effort in employing their Kriegsmarine in war against Poland.
Some destroyers were shelling shores and infamous Schelzwig - Holstein shelled small PL transit base on Westrplatte.
War was carried out on land and as usual it was east-west/opposite directions.
There is some resentment presented by ignorants today and naive Polish folks in 1939 who expected HM navy entering Baltic to support Polish defense.
Thanks God the Brits never been considering their fleet presence on Baltic. What would they do there no one knows. Simply no purpose only heavy losses.
No bases, no logistic, "no nothing".
I can see no changes today. War will be carried on land and air and objectives are there. Poland do not depend on sea traffic - sure depends on land ways of transportation.

As for the Baltic pond.
How one can see this sea seriously when in the 60thies two Polish sailors defected from their communist run country by 15ft long Jack Holt's (also designer of the HM MTB/MGB of WW2) Hornet class fast regatta dinghy to escape to freedom to Sweden.

gd
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