Georges Leygues-class frigate
The Georges Leygues class consisted of seven guided-missile destroyers built for the French Navy during the Cold War. They were multi-role ships due to their Exocet and Crotale missile armament, making them especially suitable for the defence of strategic positions, show of force operations, or as high seas escorts. The design was initially officially known as a "corvette" with the designation C70, but were internationally labelled an "anti-submarine destroyer". Subsequently, the French referred to the ships as "frigates" with the designation F70.
Design and description
The Georges Leygues-class ships were designed as anti-submarine (ASW) escorts for the fleet. They had an overall length of, a beam of and a draught of. The ships had a standard displacement of and at full load. The Georges Leyguess' propulsion machinery used a CODOG configuration with one SEMT-Pielstick 16PA6-V280 diesel engine and a Rolls-Royce Olympus TM3B gas turbine were coupled to each of the two propeller shafts. The diesels were used for speeds under and the gas turbines for sprints up to. The diesels were rated at a total of and the turbines at a total of. The combination give the ships a range of at. The frigates had a complement of 216 sailors.The primary anti-ship weapon of the Georges Leyguess consisted of four single box launchers for MM38 Exocet anti-ship missiles, located aft of the funnel with two launchers on each broadside. The frigates were designed with a single Modèle 1968 dual-purpose gun in a single-gun turret forward of the superstructure. They were also equipped with two guns. The ships were fitted with a octuple Crotale anti-aircraft missile launcher with 26 reloads located on the aft superstructure. The [anti-submarine warfare|anti-submarine|] weapons of the Georges Leygues-class ships consisted of two torpedo launchers, one on each side of the ship. Each ship carried ten torpedoes. The ships were designed to carry helicopters, a pair of Westland Lynx ASW helicopters in a double hangar at the stern.
They were completed with a DRBV 51C search radar, a DRBC 32E fire-control radar and a DRBV 26 early-warning radar. For anti-submarine warfare, they were equipped with a DUBV 23B hull-mounted sonar and DUBV 43B towed variable depth sonar. For electronic defence, the vessels mounted two Syllex chaff launchers. The SENIT 4 tactical data system coordinated sensor data.
The superstructures were built to optimise resistance to the blast from nuclear explosions. The last three ships of the class had their bridges raised one deck to overcome problems experienced by the first four in bad weather, as well as being equipped with DSBV 61 passive linear towed array sonar and several other upgraded systems.