USS Kyne (DE-744) underway in the Pacific Ocean, in June 1945 (80-G-379052)

The French term ''Escorteur'' (Escort Ship) appeared during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to designate a

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...

, of a medium or light

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

, whose mission was to protect ocean convoys and naval squadrons from attacks by

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s. This role was in general handled by a

destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

such as the and es built in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, or a built by the United Kingdom, or even a built by the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. The

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

used the denomination of '' Kaibokan'' for this type of naval ship.

The escorteurs of the French Navy

In the immediate aftermath of the war, to fulfill the task of naval escorts, the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

was limited to a fleet of ''torpilleur'' and ''contre-torpilleur'' (otherwise known as destroyers), along with a number of

aviso An ''aviso'' was originally a kind of dispatch boat or "advice boat", carrying orders before the development of effective remote communication. The term, derived from the Portuguese and Spanish word for "advice", "notice" or "warning", an '' ...

s. They were later joined by several naval ships of German and Italian origin awarded as

war reparations War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war. History Making one party pay a war indemnity is a common practice with a long history. R ...

, and several escort ''bâtiments'' originated from the United Kingdom and the United States, all under different designations: *

Destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

of 1,500 tons, constructed in the

; *

Frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

of 1,200 tons, , constructed in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

; *

Corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

s of 600 tons, , constructed in the United Kingdom; * Coastal patrol boats of 400 tons, constructed in the United States. Two ex-Italian light

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

s, Le Châteaurenault sur le site alabordache.fr
/ref> and ,Le Guichen sur le site alabordache.fr
/ref> would bear their designation of ''escorteur d'escadre'' (Squadron Escorteur) from 1955 until their disarmament in 1962 and 1963.

Construction of a new fleet

During the years 1950–1960, France reconstituted the navy with the assistance of the United States which contributed most of the rebuilding program. Following certain hesitations, the term ''« escorteur »'' was finally chosen for this new type of warship, instead of the traditional ''« torpilleur »'' or ''« contre-torpilleur »'', which were abandoned.

The four families of escorteurs

*18 Squadron Escorteurs: 12 , 5 , 1 T 56 class: ''bâtiments'' of 3,000 tons, length , vocation anti-ship, anti-submarine, anti-aerial, picket radar flotilla navigation. They formed until the end of 1980s, the backbone forces of high-seas of the French Navy. For

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

, those were destroyers. * 18 Rapid Escorteurs : Type E50 and Type E52; lighter ''bâtiments'' of 1,500 t, length , vocation anti-submarine, types E50, E52A, E52B. For NATO, those were frigates. * 9 Aviso Escorteurs : ; ''bâtiments'' of 2,100 t, length , vocation anti-submarine and anti-ship. For NATO, those were frigates. * 14 Coastal Escorteurs : ( 3 ''Le Fougeux'' class and 11 ''L'Adroit'' class; ''bâtiments'' of 400 t, length. For NATO, those were patrol boats and submarine chasers. File:EE Surcouf D621.jpg, File:Le Bourguignon F769.jpg, File:Commandant Bourdais.jpg, File:Le Fringant P640.jpg, The designation of ''« escorteur »'' is no longer used in the French Navy. The designation has been replaced by that of frigate, aviso or patrol boat.

References

Sources

*Jean Moulin, Rober Dumas, Les Escorteurs d'escadre, Marines éditions Nantes, 1997 {{Warship types of the 19th & 20th centuries French Navy Naval ships of France

The escorteurs of the French Navy

Construction of a new fleet

The four families of escorteurs

See also

References

Sources