- Yes
- No
Hello and welcome to this new suggestion.
Today, we’re focusing on a new T53 destroyer, the Duperré (D633), the first ship in the series that will give it its name.
The Duperré (D633) is a Type T53 escort ship, designed in the 1950s as part of the French Navy’s extensive reconstruction program after the Second World War. Laid down in Lorient in 1954, launched in 1956, it was commissioned in 1957. It is named after Admiral Victor Guy Duperré, who commanded the Atlantic Squadron and was Minister of the Navy during the 19th century. Initially intended for anti-aircraft combat, the Duperré was used in many other roles.
During its operational career, the Duperré served as a test vessel for experiments on deep-sea towed sonar (Cormoran I and Cormoran II sonars) before being refitted for its initial role. The ship underwent a series of improvements in the early 1980s to make it a more modern vessel before being decommissioned in 1992 (after 35 years of service) and dismantled. An interesting fact about the Duperré is that it almost sank in the Raz de Sein (a rocky expanse at the tip of Brittany), the ship actually hit a shoal, opening its hull over 35 meters, however it was towed to Brest where it was repaired.
Characteristics
- Length : 128.60 m
- Width : 12.71 m
- Draft : 5 m
- Mass : 3750 tons
The ship is powered by a set of four boilers and three steam turbines connected to two fixed four-blade propellers, producing a power output of 63,000 hp, capable of reaching 34 knots under normal conditions (the maximum speed reached during trials was 38 knots). The ship has a range of 5,000 nautical miles at an average speed of 18 knots. Two turbo-generators and two alternators generate the electrical power required by the ship.
The crew consists of approximately 350 sailors.
Equipment
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Before 1980 :
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Radar :
- DRBV-22A air surveillance radar
- DRBV-31 sea surveillance and navigation radar
- DRBI-10B altimetry radar
- 2 x DRBC-30 fire control radar (front one for the 127mm guns and back one for 57mm guns)
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Sonar :
- DUBV-1B sonar
- DUBA-1B sonar
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After 1980 :
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Radar :
- DRBV-22A air surveillance radar
- DRBV-50 global surveillance radar
- Decca 1226 navigation radar
- DRBC32E fire control radar
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Sonar :
- DUBV-23 hull sonar
- DUBA-43 towed sonar
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Weapons
- Before 1980 :
- 3 x 2 127mm mle 1948 canons
- 3 x 2 57mm mle 1951 canons
- 2 x 1 20mm canons
- 1 x 375mm Mod 1972 x 6 anti-submarine rocket launcher
- 2 x 3 550mm torpedo tube
In 1980 the ship was modernized to make it an escort ship more suited to its time, most of the armament was therefore removed in order to replace it with more modern solutions, this is how we see missiles appearing on the Duperré
- After 1980 :
- 1 x 100mm Mle 68 canon
- 2 x 20mm canon
- 2 x torpedo launcher
- 4 x MM38 Exocet missiles
In addition to these changes, the Duperré also received a platform on its rear deck to be able to land an Alouette III helicopter.
In game both forms of the Duperré would be very good additions to the French tree, the first (before 1980) would bring a very well armed destroyer which would complement the already existing ships and the second (after 1980) would bring a combat ship equipped with missiles but with few cannons, which would also be interesting
