Sa'ar 4-class missile boat
Chilean Navy Sa'ar 4-class fast-attack craft Angamos and Casma perform tactical maneuvering exercises in the Strait Of Magellan
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Class overview | |
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Name: | Saar 4 |
Operators: | |
Preceded by: | Sa'ar 3-class missile boat |
Succeeded by: | Sa'ar 4.5-class missile boat |
General characteristics | |
Type: | Missile boat |
Displacement: | 415 tons (450 tons full loaded) |
Length: | 58 m (190 ft) |
Beam: | 7.62 m (25.0 ft) |
Draught: | 2.4 m (7.9 ft) |
Propulsion: | 4 MTU 16V 538 diesel engines, four shafts, total of 12,800 hp (9,500 kW) |
Speed: | 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph) |
Range: |
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Complement: | 45 officers and crewmen |
Sensors and processing systems: |
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Electronic warfare & decoys: |
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Armament: |
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The Sa'ar 4 or Reshef class missile boats were built based on Israeli Navy designs grounded in accumulated experience derived in the operation of "Cherbourg" (Sa'ar 1, Sa'ar 2, and Sa'ar 3) classes. Thirteen were built at the Israel Shipyards, ten for the Israeli Navy and three for the South African Navy. Another six were built for the South African Navy in South Africa with Israeli assistance.
Sa'ar 4 boats' first battle engagements occurred in the October 1973 Yom Kippur War when two Sa'ar 4 boats, INS Reshef and INS Keshet, engaged Egyptian and Syrian ships and coastal targets. Israel had sold most of its Sa'ar 4 boats to other navies, but INS Nitzachon and INS Atzmaut remained in active Israeli Navy service until 2014.
Contents
Variants
Israel
Ten Sa'ar IV class boats were built for the Israeli Navy. As of 2013[update] only two remain in service. Three were disassembled, with systems taken for use in the construction of Sa'ar 4.5 class vessels. Three vessels and one hull stripped of systems were sold to Chile. Two vessels were sold to Sri Lanka.
Vessel name | Meaning | History | Fate | Status |
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INS Reshef | Spark | Launched in 1973. Commissioned on February 1973. |
Sold to Chile in 1997 as LM-34 Angamos. | Sold |
INS Keshet | Bow | Launched in 1973. Commissioned on August 23 1973. |
Sold to Chile in 1981 as LM-31 Chipana. | Sold |
INS Romach | Lance | Launched in 1974. |
Sold to Chile in 1979 as LM-30 Casma. | Sold |
INS Kidon | Javelin | Launched in 1974. | Disassembled. Various systems reassembled atop Sa'ar 4.5 hull in 1994. The old hull sunk as an underwater memorial. | Retired |
INS Tarshish | Tarshish | Launched in 1975. | Disassembled. Some systems reassembled atop Sa'ar 4.5 hull in 1995. The old hull sold to Chile in 1997 as LM-35 Papudo. | In 1998 cannibalized for spares Chilean Navy |
INS Yaffo | Jaffa | Launched in 1975. | Disassembled. Various systems reassembled atop new Sa'ar 4.5-class missile boat hull in 1998. | Retired |
INS Nitzachon | Victory | Launched on 10 July 1978. Commissioned on September 1978. |
Redirected to anti-submarine warfare. Retired 15 January 2014 |
Retired |
INS Atzmaut | Independence | Launched on 3 December 1978. Commissioned on February 1979. |
Redirected to anti-submarine warfare. Retired 5 March 2014 |
Retired |
INS Moledet | Homeland | Launched in 1979. | Redirected to anti-submarine warfare. Sold to Sri-Lanka in 2000 as SLNS Suranimala. |
Sold |
INS Komemiyut | Sovereignty | Launched in 1980. | Redirected to anti-submarine warfare. Sold to Sri-Lanka in 2000 as SLNS Nandimitra. |
Sold |
South Africa
The Warrior-class strike craft (formerly designated Minister class) in service with the South African Navy are modified Sa'ar IV (Reshef class) fast attack craft.[2] In 1974, a contract was signed with Israeli Military Industries for the construction of three of the modified Reshef class vessels at the Haifa facility of Israeli Shipyards. A further three were built immediately after at the Sandock Austral shipyard in Durban, South Africa, with three more being built at the same facility several years later.[3] The imposition of the international embargo on the sale of arms to South Africa on 4 November 1977 forced the project to be carried out under a cloak of security.[3] The South African variants were fitted with Gabriel missiles, known in South Africa as 'Scorpion' missiles, and had two Oto Melara 76 mm guns instead of a single one with a Phalanx CIWS.
Sri Lanka
In 2000, two of the Israeli boats were sold to the Sri Lankan Navy, forming the Nandimithra Class. It is not certain if these boats retain the Harpoon missile capability, however, these boats retained their Gabriel missile capability.[4]
Greece
The Hellenic Coast Guard uses three Sa'ar 4 patrol boats armed only with a 30 mm gun. A crane is installed at the deck space normally reserved for missiles.[5]
See also
External links
- Israeli Weapons dealer
- Israeli Weapons
- Project Japonica: The secret building of South African Strike Craft in Israel, 1975-79
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sa'ar 4-class missile boat. |
- ↑ Norman Friedman, The Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapon Systems Naval Institute Press, Anapolis, MD, 1989, ISBN 1-55750-262-5, p. 241.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ [1] Archived June 21, 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ http://www.israel-shipyards.com/naval-001.asp
- Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2013
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- Missile boat classes
- Missile boats of the Israeli Navy
- Missile boats of the Chilean Navy
- Missile boats of the South African Navy
- Missile boats of the Sri Lanka Navy
- Active missile boats of Sri Lanka
- Patrol vessels of the Hellenic Coast Guard
- Active patrol vessels of Greece
- Israel–South Africa relations