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The Georges Leygues class (Type C70 AS or Type F70 AS) was a class of anti-submarine destroyers of the French Navy.[3] They were multi-role ships due to their Exocet and Crotale missile armament, making them especially suitable for the defence of strategic positions, show of force operations, or as high seas escorts. The design was initially officially known as a "corvette" with the designation C70, but were internationally labelled an "anti-submarine destroyer" (hence the "D" in the hull numbers).[4] Subsequently, the French referred to the ships as "frigates" with the designation F70.[5]
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Georges Leygues class |
| Builders | Brest arsenal |
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | Tourville class |
| Succeeded by | Aquitaine class (anti-submarine variant) |
| Built | 1974–1988 |
| In commission | 10 December 1979 – 1 July 2022 |
| Completed | 7 |
| Retired | 7 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Frigate |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 139 m (456 ft 0 in) |
| Beam | 14 m (45 ft 11 in) |
| Draught | 5.7 m (18 ft 8 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) |
| Range | 7,400 nmi (13,700 km; 8,500 mi) |
| Complement | 235 |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 2 × Westland Lynx anti-ship helicopters (retired 2020);[2] From 2020: AS565 Panther or Alouette III (on remaining vessel D646) |
Design
editThe superstructures were built to optimise resistance to the blast from nuclear explosions. The last three ships of the class had their bridges raised one deck to overcome problems experienced by the first four in bad weather, as well as being equipped with DSBV 61 passive linear towed array sonar and several other upgraded systems.[6]
Ships in class
edit| Georges Leygues-class frigates | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Pennant number | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned |
| Georges Leygues | D 640 | Arsenal de Brest | 16 September 1974 | 17 December 1976 | 10 December 1979 | 21 March 2014[5] |
| Dupleix | D 641 | 17 October 1975 | 2 December 1978 | 13 June 1981 | July 2015 | |
| Montcalm | D 642 | 5 December 1975 | 31 May 1980 | 28 May 1982 | 3 July 2017[7] | |
| Jean de Vienne | D 643 | 26 October 1979 | 17 November 1981 | 25 May 1984 | 9 January 2019 | |
| Primauguet | D 644 | 17 November 1981 | 17 March 1984 | 5 November 1986 | 1 April 2019 | |
| La Motte-Picquet | D 645 | 12 February 1982 | 6 February 1985 | 18 February 1988 | 13 October 2020[8] | |
| Latouche-Tréville | D 646 | 15 February 1984 | 19 March 1988 | 16 July 1990 | 1 July 2022[9] | |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Georges Leygues class anti-submarine destroyer Type F70 ASW Anti-submarine Frigate Frégates anti-sous-marins FASM D640 D641 D642 D643 D644 D645 D646 DUBV-43 DSBV-61 Marine Nationale French Navy DCNS datasheet pictures photos video specifications". navyrecognition.com. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
- ^ Grolleau, Henri-Pierre (5 July 2019). "French Navy brings forward Lynx retirement". Janes.com. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
- ^ Avery, Derek (1987). Modern Warships. London: Collins. pp. 80–81. ISBN 0-00-458855-X.
- ^ Ireland, Bernard (1984). Navies of the West. London: Ian Allan. p. 26. ISBN 0-71-101339-X.
- ^ a b "Retrait définitif du service pour la frégate Georges Leygues" (in French). ActuNautique.com. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
- ^ Miller, David; Miller, Chris (1986). Modern Naval Combat. USA: Salamandar Books. pp. 100–101. ISBN 0-517-61350-6.
- ^ Groizeleau, Vincent (2017-07-07). "La frégate Montcalm a tiré sa révérence". Mer et Marine (in French). Retrieved 2017-07-07.
- ^ "La Motte-Picquet : dernière cérémonie des couleurs à Brest". Mer et Marine (in French). 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
- ^ Groizeleau, Vincent (5 July 2022). "Fin du Latouche-Tréville : la Marine nationale tourne la page des frégates du type F70". Mer et Marine (in French). Retrieved 6 July 2022.
External links
edit- ASM type F70 – Marine nationale official site (in French)