SAS President Kruger
President Kruger leaving New York City in July 1976 after the United States Bicentennial celebrations | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| South Africa | |
| Name | President Kruger |
| Namesake | Paul Kruger |
| Ordered | 18 September 1957 |
| Builder | Yarrow Shipbuilders, Scotstoun, Glasgow |
| Launched | 20 October 1960 |
| Commissioned | 3 October 1962 |
| Identification | Pennant number: F150 |
| Nickname(s) | 'PK' |
| Fate | Sunk after a collision with Tafelberg, 18 February 1982 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class & type | President-class frigate |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 370 ft 0 in (112.78 m) |
| Beam | 41 ft 0 in (12.5 m) |
| Draught | 17 ft 6 in (5.33 m) (deep load) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) |
| Range | 4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement | 214 |
| Sensors & processing systems |
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| Armament |
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SAS President Kruger was the first of three President-class Type 12 frigates built in the United Kingdom for the South African Navy (SAN) during the 1960s. The ship spent most of her career training and made visits to foreign ports in Africa, Western Europe and the United States. In the late 1960s, she was modernized and equipped to operate a helicopter. In the mid-1970s, President Kruger played a minor role in the South African Border War, conducting patrol operations off the Angolan coast. The ship was placed in reserve in 1977, but was recommissioned in 1980. She sank in 1982 with the loss of 16 lives after colliding with her replenishment oiler, SAS Tafelberg, in the South Atlantic.