Köln (F220) is the lead ship of a class of six frigates built for the Bundesmarine (West German Navy) in 1957. The Köln class was the first bluewater ship class built in Germany after World War II and introduced numerous innovative features to fulfil various roles, ranging from a streamlined, flush-decked hull to enhance seaworthiness, to being the first warship class to use the CODAG (combined diesel and gas) propulsion system, and being armed with two 100 mm MLE dual-purpose autocannons.

As for Köln, she was laid down on 21 December 1957 at the Stülcken & Sohn shipyard in Hamburg, launched on 6 December 1958, and commissioned on 15 April 1961. Köln served uneventfully for 21 years until she was decommissioned from active service on 17 December 1982, after which her hull was converted for damage control training. Her hull is still in service to this day and is currently moored at the Naval Damage Control Training Centre (EAZS) in Neustadt.

Introduced in Update 1.97 "Viking Fury", Köln is a large frigate with performance comparable to that of a destroyer, with the tools to engage various targets. Thanks to her advanced FCS and air search-and-tracking radar, Köln is capable of engaging surface and air targets alike with great efficiency using her fast-firing 100 mm guns. However, due to the lack of armour and the placement of the crew compartments close to the unarmoured deck, the Köln is quite vulnerable to the destroyer-calibre HE shells that she will commonly face.