Achimota-class fast attack craft

The Achimota class are a series of two fast attack craft in service in the Ghana Navy. They are based on the same Lürssen PB 57 design as the Turkish Yıldız-class fast attack craft. The two ships of the class include GHANAIAN FAST ATTACK CRAFT Achimota (the flagship of the Ghana Navy) and GHANAIAN FAST ATTACK CRAFT Yogaga. The two vessels were acquired by Ghana in the late 1970s and commissioned in 1981. The Achimota class is equipped with an OTO Melara 76 mm dual-purpose gun, and a 40 mm anti-aircraft gun. They are primarily used for fishery protection duties.

Design and description
The Achimota-class fast attack craft (FAC) are based on the Lürssen PB 57 design and share a basic layout as the Turkish Yıldız-class fast attack craft. The vessels displace 389 LT at full load, are 58.1 m long with a beam of 7.6 m and a draught of 2.8 m. The two ships are powered by three MTU 16V 538 TB91 diesel engines each turning one shaft rated at 11400 bhp. This gives the FACs a maximum speed of 33 kn and a range of 3300 nmi at 16 kn.

The FACs mount one OTO Melara 76 mm dual-purpose gun and one Breda 40 mm anti-aircraft gun (AA) gun. The Achimota class are equipped with Thomsen-CSF Canopus A surface search and fire control radar a LIDD optronic director. The vessels have a complement of 55, including 5 officers.

Construction and career
Two FACs were ordered by Ghana in October 1977 from Lürssen to be constructed at their shipyard in Vegesack, West Germany. Both ships were launched on 14 March 1979 and entered service with the Ghana Navy on 27 March 1981. They are primarily used for fisheries protection and patrol. In 1989, Yogaga underwent a major refit at Swan Hunter in Wallsend, United Kingdom which was completed on 8 May. On 14 September 1990, Achimota was hit by National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) artillery while on a fact-finding mission near Monrovia. As a result, two Ghanaian sailors and three Nigerian nurses were killed, and the Ghanaian Air Force retaliated with airstrikes. Achimota underwent a similar refit to Yogaga at CMN Cherbourg, in Cherbourg Naval Base, France beginning in May 1991. Yogaga was sent to CMN Cherbourg to undergo repairs and work on both FACs was completed in August 1992.