T 53-class destroyer
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The T 53 class were the second group of destroyers built for the French Navy after World War II. These ships were a modified version of the T 47-class destroyers. The main difference with the preceding ships was the provision of improved air warning and tracking radars as well as an anti-submarine mortar. The ships were built between 1957 and 1958 and were decommissioned in the late 1970s or early 1980s. A single modified ship La Galissonnière was built as a trials ship for a new generation of French weapons. This ship was designated as the T 56 class.[citation needed]
Modifications
In 1972–73 two of the class were substantially modified:
- Duperré was completely rearmed with a Model 1968 100 mm (4 in) main gun, four Exocet MM38 missiles, two quadruple L5 torpedo launchers, and two 20 mm AA cannon. She was also fitted with a helipad to carry a Lynx WG13 helicopter.
- Forbin had her forward 57 mm turret removed, and her aft 127 mm turret was replaced by a helipad. She was then principally used as a naval aviation training ship alongside the helicopter cruiser Jeanne d'Arc.
La Galissonnière
La Galissonnière differed slightly in specification from the rest of the class as she was built specifically to test the Malafon anti-submarine missile.
- Length : 128 m (419 ft 11 in)
- Beam : 12 m (39 ft 4 in)
- Draught : 5 m (16 ft 5 in)
- Complement: 272
- 2 × Model 1953 100 mm (4 in) guns (2×1)
- 1 × Malafon anti-submarine missile launcher (13 missiles)
- 6 × 550 mm (21.7 in) torpedo tubes (2×3)
- 1 × quadruple 305 mm (12 in) anti-submarine mortar
- 2 × 20 mm AA cannon
- 1 × Alouette II or Alouette III helicopter
Ships
| Pennant | Name | Named after | Builder | Commissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D633 | Duperré | Guy-Victor Duperré | Arsenal de Lorient | 8 October 1957 | Trials ship for Cormoran I sonar, 1967–71 Rearmed 1972 Decommissioned 1 June 1992. As of 2012 at Landévennec awaiting demolition. |
| D634 | La Bourdonnais | Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais | Arsenal de Brest | 3 March 1958 | Decommissioned July 1976 Sunk by an Exocet SM39 from the submarine Ouessant, May 1992 |
| D635 | Forbin | Claude de Forbin | Arsenal de Brest | 1 February 1958 | Converted to helicopter training ship, 1973 Decommissioned 1 June 1981 Sunk as a target off Brest, 17 May 1999 |
| D636 | Tartu | Jean-François Tartu | AC Bretagne | 5 February 1958 | Decommissioned December 1979 Sunk, 80 miles off Lorient, 9 December 1998 |
| D637 | Jauréguiberry | Bernard Jauréguiberry | FC de la Gironde | 15 July 1958 | Decommissioned 16 September 1977 Sunk by Exocet MM40 missile off the Île du Levant, 30 May 1986 |
| D638 | La Galissonnière | Roland-Michel Barrin de La Galissonière | Arsenal de Lorient | 11 July 1962 | Decommissioned 20 April 1990 Scrapped in Ghent, Belgium in 2015. |
See also
Bibliography
- Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995
- Jordan, John (2021). "T 53 Duperré". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2021. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. pp. 180–182. ISBN 978-1-4728-4779-9.