BSM Loire (A615)

Mathll · February 27, 2026, 10:06pm

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Hello everyone and welcome to this new suggestion.

Today I’m presenting a new French support vessel, the BSM Loire (A615).

The Loire was laid down on July 9, 1965 at the Lorient naval shipyard and launched on October 1, 1966. After her sea trials, she officially entered active service in 1967 and joined her home port of Brest, where she became part of the 2nd Minesweeping Squadron. From the beginning of her career, the ship’s main mission was to support the French Navy’s mine warfare forces.

Designed as a mobile support vessel, the ship assisted minehunters and minesweepers during operations and exercises. Early in her service the Loire experienced some propulsion problems, and the ship was also heavier than her sister ships, which complicated certain maneuvers alongside the smaller vessels she supported. Despite these issues, she quickly became an important unit and participated in numerous deployments across European waters with the mine warfare force.

Throughout her long career, the Loire regularly took part in naval exercises, training cruises, and operational missions. She visited many ports in Europe and sometimes supported the Naval Academy during training deployments. In the 1980s the ship also carried out surveillance missions, participated in mine-search operations, and even experimented with the embarkation of some of the first female personnel aboard the vessel.

During the 1990s and early 2000s the Loire continued to support the mine warfare force through exercises and international deployments in areas such as Northern Europe, the Atlantic, and the Mediterranean. These missions often involved cooperation with other European navies and large multinational exercises.

After decades of service supporting the fleet and mine warfare units, the ship eventually reached the end of her operational life, closing a long career dedicated mainly to logistics, training, and operational support within the French Navy.

Like all BSL and BSM ships, this vessel is named after one of the rivers flowing through France; in this case, the Loire.

Characteristics

Length : 101.50 m

Width : 13.10 m

Draft : 4.25 m

Mass : 2050 tons

The vessel is powered by two SEMT Pielstick 12 PA4 V 185 VG diesel engines, giving it a total power of 3200 hp. This allows the Loire to reach a speed of 16.5 knots and to cover 5831 nautical miles at a speed of 12 knots.

Equipement

The Loire is equipped with particularly impressive electronic equipment for its time.

DRBN 38 radar navigation
DECCA RM 1226C radar navigation
NRBI-20 IFF

The Loire also has access to an Alouette III helicopter for patrol and naval surveillance (1 or 2 helicopters). This helicopter can carry various equipment, including anti-submarine and anti-ship torpedoes, significantly increasing the ship’s effectiveness.
SA.319B Alouette III - Suggestions / Heli - War Thunder — official forum

Weapons

As this ship is a support vessel, its armament is not particularly advanced; however, it has nonetheless been equipped to defend itself against various types of threats. These include:

3 x 40mm Borfors canon (1 front, 1 on the back)
3 x 12.7mm machine gun (2 front, 1 on the back)

As this ship’s support role is mine warfare, it has the capability to lay sea mines. For this, it uses the crane located at the stern to lower mines previously installed on the aft deck. This capacity has not been used extensively; however, it appears that approximately thirty mines can be transported.

In-game, this ship would be an interesting addition to the Francias tech tree, providing a combat vessel modest in armament but of respectable size. It could also be worthwhile to improve the ship’s repair and repair assistance capabilities, given its historical role as a support vessel.

Pictures

Video

les batiments de soutients mobiles.wmv

Sources