Tag Archives: SNMG1

Rock photoex

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How about two great shots of NATO Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT) ships steaming in formation off the Rock of Gibraltar, February 1979.

The flagship destroyer HMCS Iroquois (280) is in the center, carrying a Canadian commodore, Capt.(later RADM) Gordon Lewis “Gordie” Edwards.

Just to the right (her port side) is the British Type 42 class destroyer HMS Sheffield (D 80), which would be lost just three years later in the Falklands War.

On the outside starboard is a Knox-class frigate USS Paul (FF-1080), while outside right is the West German Bundesmarine’s Köln-class frigate Lübeck (F224) with the Leander class frigate HMS Ariadne (F72), and the Dutch Van Speijk-class class (“Dutch Leander“) frigate Zr.Ms. Evertsen (F815) on either side of the Iroquois and Sheffield

Iroquois, a regular in STANAVFORLANT and later SNMG1 service, was kept steaming with a Maple Leaf from her stem until paid off in 2015, capping a 43-year career.

While Lubeck would be retired after 25 years of service, as the Germans tend to like newer ships, she would ironically be joined by Paul as a parts hulk in the Turkish fleet, while Ariadne would go on to a second career in Chile, with the latter sunk as a target in 2004.

Of interest, Evertsen, transferred to Indonesia as KRI Abdul Halim Perdanakusuma (355) in 1989, is still in operation at some 60 years young.

KRI Abdul Halim Perdanakusuma (355) ex Dutch Leander Zr.Ms. Evertsen (F815), photographed in 2024

As for SNMG1, it still sails after STANAVFORLANT’s founding some 58 years ago, and was recently in the high north operating within the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group as part of exercise Neptune Strike 25-3.

Among the participating forces are the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mahan (DDG 72) and Bainbridge (DDG 96), the Royal Danish Navy Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate Niels Jeul (F363), and the Swedish Navy Visby-class corvette HSwMS Helsingborg (K32).

Three Sisters

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How about this striking night shot of a recent transfer of fuel (RAS) from the Norwegian tanker and SNMG1 flagship HMoMS Maud (A530) to the British Type 23 frigate HMS Portland (F79) from the group of ships around the British carrier HMS Prince of Wales.

Photo: Danish Forsvaret

Of note, from July 2024 through January 2025, the Danish Navy has the leadership of Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1)– with a Tactical Staff provided by the Swedish Navy.

Besides HMoMS Maud, shown above, the force includes the Danish frigates Absalon (F341) and Niels Juel (F363), the German Braunschweig (Type K130) class corvette FGS Magdeburg (F261), Dutch Karl Doorman-class frigate HNLMS Van Amstel (F831), the Portuguese Doorman NRP D. Francisco de Almeida (F334), and the Belgian Doorman BNS Louise-Marie (F931).

The Swedish corvette HSwMS Helsingborg, French frigate FS La Fayette, and old Tico USS Normandy also tapped in briefly, making for some great shots.

Three sisters under different flags: Francisco de Almeida (F334), HNLMS Van Amstel (F831), and BNS Louise-Marie (F931)

Three sisters under different flags: Francisco de Almeida (F334), HNLMS Van Amstel (F831), and BNS Louise-Marie (F931)

Three sisters under different flags: Francisco de Almeida (F334), HNLMS Van Amstel (F831), and BNS Louise-Marie (F931)

Three sisters under different flags: Francisco de Almeida (F334), HNLMS Van Amstel (F831), and BNS Louise-Marie (F931)

HMoMS Maud from HMS PoW

HMoMS Maud and Portuguese Doorman NRP D. Francisco de Almeida (F334)

French frigate FS La Fayette, and USS Normandy

The Danish-led naval force SNMG1 has in the past week carried out operations and exercises in the North Sea, the English Channel, and the Irish Sea. The Navy has been cooperating with the British aircraft carrier group centered around the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales. The force has also been deployed to monitor Russian naval activity in the area.

Nice fjord you have there

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SOGNEFJORDEN, Norway (Oct. 2, 2016) Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) ships ESPS Almirante Juan de Borbón (flagship), NRP Alvares Cabral, and FGS Ludwigshafen am Rhein sail through the Sognefjord in Norway.

NATO photo by Petty Officer Luis Sanchez Oller, ESP-N/Released

NATO photo by Petty Officer Luis Sanchez Oller, ESP-N/Released

The Spanish Navy’s Almirante Juan de Borbón (F102) is the second ship of the new F-100 class of air defense frigates and is well-equipped with a SPY-1D phased array “mini-Aegis” radar suite, 48 VLS launch cells and a 5-inch gun in a compact 5,800-ton package (how come we couldn’t have ordered 48 of these for the LCS design!?).

The Portugese Navy’s 3,200-ton NRP Alvares Cabral (F331) is a Vasco da Gama-class fast frigate of the popular German MEKO 200 type and is more modestly equipped for ASW and ASuW action with a suite of guns, torpedoes and Harpoons.

As for the German Navy’s FGS Ludwigshafen am Rhein (F 264) she is a handy K130 Braunschweig-class ocean going corvette of some 1,800-tons. Armed with a 76mm gun and RBS-15 antiship missiles, she is a modern day fast attack craft and would surely prove her worth in combat among a craggy coastal littoral such as the Norwegian coast.

As noted by NATO: SNMG1 is one of four multinational, high readiness groups composed of vessels from various allied countries. These vessels are permanently available to NATO to perform different tasks ranging from participation in exercises to operational missions. These groups provide NATO with a continuous maritime capability and help to establish Alliance presence, demonstrate solidarity, conduct routine diplomatic visits and enhance interoperability among Allied naval forces. They also serve as a consistently ready maritime force of the NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF).

Of course, it reminds me of this painting of a very different time, but the same coast.

"Taks Force of Two Navies" Watercolor by Dwight Shepler, USNR, 1943, depicting U.S. and British warships in the Pentlant Firth during an operation toward the Norwegian coast, coincident with the Sicily invasion, July 1943. Alabama (BB 60) is in the lead, followed by HMS Illustrious and HMS King George V. Three British carrier-based fighters (two "Seafires" and a "Martlet") are overhead. Official USN photo # KN-20381, courtesy of the U.S. Navy Art Collection, Washington, DC, now in the collections of the National Archives.

“Task Force of Two Navies” Watercolor by Dwight Shepler, USNR, 1943, depicting U.S. and British warships in the Pentlant Firth during an operation toward the Norwegian coast, coincident with the Sicily invasion, July 1943. USS Alabama (BB 60) is in the lead, followed by HMS Illustrious and HMS King George V. Three British carrier-based fighters (two “Seafires” and a “Martlet”) are overhead.