French aviso Commandant Blaison
{{short description|D'Estienne d'Orves-class aviso of the French Navy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
| {{Infobox ship begin
}} {{Infobox ship image | Ship image =File:Cdtblaison-londres2011.jpeg | Ship image size = | Ship caption = Commandant Blaison }} {{Infobox ship career | Ship country = France | Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|France|naval}} | Ship name = Commandant Blaison | Ship namesake = Georges Louis Nicolas Blaison | Ship builder = Arsenal de Lorient, Lorient | Ship laid down = 15 November 1979 | Ship launched = 7 March 1981 | Ship sponsor = | Ship commissioned = 28 April 1982 | Ship decommissioned = Expected, 2027 | Ship reclassified = | Ship struck = | Ship identification = *Callsign: FABL
| Ship honors = | Ship fate = | Ship status = Active }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Ship class={{sclass|D'Estienne d'Orves|aviso}} |Ship displacement= * {{convert|1,100|LT|t|order=flip|lk=on|abbr=on}} standard
|Ship length=* {{Convert|80|m|ftin|abbr=on}} oa
|Ship beam={{Convert|10.3|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship draught={{Convert|5.3|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship propulsion=* 2 SEMT Pielstick 12 PC 2 V400 diesel engines
|Ship speed={{convert|23.5|kn|lk=in}} |Ship range={{convert|4500|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|15|kn}} |Ship armour= |Ship complement=90 |Ship EW=* 1 ARBR 16 radar interceptor
|Ship armament=* 2 Exocet MM38 SSMs (removed from French ships when reclassified as OPVs){{Cite web|url=https://www.asafrance.fr/item/patrouilleurs-les-avisos-francais-sur-tous-les-fronts.html|title=Patrouilleurs: Les avisos français sur tous les fronts. |trans-title=Patrol ships: French Avisos on all fronts. |language=French |date=26 January 2017 |website=asafrance.fr |access-date=6 June 2020}}
|Ship sensors=* 1 Air/surface DRBV 51A sentry radar
}} |
Commandant Blaison (F793) is a {{sclass|D'Estienne d'Orves|aviso}} in the French Navy.
Design
{{Main|D'Estienne d'Orves-class aviso}}
Armed by a crew of 90 sailors, these vessels have the reputation of being among the most difficult in bad weather. Their high windage makes them particularly sensitive to pitch and roll as soon as the sea is formed.
Their armament, consequent for a vessel of this tonnage, allows them to manage a large spectrum of missions. During the Cold War, they were primarily used to patrol the continental shelf of the Atlantic Ocean in search of Soviet Navy submarines. Due to the poor performance of the hull sonar, as soon as an echo appeared, the reinforcement of an ASM frigate was necessary to chase it using its towed variable depth sonar.{{Cite web|date=2020-10-23|title=Euronaval: First details of the Patrouilleurs Océanique (PO) platform unveiled|url=https://www.navalnews.com/event-news/euronaval-2020/2020/10/euronaval-first-details-of-the-patrouilleurs-oceanique-po-platform-unveiled/|access-date=2021-09-17|website=Naval News|language=en-US}}
Their role as patrollers now consists mainly of patrols and assistance missions, as well as participation in UN missions (blockades, flag checks) or similar marine policing tasks (fight against drugs, extraction of nationals, fisheries control, etc.). The Exocet missiles have been landed, but they carry several machine guns which are more suited to their new missions.
Its construction cost was estimated at 270,000,000 French francs.{{Cite book|title=Quid 1996|publisher=|year=|isbn=2-221-08055-6|pages=2036}}
Construction and career
Commandant Blaison was laid down on 15 November 1979 at Arsenal de Lorient, Lorient. Launched on 7 March 1981 and commissioned on 28 April 1982.
She is scheduled to be withdrawn from service in 2027 and be replaced by one of a new class of ocean-going Patrol Vessels (the Patrouilleurs Hauturiers).Groizeleau, Vincent (6 May 2021). "La Marine nationale va rapidement désarmer ses derniers PHM" [The French Navy will quickly disarm its last PHM]. Mer et Marine (in French). https://www.meretmarine.com/fr/content/la-marine-nationale-va-rapidement-se-separer-de-ses-derniers-phm Retrieved 15 June 2021.
Citations
{{Reflist}}
{{D'Estienne d'Orves class aviso}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Commandant Blaison}}