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| William Butler Yeats, offshore patrol vessel of the Irish Naval Service |
This
is the fifth photo gallery (see previous posts) from my visit to Kiel,
on the first weekend of the 136th Kiel Week. The Kiel Week (German:
Kieler Woche) or Kiel Regatta is an annual sailing event in Kiel, the
capital of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The first weekend of the Kiel
Week, the famous Naval Base of Kiel, opens its gates for just four hours
per day, for thousands of tourists who are eager to visit the German
Navy warships and dozens of foreign warships which visit the city of
Kiel, to honor the Kiel Week. Τhe Irish Naval Service was represented
by the P63 William Butler Yeats, the third Samuel Beckett class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) which was commissioned in October 2016. The Samuel Beckett class OPVs are the largest and most modern Irish warships today and are named after literary figures. The ships have 90 meters length and over 2,200 tons displacement
at full load. As all Irish warships, the Samuel Beckett class OPVs are armed with an OTO Melara 3in (76mm) automatic gun installed forward of the bridge, two Rheinmetall 20mm Rh-202 guns, and several M2HB 12.7mm heavy machine guns or FN MAG 7.62mm light machine guns. Enjoy photos from my visit aboard LÉ William Butler Yeats, a very modern patrol vessel!
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| View of the stern. Three 20ft containers can be accommodated there. |
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| Deck area suitable for UAV operations |
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| Deck area suitable for UAV operations |
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| MST RHIB |
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| Notice the Rh202 above |
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| MST RHIB |
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| MST RHIB |
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| The port-side Rh202 20mm gun and SharpEye radars on the mast |
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| The OPV has bow-thruster |
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| The OTO Melara gun of the ship |
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| The second MST RHIB |
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| View of the stern deck area |
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| SATCOM antennas |
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| The MST RHIB as seen from the upper deck |
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| Close-up photo of the starboard-side Rh202 gun |
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| The mast of the ship |
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| The gunner is protected by armor shield |
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| Note the German sign! |
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| Chess Dyn. SEA EAGLE EO sensor |
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| One of the many cameras aboard |
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| View from the bridge of the ship |
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| The gun as seen from the bridge |
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| Chess Dynamics SEA EAGLE EO sensor |
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| Mount for heavy machine gun |
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| The 3in gun at the bow deck |
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| The Irish Naval Service banner |
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| Another mount for machine gun |
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| Large free space at the stern of the ship |
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