SANDF Chief Nyanda to Welcome 4th Corvette
South African National Defence Force Chief General Siphiwe Nyanda is expected to officiate at the arrival of the fourth and last patrol corvette, the SAS Mendi.
The corvette will arrive in Cape Town from Kiel, Germany, on Friday.
To commemorate the event, the SA Navy will also be holding a fleet review of all four corvettes in False Bay.
SAS Mendi sails from Kiel this week and will join three other similar ships, SAS Amatola, SAS Isandlwana and SAS Spioenkop already in Simon's Town.
Mrs Helena Retief, wife of the chief of the navy Rear Admiral John Retief had the honour of naming the new stealth corvette after the SS Mendi, a troopship that was sunk in the English Channel during World War I.
The SAS Mendi, on her way to South Africa, will be visiting Brest, France and Rota and Spain.
She will also be laying a wreath on the waters where the former SAS Mendi, the ship she was named after, sank during a collision on 21 February 1917.
The Amatola arrived in South African waters last November, the Isandhlwana in February this year and the Spioenkop in May.
The German Frigate Consortium at Hamburg and Kiel built all four ships.
The SA Navy said SAS Mendi contractors would commence fitting her combat suit and weapons systems upon arrival.
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14 Septembre 2004 à 17:56 dans
- zsandf (anglais)
