SAS Mendi (F148)

SAS Mendi (F148) is the last of four Valour class frigates built for the South African Navy by the European South African Corvette Consortium and entered service in March 2007. The SAS Mendi was named by Mrs Helena Retief, wife of the (then) Chief of the Navy Vice Admiral Johan Retief.

Construction
Mendi, as with all the Valour class vessels, was 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 her as a "corvette", but other similar vessels in other navies being referred to as frigates.

The SAS Mendi was built at the Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft shipyards in Kiel, Germany, and arrived in South Africa on 20 September 2004.

Namesake
As with all the other ships of the Valour class, the Mendi is named after a famous South African battle or instance of great valour. In this case the sinking of the SS Mendi in the English Channel during World War I. On the 23 August 2004, en route from the shipyards to South Africa, the SAS Mendi and HMS Nottingham (D91), a Type 42 destroyer, met at the site where the SS Mendi sank and lay wreaths in remembrance of those who died in service for their country

Notable Deployments

 * A deployment to Brazil and Ghana from Aug to Sep 2007
 * Operation Boniso 2004
 * Operational Sea Training Phase training with the German Navy
 * Exercising with FNS Nivose off Cape Point
 * Conducted Exocet MM 40 missile firings with SAS Isandlwana in 2007
 * Exercise Red Lion
 * Exercised with HMS Southampton off Cape Town

On September 5, 2008 Mendi led seven of the South African Navy's newest vessels in a Presidential Fleet Review, the first to be held in South Africa since the 75th anniversary of the Navy in 1997.