French frigate Montcalm

Montcalm was a F70 type anti-submarine frigate of the French Marine Nationale. The French Navy does not use the term "destroyer" for any of its ships; hence some of the larger ships, referred to as "frigates", are registered as destroyers. She was the fourth French vessel named after the 18th century general marquess Louis de Montcalm de Saint Véran.

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Montcalm.
History
France
NameMontcalm
NamesakeLouis de Montcalm de Saint Véran
BuilderArsenal de Brest, France
Laid down5 December 1975
Launched31 May 1980
Commissioned28 May 1982
Decommissioned3 July 2017
StatusAwaiting disposal
General characteristics
Class and typeGeorges Leygues-class frigate
Displacement
  • 3,550 t (3,494 long tons)
  • 4,500 t (4,429 long tons) full load
Length139 m (456 ft 0 in)
Beam14 m (45 ft 11 in)
Height39.36 m (129 ft 2 in)
Draught5.8 m (19 ft 0 in)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) on gas turbines
  • 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) on diesels
Range
  • 1,000 nmi (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) at 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph) on gas turbines
  • 10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) on diesels
Complement
  • 20 officers
  • 120 non-commissioned officers
    95 men
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Detection:
    • 1 Air/surface sentry radar DRBV51C
    • 1 Air sentry radar DRBV 26
    • 1 Fire control radar DRBC 32E
    • 2 Navigation radar KH 1007
    • 1 Hull sonar DUBV 23
    • 1 Towed sonar DUBV 43C
  • Tactical information:
    • SENIT 4
    • SEAO/OPSMER
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • 2 Radar interceptors ARBR 16
  • 2 × Syllex chaff launchers
Armament
  • Anti-air:
  • Anti-surface:
    • 4 × Exocet MM38 missiles/later 8 x MM40 variant
  • Anti-submarine:
    • 10 × L5 Mod4 torpedoes
    • 2 × L5 torpedo launchers
Aircraft carried

Operational history

Montcalm was involved in operations off Libya during the 2011 Libyan Civil War. The vessel was used to evacuate French and British citizens from the nation after fighting closed the airports.[1] From 13 to 26 October 2014, the frigate took part in the large international operational exercise Catamaran 2014 that practiced an amphibious assault.[2] Montcalm was decommissioned on 3 July 2017.[3] The hull was then stripped and brought to Brégaillon to await final disposal.[4]

References
  1. Brophy, Daragh (1 August 2014). "'Crisis team' set up to help Irish in Libya, as French and British leave on naval ship". thejournal.ie. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  2. Vavasseur, Xavier (24 October 2014). "Video and photo coverage: Catamaran 2014 large joint amphibious exercise with CVN, LHD, LPD". navyrecognition.com. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  3. Groizeleau, Vincent (7 July 2017). "La frégate Montcalm a tiré sa révérence". Meretmarine.com (in French). Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  4. Groizeleau, Vincent (30 March 2018). "L'ex-Montcalm en attente à Brégaillon". meretmarine.com (in French). Retrieved 17 March 2021.
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