''Vulcain'' (M611) is a
''Vulcain''-class minesweeper
A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.
History
The earliest known usage of ...
of the
French Navy
The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
. She is classed by the French Navy as a BBPD type vessel (French: ''bâtiment-base de plongeurs démineurs'') and is used as a
base ship for
clearance diver
A clearance diver was originally a specialist naval underwater diving, diver who used explosives underwater to remove obstructions to make harbours and shipping channels safe to navigate, but the term "clearance diver" was later used to include ...
s.
Construction and career
''Vulcain'' was
launched on 17 January 1986 and
commissioned on 11 October.
[Saunders, p. 242] She is based in
Cherbourg Naval Base
Cherbourg Naval Base is a naval base in Cherbourg Harbour, Cherbourg, Manche Departments of France, department, Normandy. The town has been a base of the French Navy since the opening of the military port in 1813.
History Early works
Cherbourg ha ...
, in
Cherbourg
Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...
, France, and is run by the 1st GPD ''Groupement de Plongeurs démineurs'', a group of French Army clearance divers. Since 16 May 1987, she has been symbolically linked with the town of
Honfleur
Honfleur () is a commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from Le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie. The people that inhabit Hon ...
. The personnel on board usually comprises 12 divers, 1 medical officer and 1 nurse.
Other BBPDs of the ''Vulcain'' type are:
*BBPD ''Styx'' - M614
*BBPD ''Pluton'' - M622
*BBPD ''Achéron'' - A613
See also
*
List of active French Navy ships
This is a list of active French Navy ships. The French Navy consists of nearly 100 vessels of the ''Force d'action navale'' (Naval action force) and the 9 List of submarines of France, submarines of the ''Submarine forces (France), Forces sous-mar ...
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
Minesweepers of the French Navy
Ships built in France
1986 ships
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