SAS Spioenkop (F147)

SAS "Spioenkop" (F147) is the third of four Valour class frigates for the South African Navy.
They were manufactured by the European South African Corvette Consortium (ESACC), consisting of the German Frigate Consortium (Blohm+Voss, Thyssen Rheinstahl and Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werf), African Defence Systems (part of the French Thales defence group) and a number of South African companies.

The ships were built to the MEKO modular design concept, and are designated by the manufacturer as the MEKO A-200SAN class. Some controversy exists as to the class type of the vessel, with both the manufacturer and the South African Navy referring to it as a corvette, but other similar vessels in other navies being referred to as frigates. It has been claimed by some that the use of the word corvette was a political decision made by the South African government to ease criticism of the procurement of the vessels.

As with all the other ships of the Valour class, the "Spioenkop" is named after a famous South African battle or instance of great valour. In this case the famous Battle of Spioenkop between the Boers and Great Britain, during the Anglo-Boer War.

The SAS "Spioenkop" was built at the Blohm + Voss shipyards in Hamburg, Germany, and arrived in South Africa on 31 May 2004. It is currently nearing the final stages of weapons and systems installation and integration.

The commanding officer of the "Spioenkop" is Commander Douglas Faure.