The F67 type, also known as the ''Tourville'' class was a class of large high-sea ( blue water)

Frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

s of the French Navy specialised in anti-submarine warfare. They had anti-air and anti-surface capabilities. Between 1994 and 1996, ''Tourville'' and ''De Grasse'' were refitted with the modern SLASM anti-submarine system, and active Very Low Frequency (VLF) sonar.

Design

The ships are an enlarged version of the frigate ''Aconit''. They have two shaft

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

machinery and a double hangar for two

Lynx WG13 The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose twin-engined military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to t ...

helicopters. They were the first ships fitted with the marine version of the Crotale surface-to-air missile system. A Malafon anti-submarine missile system was fitted when the ships were built but this was removed during refits in the late 1980s. Optimized for anti-submarine warfare, and carrying towed as well as hull-mounted sonar arrays, the ''Tourville''s were typically placed in the destroyer category of warship and carry destroyer pennant numbers. Similar in many regards to the unmodified destroyers, they carried a similar combination of sensors, naval guns, anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons, aircraft and surface-to-air missiles. Additionally, they were well-regarded for their seakeeping, serving much of their careers in the Atlantic rather than with France's Mediterranean fleet.

Ships

The three ships of the class, D612 ''De Grasse'', D611 ''Duguay-Trouin'' and D610 ''Tourville'', are named major figures from French naval history. De Grasse and Tourville were French admirals and Duguay-Trouin coming to fame as a privateer. The three ships of the class were all constructed by Arsenal de Lorient.

Notes

References

* Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen & Budzbon, Przemysław (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Tourville class frigate Destroyer classes Frigate classes Ship classes of the French Navy