French aviso Drogou

History
France
NameDrogou
NamesakeFrançois Drogou
BuilderArsenal de Lorient, Lorient
Laid down1 October 1973
Launched30 November 1974
Commissioned30 September 1976
Decommissioned2000
Identification
FateSold to Turkey, 2000
Turkey
NameBodrum
NamesakeBodrum
AcquiredNovember 2000
Commissioned25 July 2002
Decommissioned2022
IdentificationPennant number: F-501
StatusRetired in 2022[1]
General characteristics
Class and typeD'Estienne d'Orves-class aviso
Displacement
  • 1,100 t (1,100 long tons) standard
  • 1,270 t (1,250 long tons) full load
Length
  • 80 m (262 ft 6 in) oa
  • 76 m (249 ft 4 in) pp
Beam10.3 m (33 ft 10 in)
Draught5.3 m (17 ft 5 in)
Propulsion
Speed23.5 knots (43.5 km/h; 27.0 mph)
Range4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement90
Sensors and
processing systems
  • 1 Air/surface DRBV 51A sentry radar
  • 1 DRBC 32E fire control radar
  • 1 Decca 1226 navigation radar
  • 1 DUBA 25 hull sonar
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • 1 ARBR 16 radar interceptor
  • 2 Dagaie decoy launchers
  • 1 SLQ-25 Nixie countermeasure system
Armament

Drogou (F 782) is a D'Estienne d'Orves-class aviso in the French Navy. She was transferred to the Turkish Navy as TCG Bodrum (F-501) and decommissioned in 2022.[3]

Design

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Armed by a crew of 90 sailors, these vessels have the reputation of being among the most difficult in bad weather. Their high windage makes them particularly sensitive to pitch and roll as soon as the sea is formed.

Their armament, consequent for a vessel of this tonnage, allows them to manage a large spectrum of missions. During the Cold War, they were primarily used to patrol the continental shelf of the Atlantic Ocean in search of Soviet Navy submarines. Due to the poor performance of the hull sonar, as soon as an echo appeared, the reinforcement of an ASM frigate was necessary to chase it using its towed variable depth sonar.[4]

Their role as patrollers now consists mainly of patrols and assistance missions, as well as participation in UN missions (blockades, flag checks) or similar marine policing tasks (fight against drugs, extraction of nationals, fisheries control, etc.). The mer-mer 38 or mer-mer 40 missiles have been landed, but they carry several machine guns and machine guns, more suited to their new missions.

Its construction cost was estimated at 270,000,000 French francs.[5]

Construction and career

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Service in the French Navy

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Drogou was laid down on 1 October 1973 at Arsenal de Lorient, Lorient. She was launched on 30 November 1974 and commissioned on 30 September 1976.

Service in the Turkish Naval Forces

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Turkey purchased the ship from France in November 2000 and commissioned her in the Turkish Navy on 25 July 2002 as TCG Bodrum after an overhaul at Direction des Constructions Navales (DCN).

Citations

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  1. ^ "Burak Sınıfı Korvetler". mavivatan.net (in Turkish). 19 June 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Patrouilleurs: Les avisos français sur tous les fronts" [Patrol ships: French Avisos on all fronts.]. asafrance.fr (in French). 26 January 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  3. ^ "TCG BODRUM Korveti Envanterden Çıkartıldı | SavunmaSanayiST". 30 November 2022.
  4. ^ "Euronaval: First details of the Patrouilleurs Océanique (PO) platform unveiled". Naval News. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  5. ^ Frémy, Dominique (1995). Quid 1996. Laffont. p. 2036. ISBN 2-221-08055-6.