French sloop Commandant Dominé

Career (France)
Name: Commandant Dominé
Builder: Ateliers et Chantiers Dubigeon, Nantes
Laid down: February 1938
Launched: 2 May 1939
Commissioned: April 1940
Decommissioned: 18 August 1960
Fate: Scrapped, October 1960
General characteristics [1]
Class and type:Élan-class minesweeping sloop
Displacement:630 t (620 long tons) or 647 t (637 long tons) standard[2]
890 t (876 long tons) to 900 t (886 long tons) full[2]
Length:78.30 m (256 ft 11 in) o/a[2]
73.81 m (242 ft 2 in) p/p[2]
Beam:8.70 m (28 ft 7 in)[2]
Draught:3.28 m (10 ft 9 in)[2]
Propulsion:2 × Sulzer diesel engines, 4,600 hp (3,430 kW), 2 shafts[2]
Speed:20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)[2]
Range:10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)
5,200 nmi (9,600 km; 6,000 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)[3]
Fuel capacity: 95 or 105 tonnes[3]
Complement:88 in peacetime;[3]
104 or 106 during the war[3]
Armament:
  • As built:
  • 1 × single M1892 or M1932 100 mm/45 gun or 1 × twin M1926 90 mm/50 guns
  • 1 × quad 13.2 mm/76 AA gun
  • 2 × twin 13.2 mm/76 AA guns
  • 2 depth charge throwers
  • 1 depth charge rack

Commandant Dominé (U70/A15/F742) was a French Élan-class minesweeping sloop (Avisos dragueur de mines) that served in World War II.

Ship history

Commandant Dominé was built by Ateliers et Chantiers Dubigeon in Nantes,[4] laid down in February 1938, launched on 2 May 1939[5] and commissioned in April 1940. She was seized by the British on 3 July 1940 and transferred to the Free French Naval Forces,[1][6] seeing service in the Battle of Dakar ("Operation Menace") in September 1940.

The ship was rearmed by the British in 1941. Her main armament was replaced by twin QF 4 inch Mk XVI naval guns, and she also received a single QF 2-pounder pom-pom[2] AA gun to replace the quadruple 13.2 mm/76 AA guns.[1] She retained her original twin 13.2 mm/76 AA guns, but had an additional four twin and two single 12.7 mm/62 machine guns installed.[2][1]

Post-war she remained in service with the French Navy.[1][6] In 1947 she was rearmed again, with a single German 105 mm/45 calibre SK C/32 gun as main armament, a single Bofors 40 mm/60 Mk.3 and four single 20 mm/70 Mk.2 Oerlikons.[2][1]

Commandant Dominé was decommissioned on 18 August 1960,[1][6] and scrapped in October 1960.[5]

References

Notes
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Élan class avisos-minesweepers (1939-1940)". navypedia.org. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 Le Masson 1969, p. 16.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Le Masson 1969, p. 17.
  4. ↑ Le Masson 1969, pp. 17–21.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Le Masson 1969, p. 18.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Classe: Élan". users.swing.be (in French). Retrieved 19 September 2010.
Bibliography