French frigate Tourville

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Tourville.

Tourville is the lead ship of F67 type large high-sea frigates of the French Marine Nationale. The vessel is specialised in anti-submarine warfare, though it also has anti-air and anti-surface capabilities. She is named after the 17th century admiral Count Anne-Hilarion de Cotentin de Tourville.

Tourville in July 2008
History
France
Name	Tourville
Namesake	Anne Hilarion de Tourville
Laid down	16 March 1970
Launched	13 May 1973
Commissioned	14 June 1975
Decommissioned	11 June 2011
Homeport	Brest
Identification	D 610
Fate	Decommissioned
General characteristics
Class and type	Tourville-class frigate
Displacement	4,580 tonnes (6,100 tonnes fully loaded)
Length	152.75 m (501 ft 2 in)
Beam	15.80 m (51 ft 10 in)
Draught	6.60 m (21 ft 8 in)
Installed power	4 multitubular boilers 58,000 hp (43,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 Rateau steam turbines, double reduction Gazoil 2 fixed propellers
Speed	32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Range	1,900 nmi (3,500 km; 2,200 mi) at 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) 4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement	24 officers 160 non-commissioned officers 115 men
Sensors and processing systems	Detection 1 DRBV 51B surface sentry radar 1 DRBV 26A air sentry radar 1 DRBC 32D targeting radar 2 DRBN 34 navigation radars 1 DUBV 23 hull sonar 1 ETBF DSBV 62C sonar 1 DSBX 1 tugged sonar 1 Syva torpedo alert system Tactical information SENIT 3 SEAO/OPSMER Transmissions HF, UHF, VHF and SHF liaison systems Syracuse 2 Inmarsat Link 11
Electronic warfare & decoys	1 ARBB 32 jammer 1 ARBR 16 radar interceptor 2 Syllex decoy launchers bubble belt
Armament	Anti-ship; 6 × Exocet MM38 anti-ship missiles Anti-submarine; 2 × L5 torpedo launchers, 10 torpedoes on board (L5 mod 4) Guns; 2 × 100 mm turrets (1968 model) 2 × 20 mm cannons 4 × 12.7 mm machine guns CIWS; 1 × Crotale EDIR CIWS anti-air missiles (8 missiles on launcher, 16 in magazine)
Aircraft carried	2 × Lynx WG13 anti-ship helicopter

Between 1994 and 1996, Tourville (and sister ship De Grasse) was refitted with the modern SLAMS anti-submarine system, an active Very Low Frequencies sonar.

Career

Varuna 10

Tourville was part of the French naval task group led by the Charles de Gaulle that departed Toulon on 30 October 2010 for a four-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Indian Ocean. and Persian Gulf.

Once on station, the Charles de Gaulle carrier task group joined two U.S. Navy carrier strike groups led by the Nimitz-class aircraft carriers USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Harry S. Truman operating in the Persian Gulf. Subsequently, between 7–14 January 2011, the French carrier task group led by Charles de Gaulle participated with bilateral naval exercise, code named Varuna 10, with the Indian Navy. Indian naval units participating in Varuna 10 included the aircraft carrier Viraat, the frigates Godavari and Ganga; and the diesel-electric submarine Shalki. Varuna 10 was a two-phase naval exercise, with the harbour phase taking place between 7–11 January and the sea phase between 11–14 January in the Arabian Sea.

Decommissioning

The former Tourville, decommissioned and planned for scrapping, moored to a pier of the Penfeld

Tourville was decommissioned on 9 September 2011 and is now moored in the Penfeld (Brest Arsenal).

Gallery

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  Close-up of the bridge of Tourville. The rescue crafts are clearly visible, as well as the Exocet launchers and the firing control systems
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  Close-up of the bow deck of Tourville; the 100 mm turret is clearly visible
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  Close-up of the bow deck of Tourville; the 100 mm turret is clearly visible
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  The frigate Tourville
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  The frigate Tourville
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