THE ROYAL Navy's reputation for providing world-class training is underlined by the fact that six major foreign warships are being put through their paces at Plymouth over the next few weeks.

The staff of Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) at Devonport Naval Base are responsible for ensuring that the crews of all British warships are trained and ready for any eventuality.

But over the next few weeks FOST will also be providing the same service for frigates from Germany, Turkey and Portugal, the Netherlands and France.

The sight of foreign warships passing Devil's Point as they go in and out of Devonport Naval Base will become familiar during October as the crews learn how to get the best out of their vessels and gain a better understanding of the working practices of other nationalities.

Warship enthusiasts who want to know more about the visitors and how to identify them for themselves may find the following information useful.

The German ship Bayern is a 4,900-tonne Brandenburg-class frigate with the pennant number F217. She is 130m long and carries a ship's company of 228. Her weaponry includes a 76mm gun, anti-submarine torpedoes, and a vertical launcher for NATO Sea Sparrow surface-to-air missiles, MM38 surface-to-air missiles, RAM close-in anti-air weapon systems and two multi-role helicopters.

The new Turkish Barbaros-class frigate Kemalreis was commissioned in June. She is 117m long, displaces 3,350 tonnes and wears the pennant number F247. The ship's company is made up of 200 men. Her weapons include a 127mm gun, anti-submarine torpedoes, a new model of the Sparrow launcher (fitted just behind her sloping twin funnels) Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Sea Zenith close-in anti-air weapons and a multi-role helicopter which can carry Sea Scua anti-ship missiles.

The Portuguese Vasco Da Gama-class frigate Alvares Cabral, which was commissioned in 1991, is similar to her Turkish counterpart and has the pennant number F331. She displaces 3,300 tonnes, is 116m long and has a complement of 182. She carries a 100mm gun, anti-submarine torpedoes, a Sea Sparrow launcher, Harpoon, Phalanx close-in anti-air weapons and two multi-role helicopters.

The three other foreign frigates which will be visiting Devonport in October are the French La Fayette-class frigate Courbet (F712) the German Bremen-class frigate Rheinland-Pfalz (F209) and the Dutch Kortenaer-class frigate Philips van Almonde (F823).

Training with ships of other nationalities considerably enhances interoperability and the advantages of this have been clearly seen during operations in the Gulf, off Bosnia and Kosovo.

The continuous flow of foreign warships through Flag Officer Sea Training's hands also boosts Plymouth's economy by providing an extra 15,000 visitors every year.