Dumont d'Urville arrives at the wharf. | |
History | |
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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 | |
Length | 103.7 m (340 ft 3 in) (o/a) |
Beam | 12.7 m (41 ft 8 in) |
Draught | 4.15 m (13 ft 7 in) |
Installed power | 2,100 PS (1,500 kW; 2,100 bhp) |
Propulsion | 2 shafts; 2 diesel engines |
Speed | 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph) |
Range | 9,000 nmi (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
Complement |
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Armament |
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Armour |
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Aircraft carried | 1 × Gourdou-Leseurre GL-832 HY floatplane |
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]
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. [2]
On the night of 16–17 January 1941 Dumont d'Urville took part in the Battle of Koh Chang. [3]
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]
The Type 96 25 mm gun was an automatic cannon used by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. A locally-built variant of the French Hotchkiss 25 mm anti-aircraft gun, it was designed as a dual-purpose weapon for use against armored vehicles and aircraft, but was primarily used as an anti-aircraft gun in fixed mounts with one to three guns.
The Battle of Ko Chang took place on 17 January 1941 during the Franco-Thai War in which a flotilla of French warships attacked a smaller force of Thai vessels, including a coastal defence ship. The battle resulted in a tactical victory by the French Navy over the Royal Thai Navy although the strategic result is disputed. The Japanese intervened diplomatically and mediated a ceasefire which was in Thailand's favor as all disputed territories in French Indochina were ceded by Vichy France to Thailand. In the end, two Thai ships were sunk and one was heavily damaged. Within a month of the engagement, the French and the Thais negotiated a peace which ended the war.
The Bougainville class was a group of colonial avisos, or sloops, built for the French Navy during the 1930s. They were designed to operate in the remote locations of the French Empire.
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D'Entrecasteaux was an Bougainville-class aviso of the French Navy launched in 1931. The ship was designed to operate from French colonies in Asia and Africa. She was posted at Madagascar, under Vichy French control during World War II.
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Amiral Charner was a Bougainville-class aviso of the French Navy launched on 7 October 1932. She was designed to operate from French colonies in Asia and Africa. During the Franco-Thai War, she participated in the Battle of Koh Chang during the night of 16–17 January 1941. She was scuttled in the Mỹ Tho River in French Indochina on 10 March 1945.
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