Arras class sloop, a wolf in sheep's clothing

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Classe Arras

The sub-chaser disguised as a cargo ship.

nmf_tahure_aviso_1939-61635.jpg

About this ship and its interest in War Thunder

The Arras class is an old design created during WW1 as a sub-chaser and its career extended all the way to the end of WW2. Old, poorly manoeuvrable, it has however an exceptional fire power, although the angle of fire is more or less restricted. It could fall in well as a low-tier to mid tier support ship, somewhere along the line of the flower class. A variant, armed with a prototype 37mm, is a viable option as well.

THE ARRAS CLASS

As the submarine warfare was getting more violent and the convoys suffered disastrous losses during WW1, The British and the French decided to build submarine chasers to counter the threat. France bet on a ship with a powerful armament and a powerful engine, but disguised as a cargo ship, to do the job. This was the Arras, or Amien class. A serie of 43 ships was ordered, and 30 of them ended up in service, between 1918 ( Arras and Reims) and 1922 (Mondement and Bethune). Many of them were modernised during the 1920’s, with several new armament, and one of them, the Bapaume, was converted into small carrier.

At the begining of WW2, 11 of them were still in activity. Of those, Vauquois sank because of a mine on June 18, 1940. Five of them were captured by the British, and either given to the FNFL or used by the British until the end of the war. The Tahure was the one which saw the most activity : It was part of the French fleet which attacked the Thai fleet at Koh Chang, in 1941. It was eventually sunk by an american submarine in 1944. The last ships of the bunch were scuttled in 1942 during the German invasion of France.

One of those ship, the Amien, had the particularity of serving as a test platform for the new 37mm modèle 1935 AA canons, and had a piece installed in the rear of the ship, which was apparently successfully used during the Battle of Dunkirk in 1940.

Specifications :

DIMENSIONS

Total length : 75m

Total width : 8.71m

draught : 3.20m

displacement : 850t

ENGINE

type : 2 x Parson steam engines, 5000 HP

propellers : 2

max speed : 22 knts

autonomy : 3000 miles at 11 knts

ARMAMENT :

ORIGINAL

  • 2 x 138mm mle 1910 canon

  • 1 x 75mm mle 1891 canon (bow of the ship)

  • 4 x 1 Hotchkiss mle 1914 - 8.8mm machineguns

AMIENS

  • 2 x 138mm mle 1910 canon

  • 1 x 75mm mle 1891 (bow of the ship) canon

  • 1 x turret with 2 x 37mm mle 1935 AA canons (stern of the ship)

  • 4 x 1 Hotchkiss mle 1914 - 8.8mm machineguns

CREW : 103

PHOTOS

PHOTOS OF THE ARRAS CLASS :

Spoiler

Aviso_Tahure_de_la_marine_militaire_fran

Tahure%20ok_0.jpg

Photo of the Tahure

arras.jpg

Photos of the Arras

167546AvisoRemiremontclasseArras.png

Photo of the Remiremont

aviso+Belfort.png

Photo of the Belfort

arras_class_recadre.jpg

aviso-arras-classe-amiens.jpg

Bar-le-Duc. You can see the 75mm on the stern, before the 138mm canon.

PHOTOS OF THE AMIEN WITH ITS 37MM

Spoiler

REGARDING THE 37MM mle 1935 AA CANONS

Spoiler


165 - 172 rounds per minute

More infos here :

France 37 mm/70 (1.46") Model 1935 - NavWeaps

SOURCES :

Spoiler

AMIENS 1st class avisos (sloops) (1918 - 1924)

Avisos de la classe Arras (ou Amiens) - Forum PAGES 14-18

France 37 mm/70 (1.46") Model 1935 - NavWeaps

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_de_138_mm_Modèle_1910_naval_gun

Belfort (aviso) - Wikiwand

The FriedrichFiles - Amiens class

Thanks to Private_Wolk for its link regarding the 37mm AA canons of the Amien.

3 Likes

would definitely make an interesting ship for the French Coastal Tree so a +1 for me, though will be a struggle to engage enemies to your direct front or rear.

Especially the Amiens with the experimental 37mm guns. +1

2 Likes

Have to say she has a pretty neat look to her.

2 Likes

Indeed, that’s pretty cool. I don’t expect it to get its 1940 experimental AA gun, but at least we have it in game.

2 Likes

Indeed! Oh, by the way, congratulations on getting your suggestion implemented!

Thanks, there’s gonna be quite a few of them once this update is out. Because I’ve made a suggestion for every single ship that’s gonna be added this update.

2 Likes

Aye! You’ve been pretty busy with the French Suggestions. Reminds me that I need to finish my current backlog lol

1 Like

Still holding out hope that we’ll get the Amiens with her 37mm guns! I also read that some of this class were fitted with 145mm main guns and had the 8mm machine guns upgraded to 13.2mm HMGs. Maybe those upgrades along with the twin 37mm autocannon would make Amiens a good event/premium?

3 Likes

As the Arrass class was implemented as part of update 2.39 Dance of Dragons,

Moved to Implemented Suggestions. o7