Lütjens (D185)
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D185 Lütjens was a guided missile destroyer of the Bundesmarine (West German Navy) and later the Deutsche Marine (Navy of reunited Germany). It was the lead ship of the Lütjens class, a modification of the Charles F. Adams class. The ship was named for Admiral Günther Lütjens, who commanded the battlegroup Bismarck and Prinz Eugen during Operation Rheinübung (Exercise Rhine). Lütjens was killed when Bismarck was surrounded by overwhelming British naval force on 27 May 1941 in the North Atlantic.
The ship was laid down at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine on 1 March 1966 with the hull classification symbol DDG-28. She was launched on 11 August 1967 and commissioned on 23 February 1969.
After over 30 years of service and a traveled distance of 800,000 nautical miles Lütjens was decommissioned on 18 December 2003. She was the last steam-powered vessel of the German Navy as well as the last ship classified as a destroyer.
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