During the Cold War, the frigates Peder Skram and her sister ship Herluf Trolle were the command ships of the fleet. From here, the Danish and West German fleets' invasion defense of Northwest Germany and Denmark would be led.
PEDER SKRAM was able to participate in the defense of Denmark itself and was equipped with both cannons, missiles and torpedoes for the task. In addition, the frigates were fast and seaworthy, among other things due to their machinery, where they were the first large warships with a combination of gas turbines and diesel engines with adjustable propeller blades to regulate the speed.
In 1982, PEDER SKRAM became world-famous in Denmark when a Harpoon missile was accidentally fired from the frigate.
The missile detonated in a summer house area in Lumsås at Sjællands Odde.
The explosion completely destroyed four summer houses and damaged 130 others. Fortunately, no one was injured.
SHIP NUMBER
Each crew member had a ship number on board and was divided into the King's and Queen's quarters. The former included crew members with odd numbers and the latter included those with even numbers. The ship number indicated where the individual crew member was to be during the various tasks that had to be solved in connection with, for example, combat, casualty and harbour manoeuvres.
The crew was also divided into 4 divisions: the Operations, Weapons, Engineering and Administration Divisions. The Operations Division took care of the tactical and communication aspects. The Weapons Division took care of the frigate's weapons systems and their maintenance. The Engineering Division took care of the propulsion machinery, auxiliary engines and electrical systems. The Administration Division took care of the administrative aspects, including pay, catering and accommodation of the crew.
The ship's commander, his deputy, second-in-command and the 4 division commanders made up the ship's management. They were the only ones who had their own cabin. The other officers and warrant officers were normally housed in 2-man cabins. The privates lived in common bunks, where they slept in fixed bunks in 3 rows above each other. The officers ate (ate) in the officers' mess, sergeants and master sergeants ate in the sergeant's mess, and the privates ate in a common mess, also called the cafeteria.
THE CREW
The crew consisted of officers, sergeants, private constables and, in the beginning, also conscripted privates. From 1966 to 1977, the crew was 202 men.
After the armament and the transition to a computer-based plotter system, the crew could be reduced to 172 men in 1977, divided between 22 officers, 20 sergeants and 130 private marine constables and conscripted naval guests.
In the event of increased readiness, the crew was increased by 4 officers and 15 constables. Officers and sergeants lived in single or 2-man cabins with a shared bathroom and toilet. The private crew lived on four bunks
The 1984 Defence Agreement
As part of the 1984 Defence Agreement, it was decided that the frigates Peder Skram and Herluf Trolle would be phased out in 1988.
In invasion defence, the frigates' tasks were to be taken over by mobile coastal missiles mounted on trucks, as well as the newly arrived smaller units of the Standard Flex class.
On 4 January 1988, the command was cancelled on the two frigates. A defence agreement, concluded on 8 March 1988, was to mean the end of the era of frigates in the Navy.
No one could h
ave known at the time that 25 years later the Navy would have three large, newly built frigates, each more than twice the size of the Peder Skram.
The ship was sold at auction in 1992 and subsequently transferred to the Peder Skram Foundation.
The ship appears as it looked before the command was withdrawn in 1988.
Hovsa - the missile 6 September 1982
On 6 September 1982, Captain Henning G. Olsen from the Danish Navy's Materiel Command carried out a routine check of the frigate's HARPOON system.
An accidental incident led to a Harpoon anti-ship missile being fired from Peder Skram from the southern Kattegat at 11.22.
The missile flew at a height of five metres for 34 km on a course of 123 before detonating at 11.32 against some trees in a summer house area in Lumsås, Zealand's Odde.
The explosion completely damaged four summer houses and damaged 130 others to a greater or lesser extent. No one was injured. A new commission court of 9 July 1984 found no reason to bring charges against others. Henning G. Olsen was sentenced to a “reprimand” – a so-called “nose”, and the total costs of the defense were subsequently compensated by the American manufacturer of the HARPOON system.
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