French aviso Dumont d'Urville
 Dumont d'Urville arrives at the wharf. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France
| |
| Name: | Dumont d'Urville |
| Namesake: | Dumont d'Urville |
| Builder: | At. et Ch. Maritime Sud-Ouest, Bordeaux |
| Launched: | 21 March 1931[1] |
| Fate: | Scrapped 26 March 1958[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Bougainville-class aviso |
| Displacement: | 1,969 tons[1] |
| Length: | 103.70 metres (340.2 ft)[1] |
| Beam: | 12.98 metres (42.6 ft)[1] |
| Draught: | 4.80 metres (15.7 ft)[1] |
| Propulsion: | 2 Sulzer marine diesel engines, 3,200 shp[1] |
| Speed: | 17 knots (31 km/h) |
| Range: | |
| Armament: |
|
| Armour: | Bullet-proof plating of control positions (by 1944)[1] |
| Aircraft carried: | 1 seaplane until it was removed in 1941 to make way for 4 × 37 mm AA guns, 2 × 25 mm AA guns, 4 × 13.2 mm AA machine guns & 2 × 8 mm AA guns[2] |
Dumont d'Urville was a Bougainville-class aviso of the French Navy, designed to operate from French colonies in Asia and Africa. She was built by Ateliers et Chantiers Maritime Sud-Ouest of Bordeaux and launched on 21 March 1931.[1]
Service history
After the Fall of France Dumont d'Urville remained under Vichy French control and in September 1940 she was in New Caledonia as a part the Vichy government's attempt to gain control of the French colony. However, the Royal Australian Navy cruiser Adelaide arrived carrying a Free French temporary governor, which led the Vichy governor to depart aboard Dumont d'Urville on 25 September.[3]
On the night of 16–17 January 1941 Dumont d'Urville took part in the Battle of Koh Chang.[4]
In September 1942 Dumont d'Urville took part in rescuing survivors from RMS Laconia which the German submarine U-156 had torpedoed and sunk, known as the Laconia incident.
By 1944 Dumont d'Urville's armament had been augmented with the addition of four single-mounted 40 mm anti-aircraft (AA) guns, 11 single-mounted 20 mm AA guns, four anti-submarine mortars and two racks for 66 depth charges.[1]
Dumont d'Urville remained in French Navy service after the war until 26 March 1958 when she was scrapped.[1]
References
Sources
- Le Masson, Henri (1969). The French Navy. Navies of the Second World War 2. London: MacDonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd. pp. 11–12. ISBN 9780356023847.
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