French ship Lapérouse (A791)

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Lapérouse.

Lapérouse (A791) docked at the quay of Bordeaux in 2017
Class overview
Name	Lapérouse
Builders	DCAN Lorient
Operators	French Navy
General characteristics
Class and type	Lapérouse
Type	Survey vessel
Displacement	850 t
Length	59 m
Beam	10.9 m
Draft	3.63 m
Installed power	2500 hp (1840 kW); electric plant 620 kW
Propulsion	2 diesel motors (SACM Wärtsilä UD30 RVR V12 M6), 2 controllable pitch propellers, 1 bow thruster
Range	6,000 nautical miles at 12 knots
Complement	4 officers, 18 petty officers, 15 crew members, 11 hydrographers
Sensors and processing systems	Navigational radar DECCA 1226
Armament	2 AANF1 7.5 mm machine guns and 2 Browning M2 12.7 mm machine guns
Notes	electric plant 620 kW

Lapérouse (A 791) is a hydrography survey vessel of the Lapérouse class of the French Navy (designed Bâtiment hydrographique de deuxième classe (BH)). The ship is deployed on the French coast,[1] or in foreign waters for international cooperation.[2] She is fitted with electric propulsion and a hydrographic winch that allows it to perform oceanographic work.

History

Laid down on 11 June 1985 and launched on 15 November 1986, the hydrographic vessel Lapérouse entered into service on 20 April 1988. She was the first vessel of her class, and is currently serving with the Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the French Navy (Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine-SHOM)). The ship was laid down on 11 June 1985 by DCN Lorient, launched on 15 November 1985, and commissioned by the French Navy as Lapérouse A791 on 20 April 1988.[3][4]

Lapérouse has her home port at Brest. She performs hydrographic work for the Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service (SHOM), although since 2 June 2000 she has been hierarchically attached to the Naval Action Force (FAN).

Her main mission is scientific, but being a naval ship, she is also capable of handling piracy, terrorism, evacuating French citizens is case of natural or political crisis, or rescuing seamen in distress.[5] Furthermore, she occasionally serves as a coast guard.[6]

The patron city of Lapérouse has been Albi (Tarn) since 7 October 1988.

Characteristics

• Displacement : 850 t.
• Dimensions (meters) : 59 × 10,9 × 3.63.
• Range : 6,000 nautical miles at 12 knots.
• Propulsion : 2 SACM Wärtsilä UD30 RVR V12 M6 diesel motors, 2 controllable pitch propeller, 1 bow thruster.
• Power : 2500 hp (1840 kW).
• Radar : Navigational radar DECCA 1226.
• Electric plant : 620 kW.
• Complement : 4 officers, 18 petty officers, 15 crew members, 11 hydrographers.
• Armament: Two AANF1 7.5 mm machine guns and two Browning M2 12.7 mm machine guns

The hull and the superstructures are painted white, as is the case for all scientific ships of the French Navy.

Citations

1. Mission hydrographique en Atlantique pour le Lapérouse (French)
2. Le bâtiment hydrographique Lapérouse met le cap sur l'Afrique de l'ouest (French)
3. "Homepage" (in French). Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
4. "Lapérouse (A 791)" (in French). Marine nationale. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
5. Gironde : deux marins sauvés au large de Cordouan 1 October 2014 (French)
6. "France ramps up Channel migrant patrolling". BBC News. 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.

References

• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 2. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922. (1870-2006)

External links

• "Lapérouse (A 791)". Marine nationale.