Tourville-class Destroyer
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The Tourville-class is a class of large high-sea (blue water) destroyers of the French Navy specialized in anti-submarine warfare. They have anti-air and anti-surface capabilities.
Between 1994 and 1996, the Tourville, Duguay-Trouin and De Grasse were refitted with the modern SLASM anti-submarine system, and active Very Low Frequency (VLF) sonar.
The ships are an enlarged version of the F65 class frigate Aconit. They have two shaft steam turbine machinery and a double hangar for two Lynx helicopters. They were the first ships fitted with the marine version of the Crotale surface to air missile system. A Malafon anti-submarine missile system was fitted when the ships were built but this was removed during refits in the late 1980s.
Optimized for anti-submarine warfare, and carrying towed as well as hull-mounted sonar arrays, the Tourvilles were typically placed in the destroyer category of warship and carry destroyer pennant numbers. Similar in many regards to the unmodified Spruance-class destroyers, they carried a similar combination of sensors, naval guns, anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons, aircraft and surface-to-air missiles. Additionally, they were well-regarded for their seakeeping, serving much of their careers in the Atlantic rather than with France's Mediterranean fleet.
Specifications[edit | edit source]
- Type: ASW Destroyer
- Service Period: 1972-2013
- Characteristics:
- Length: 501 feet 2 inches (152.76 meters)
- Beam: 51 feet 10 inches (15.8 meters)
- Draught: 21 feet 8 inches (6.6 meters)
- Displacement: 5,050 tons (Standard); 6,725 tons (Full Load)
- Crew: 300 (25 officers, 160 non-commissioned officers, 115 men)
- Propulsion: 2 × Rateau steam turbines, double reduction, 4 × multi-tubular boilers, 2 × fixed propellers, 58,000 shp (43,251 kW)
- Range: 4,500 nautical miles at 18 knots (33.34 km/h)
- Speed: 32 knots (59.26 km/h)
- Sensor Suite:
- DRBV 51B surface sentry Radar
- DRBV 26A air sentry Radar
- DRBC 32D targeting Radar
- DRBN 34 navigation Radar x 2
- DUBV 23 hull Sonar
- ETBF DSBV 62C Sonar
- DSBX 1 towed Sonar
- Syva torpedo alert system
- SENIT 3 tactical data processing
- SEAO/OPSMER combat decision-making system
- HF, UHF, VHF and SHF liaison systems
- Syracuse 2
- Inmarsat
- Link 11
- Countermeasures:
- ARBB 32 jammer
- ARBR 16 RDF interceptor
- Syllex decoy launcher x 2
- Bubble belt
- Armament:
- 2 x 100mm/55-caliber Modèle 68 dual purpose naval guns
- 1 x Crotale EDIR CIWS anti-air missiles (8 missiles on launcher, 16 in magazine)
- 6 × Exocet MM38 anti-ship missiles
- 2 × L5 Mod 4 torpedo launchers, 10 torpedoes on board
- 2 x 20mm cannons
- 4 x 12.7mm machine guns
- Aircraft Carried: 2 x Eurocopter AS565 Panther
Unit Run[edit | edit source]
- MN Tourville (D612)
- MN Duguay-Trouin (D611)
- MN De Grasse (D612)
