French frigate Commandant Rivière

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Commandant Rivière awaiting scrap on 12 July 2007
History
France
NameCommandant Rivière
NamesakeHenri Rivière
BuilderArsenal de Lorient, Lorient
Laid downApril 1957
Launched11 October 1958
Commissioned4 December 1962
Decommissioned1992
IdentificationPennant number: F 733
FateScrapped at Ghent, 2015
General characteristics
Class and typeCommandant Rivière-class frigate
Displacement1,750 tons standard, 2,230 tons full load
Length
  • 98.0 m (321 ft 6 in) oa
  • 103.0 m (337 ft 11 in) pp
Beam11.5 m (37 ft 9 in)
Draught4.3 m (14 ft 1 in)
Propulsion
Speed25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range7,500 nmi (13,900 km; 8,600 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Boats & landing
craft carried		2 × LCP landing craft
Complement166
Sensors and
processing systems
  • DRBV22A air search radar
  • DRBC32C fire control radar
  • DUBA3 sonar
  • SQS17 sonar
Armament

Commandant Rivière (F 733) was a Commandant Rivière-class frigate of French Navy.

Development and design[edit]

Main article: Commandant Rivière-class frigate

The main gun armament of the Commandant Rivière class consisted of three of the new French 100 mm (4 in) guns, with a single turret located forward and two turrets aft.[1][2] These water-cooled automatic dual-purpose guns could fire a 13.5 kg (30 lb) shell at an effective range of 12,000 m (39,000 ft) against surface targets and 6,000 m (20,000 ft) against aircraft at a rate of 60 rounds per minute.[3] A quadruple 305 mm anti-submarine mortar was fitted in 'B' position, aft of the forward gun and in front of the ship's superstructure,[1] capable of firing a 230 kg (510 lb) depth charge to 3,000 m (9,800 ft) or in the shore bombardment role, a 100 kg (220 lb) projectile to 6,000 m (20,000 ft).[4] Two triple torpedo tubes were fitted for anti-submarine torpedoes, while the ship's armament was completed by two 30 mm Hotchkiss HS-30 cannon.[1] The ships had accommodation for an 80-man commando detachment with two fast landing boats, each capable of landing 25 men.[5]

Construction and career[edit]

Commandant Rivière was laid down in April 1957 and launched on 11 October 1958 at Arsenal de Lorient in Lorient. The vessel was commissioned on 4 December 1962.

In 1984–1985, Commandant Rivière was converted to a sonar-trials ship. The ship's armament was replaced by a single 40 mm Bofors gun and two 12.7 mm machine guns, while the ship's stern was rebuilt to accommodate a hoist for a variable depth sonar, which was used to test various active and passive towed array sonars.[5][6]

She served as a breakwater in Saint-Mandrier from 1993 to 2009 after decommissioning in 1992. She awaited dismantling in Toulon from 2009 to 2014 and dismantled in Ghent in 2015.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 117.
  2. ^ Blackman 1962, p. 88.
  3. ^ Friedman 1997, pp. 432–433.
  4. ^ Grove 1990, p. 55.
  5. ^ a b Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 118.
  6. ^ Prézelin and Baker 1990, p. 167.
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