The ''Georges Leygues'' class (Type C70 AS or Type F70 AS) was a class of anti-submarine

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s of 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 ...

. They were multi-role ships due to their

Exocet The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Etymology The missile's name was given by M. Guillot, then the technical director ...

and

Crotale missile The Crotale (English: "Rattlesnake") is a French, all-weather, short-range surface-to-air missile system developed to intercept airborne ranged weapons and aircraft, from cruise or anti-ship missiles to helicopters, UAVs or low-flying high-per ...

armament, making them especially suitable for the defence of strategic positions,

show of force A show of force is a military operation intended to warn (such as a warning shot) or to intimidate an opponent by showcasing a capability or will to act if one is provoked. Shows of force may also be executed by police forces and other armed, non ...

operations, or as high seas escorts. The design was initially officially known as a "

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 ...

" with the designation C70, but were internationally labelled an "anti-submarine

" (hence the "D" in the hull numbers). Subsequently, the French referred to the ships as "frigates" with the designation F70.

Design

The

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

s were built to optimise resistance to the blast from nuclear explosions. The last three ships of the class had their bridges raised one deck to overcome problems experienced by the first four in bad weather, as well as being equipped with DSBV 61 passive linear towed array

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...

and several other upgraded systems. FS_Latouche_Treville_(D_646)

Ships in class

References

External links

ASM type F70 – ''Marine nationale'' official site
{{French Navy Vehicle Frigate classes Ship classes of the French Navy

Design

Ships in class

See also

References

External links