The Lübeck spirit

After 32 years, the Lübeck will soon be decommissioned. She is the last ship of the 122 class, and this also marks the end of an era for the German Navy.

Even if all ships in a class look (almost) the same on the outside, each has its own character. As they say in the Royal Navy: same but different. But what makes the "Lucky Lübeck" and her crew so special? Especially since the frigate Augsburg was decommissioned in 2019, a very special mood has taken hold among the crew. While they were already proud of "their" ship, they now had that last of the class spark. With motivation and dedication, even more attention was now paid to the ship. The old lady was to be kept running and operational, using spare parts from her sisters who had already been decommissioned. The coats of arms of all eight 122s were proudly and lovingly applied by hand to the Sea Sparrow launcher.

Once again, the crew of the frigate Lübeck gave their all for their ship. But the final end is approaching. Photo: Bw/Inken Behne

As the last workhorse of the Navy, the Lübeck had a lot to do, especially in the last two operating periods from 2016 to 2022. Two German Operational Sea Trainings, one of them with an on-board helicopter of the Royal Navy and the second as a test platform of the GOST GEA model by the Operational Training Group. In addition, there were two FK shootings off Norway, participation in the Carrier Strike Group around the French aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle, the manoeuvres Joint Warrior, Northern Coasts and Baltops, the German ASW manoeuvre Vision 2020, four participations in the operationally equivalent commitment Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG 2) NATO Support Aegean, various ISEX and an HCDLQ with the embarkation of on-board helicopters. In between, there were maintenance phases that demanded a lot from the crew. The men and women on board never lost sight of their goals: the upcoming voyage, the next mission or the due timeline for repairs. This placed enormous demands on the crew. An above-average amount of time away from home was coupled with many changes of plan. Particularly noteworthy are the extension of the service life or the rescheduling of four months of Eunavfor Med Irini to five months of SNMG 2, including an earlier departure.

The effects of the corona pandemic should not even be mentioned here. But here, too, the spirit of the crew was evident. Similar to their first Basic Operational Sea Training in Portland, where they were nicknamed "Lucky Lübeck", everyone remained motivated, polite and professional. The crew stuck together and, through self-discipline, adherence to hygiene concepts and certainly a certain amount of luck, managed to ensure that there was neither a coronavirus outbreak on board nor that operational capability was jeopardised at any time. It is therefore not surprising that the crew underwent training and further training every day, even during deployment, in order to maintain or even improve the level already achieved. When the war in Ukraine began during the last deployment, it was clear that if the Lübeck was needed as part of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, it would be able to fulfil its tasks there. The crew was well trained and the ship was capable of doing so, because even in its last year the Lübeck was in excellent technical condition and did not have to shy away from comparison with the rest of the fleet. With the exception of two short periods when the TRS-3D air surveillance radar failed, the ship was operational at all times. This is due not least to the dedication and expertise of the crew. In this context, the external appearance should not go unmentioned. The upper deck and hull were regularly maintained and given a fresh coat of polish. The Lübeck may not have been the youngest on the seas, but people turned round to look at her with appreciation, because her age did not show.

Even if the crew is now dispersed throughout the fleet, the spirit of the frigate Lübeck will live on for some time to come. Even if it is only when the song "Hells Bells" by AC/DC is played somewhere.

Florian Wolf is XXX. Ship's Operations Officer of the frigate Lübeck.

Florian Wolf