The first of four corvette ordered by South Africa was named SAS Amatola at a ceremony in a Hamburg dockyard in northern Germany on Friday.

Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said the corvettes had been named in honour those who had given their lives for their country.

"The overwhelming majority of the Ngqika Xhosa lives on the slopes of the Amatola and it was the natural fortress of the Xhosa nation. The war against the British colonial forces in the 19th century was the longest, hardest and ugliest war ever fought in over 100 years of bloodshed on the Cape Colony's eastern frontier."

The ships, to be delivered in 2003, are the first tangible sign of South Africa's multi-billion rand arms deal.

With acknowledgements to the Staff Reporter and Sunday Argus.