{{Short description|Guided-missile destroyer (1970–1998)}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=FGS Rommel D187 passing USS Iowa.jpg |image_caption=''Rommel'' on exercise in the Atlantic in 1986 }}
|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country=Germany |flag={{shipboxflag|Germany|naval}} |name=''Rommel'' |namesake=Erwin Rommel |ordered= |builder=Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine |laid_down=22 August 1967 |launched=1 February 1969 |acquired= |commissioned=2 May 1970 |decommissioned=30 September 1998 |struck=30 June 1999 |renamed= |reclassified= |homeport=Kiel |motto= |nickname= |honors= |fate=Scrapped, 2004 |notes= }}
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption=<ref>{{cite web |url=http://zerstoerer-rommel.de/ |title=D187 Zerstörer Rommel WebPage |publisher=zerstoerer-rommel.de |accessdate=2009-10-09 |archive-date=2010-05-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529204432/http://www.zerstoerer-rommel.de/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> |class= {{sclass|Lütjens|destroyer}} |displacement= {{convert|4460|t|LT|0|abbr=on}} |length= {{convert|134|m|abbr=on}} |beam= {{convert|14|m|abbr=on}} |draft= {{convert|6.4|m|abbr=on}} |depth= |hold_depth= |propulsion=*4 × high pressure superheated steam boilers *2 × turbines *{{convert|70000|PS|abbr=on}} |speed= {{convert|33|kn|lk=in}} |range= |boats= |capacity= |troops= |complement=337 officers and men |armament=*2 × 127 mm/54 Mk 42 mod 10 guns *2 × Rheinmetall Mk 20 RH-202 20 mm autocannons *1 × Mk 13 launcher, 40 Tartar surface-to-air missiles *6 × Mk 32 {{convert|324|mm|0|abbr=on}} torpedo tubes, torpedoes *1 × ASROC launcher, 8 cell |notes= }} }}
The German destroyer '''D187 ''Rommel''''' was one of three {{sclass|Lütjens|destroyer|0}} guided-missile destroyers, a modified version of the American {{sclass|Charles F. Adams|destroyer|4}}, built for the ''Bundesmarine'' (West German Navy) during the 1960s.
==Design and description== The ''Charles F. Adams'' class was based on a stretched {{sclass|Forrest Sherman|destroyer}} hull modified to accommodate smaller RIM-24 Tartar surface-to-air missiles and all their associated equipment. The ships had an overall length of {{convert|134.4|m|ftin|sp=us}}, a beam of {{convert|14.4|m|ftin|sp=us}} and a deep draft of {{convert|4.5|m|ftin|sp=us}}. They displaced {{convert|4526|t|LT|sp=us}} at full load. Their crew consisted of 333 officers and enlisted men.<ref name=g8/>
The ships were equipped with two geared General Electric steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by four D-V2M water-tube boilers. The turbines were intended to produce {{convert|70000|shp|lk=in}} to reach the designed speed of {{convert|36|kn|lk=in}}. The ''Lütjens'' class had a range of {{convert|4500|nmi|lk=in}} at a speed of {{convert|20|kn}}. Unlike their half-sisters, the ships had two macks.<ref name=g8>Gardiner, Chumley & Budzbon, p. 143</ref>
They were armed with two 5"/54 caliber Mark 42 gun forward, one each forward and aft of the superstructure. The ships were fitted with an eight-round ASROC launcher between the funnels. Close-range anti-submarine defense was provided by two triple sets of {{convert|12.75|in|adj=on|disp=flip}} Mk 32 torpedo tubes. The primary armament of the ships was the Tartar surface-to-air missile designed to defend the carrier battle group. They were fired via the single-arm Mk 13 missile launcher and the ships stowed a total of 40 missiles for the launcher.<ref name=g8/>
==Construction and career== ''Rommel'' was laid down on 22 August 1967 by Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine with the hull number DDG-30. She was launched on 1 February 1969, and christened ''Rommel'' by Lucie Maria Rommel, widow of ''Generalfeldmarschall'' Erwin Rommel. The vessel was commissioned on 2 May 1970, and was added to the ''1. Zerstörergeschwader'' (first destroyer squadron), based in Kiel. She operated for 28 years.
On 30 September 1998, ''Rommel'' was decommissioned. The operating licence for the boilers had expired and it was not considered efficient to refit her. She was towed to Wilhelmshaven to be cannibalised for spare parts to support her two sister ships, {{ship|German destroyer|Lütjens|D185|2}} and {{ship|German destroyer|Mölders|D186|2}}. These two vessels continued to serve for five more years. In 2004 the hull of ''Rommel'' was scrapped in Turkey.
==Notes== {{Reflist|30em}}
==Bibliography== *{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1982|isbn=0-87021-733-X}} *{{cite book|last1=Gardiner|first1=Robert|last2=Chumbley|first2=Stephen|last3=Budzbon |first3=Przemysław|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995|year=1995|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=1-55750-132-7|name-list-style=amp}}
==External links== {{commons category|D187 Rommel (ship, 1970)}}
{{Charles F. Adams class destroyer}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rommel (D187)}} Category:Lütjens-class destroyers Category:Ships built in Bath, Maine Category:1969 ships Category:Steam turbine-powered ships Category:Erwin Rommel