French aviso Dumont d'Urville

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]

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:
  • 13,000 nautical miles at 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h);
  • 7,600 nautical miles at 14 knots (26 km/h);[1]
  • Fuel capacity: 297 tons[1]
Armament:
  • 3 × 138 mm guns model 1927 in single mountings
  • 4 × 37 mm anti-aircraft (AA) guns in single mountings
  • 6 × 13.2 mm AA machine guns 50 naval mines[1]
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]

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]

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References
  1. Le Masson 1969, p. 12.
  2. Le Masson 1969, p. 11.
  3. Cassells, p. 7.
  4. "La bataille de Koh Chang (janvier 1941)". Croiseur Lamotte-Picquet. Net-Marine.

Sources
  • Cassells, Vic (2000). The Capital Ships: Their Battles and Their Badges. East Roseville, NSW: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7318-0941-6. OCLC 48761594.
  • Le Masson, Henri (1969). The French Navy. Navies of the Second World War. 2. London: MacDonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd. pp. 11–12. ISBN 9780356023847.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)


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