French frigate Montcalm

History
France
Name	Montcalm
Namesake	Louis de Montcalm de Saint Véran
Builder	Arsenal de Brest, France
Laid down	5 December 1975
Launched	31 May 1980
Commissioned	28 May 1982
Decommissioned	3 July 2017
Status	Awaiting disposal
General characteristics
Class and type	Georges Leygues-class frigate
Displacement	3,550 t (3,494 long tons); 4,500 t (4,429 long tons) full load;
Length	139 m (456 ft 0 in)
Beam	14 m (45 ft 11 in)
Height	39.36 m (129 ft 2 in)
Draught	5.8 m (19 ft 0 in)
Propulsion	CODOG; 2 × Pielstick PA 6 V280 STD diesels, 5,200 hp (3,878 kW); 2 × Rolls-Royce Olympus TM3B gas turbines, 26,000 hp (19,388 kW); 2 shafts with 4-blade controllable pitch propellers;
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:; 1 × Crotale EDIR system - 8 missiles on launcher + 18 stored; 2 × Siadral systems - 2 × 6 Mistral missiles; 1 × CADAM 100 mm main gun; 2 × 20 mm guns; 4 × 12.7 mm machine guns; Anti-surface:; 4 × Exocet MM38 missiles/later 8 x MM40 variant; Anti-submarine:; 10 × L5 Mod4 torpedoes; 2 × L5 torpedo launchers;
Aircraft carried	2 × Lynx WG13 Mk.4 helicopters, each with:; 1 × DUAV4 sonar; Rheseda system for transmission of acoustic data; 12 × Mark 46 torpedoes (to be replaced by MU90 torpedoes);

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.

Operational history[edit]

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[edit]

^ 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.
^ 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.
^ Groizeleau, Vincent (7 July 2017). "La frégate Montcalm a tiré sa révérence". Meretmarine.com (in French). Retrieved 17 March 2021.
^ Groizeleau, Vincent (30 March 2018). "L'ex-Montcalm en attente à Brégaillon". meretmarine.com (in French). Retrieved 17 March 2021.

External links[edit]

Media related to Montcalm (D642) at Wikimedia Commons

[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.

[nr-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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v t e Georges Leygues-class frigates
Georges Leygues Dupleix Montcalm Jean de Vienne Primauguet La Motte-Picquet Latouche-Tréville
Preceded by: Tourville class Followed by: Cassard class
List of frigates of the French Navy