Escort Commandant Bourdais on the Seine river in July 1989 |
|
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Commandant Rivière |
| Builders: | Arsenal de Lorient |
| Operators: | Marine Nationale Uruguayan Navy |
| In commission: | 1962 - 1991 |
| Completed: | 9 |
| Active: | 3 (Uruguay) |
| Retired: | 6 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | frigate |
| Displacement: | 1,750 tons standard, 2,230 tons full load |
| Length: | 98 m |
| Beam: | 11.5 m |
| Draught: | 4.3 m |
| Propulsion: | 2 shaft diesel 16,000 hp |
| Speed: | 25 knots |
| Range: | 7500 nmi at 16 knots |
| Boats and landing craft carried: |
LCPS boats |
| Complement: | 9 officers 67 non-commissioned officers 93 Quarter-masters and sailors |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
DRBV22A sentry radar |
| Electronic warfare and decoys: |
ARBR10 radar detector |
| Armament: |
3 x 100 mm guns (3x1) - one gun later replaced by 4 MM38 Exocet Missiles |
The Commandant Rivière class was a type of frigates built for the French Navy in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Labeled "aviso-escorteur" (fr: "sloop-escort"), they were designed to perform the role of overseas patrol in peacetime and Anti-Submarine escort in wartime.
Four similar ships were built for the Portuguese Navy as the João Belo class frigate. The ships had accommodation for an 80-man commando detachment with two fast landing boats, each capable of landing 25 men.
All French units were decommissioned in the mid-1990s, save for three frigates that were sold to the Uruguayan Navy.
All French ships were built by Arsenal de Lorient
| Pennant | Name | Namesake | Commissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F725 | Victor Schoelcher | Victor Schoelcher | 1962 | Sold to Uruguay 1988 as the General Artigas |
| F726 | Commandant Bory | Victor Bory | 1964 | Decommissioned late 1990s |
| F727 | Admiral Charner | Léopold Victor Charner | 14 December 1962 | Sold to Uruguay 1991 as the Montevideo |
| F 728 | Doudart de Lagrée | Ernest Doudart de Lagrée | 1 May 1963 | Decommissioned 1991 |
| F729 | Balny | Adrien-Paul Balny d'Avricourt | 1 February 1970 | Decommissioned 1994 |
| F 733 | Commandant Rivière | Henri Rivière | 4 December 1962 | Trials ship 1986 - decommissioned late 1990s |
| F740 | Commandant Bourdais | Adrien Bourdais | 10 March 1963 | Sold to Uruguay 1990 as the Uruguay |
| F748 | Protet | Auguste Léopold Protet | 1 May 1964 | Decommissioned 1992[1] |
| F749 | Enseigne de Vaisseau Henry | Paul Henry | 1 January 1965 | Decommissioned 1994 |