French frigate Latouche-Tréville

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Latouche-Tréville.

Latouche-Tréville was a F70 type anti-submarine destroyer of the French Navy (Marine Nationale).

Latouche-Tréville in April 2019
History
France
Name	Latouche-Tréville
Namesake	Louis-René Levassor de Latouche Tréville
Laid down	15 February 1984
Launched	19 March 1988
Commissioned	16 July 1990
Decommissioned	1 July 2022
Identification	MMSI number: 228728000
Status	Withdrawn from service[1]
General characteristics
Class & type	Georges Leygues-class frigate
Displacement	3,550 t (3,494 long tons) 4,500 t (4,429 long tons) full load
Length	139 m (456 ft 0 in)
Beam	14 m (45 ft 11 in)
Height	39.36 m (129 ft 2 in)
Draught	5.8 m (19 ft 0 in)
Propulsion	CODOG 2 × Pielstick PA 6 V280 STD diesels, 5,200 hp (3,878 kW) 2 × Rolls-Royce Olympus TM3B gas turbines, 26,000 hp (19,388 kW) 2 shafts with 4-blade controllable pitch propellers
Speed	30 knots (35 mph; 56 km/h) on gas turbines 21 knots (24 mph; 39 km/h) on diesels
Range	1,000 nmi (1,900 km) at 30 kn (35 mph; 56 km/h) on gas turbines 10,000 nmi (19,000 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h) on diesels
Complement	20 officers 120 non-commissioned officers 95 men
Sensors & processing systems	Detection: 1 Air/surface sentry radar DRBV51C 1 Air sentry radar DRBV 26 1 Fire control radar DRBC 32E 2 Navigation radar KH 1007 1 Hull sonar DUBV 23 1 Towed sonar DUBV 43C Tactical information: SENIT 4 SEAO/OPSMER
Electronic warfare & decoys	2 Radar interceptors ARBR 16 2 × Syllex chaff launchers
Armament	Anti-air: 1 × Crotale EDIR system - 8 missiles on launcher + 18 stored 2 × Simbad systems - 2 × 2 Mistral missiles 1 × CADAM 100 mm main gun 2 × 20 mm guns 4 × 12.7 mm machine guns Anti-surface: 8 × Exocet MM40 (Block 2) missiles[2] Anti-submarine: 10 × L5 Mod4 torpedoes 2 × L5 torpedo launchers
Aircraft carried	Formerly: 2 × Lynx WG13 Mk.4 helicopters (retired 2020),[3] each with: 1 × DUAV4 sonar Rheseda system for transmission of acoustic data 12 × Mark 46 torpedoes From 2020: AS565 Panther helicopter or Alouette III helicopter

The French Navy does not use the term "destroyer" for its ships. Thus, some large ships, referred to as "frégates" in French, are registered as destroyers. And additionally, some minor ships, referred to as "avisos" in French, are registered as frigates.

She was the third French vessel named after the 18-19th century politician and admiral Louis-René Levassor de Latouche Tréville.

Service history

Latouche-Tréville departing from Portsmouth Naval Base, UK, 21 September 2009

In November 2006 and again in June 2010, Latouche-Tréville visited London on diplomatic duties, and was moored alongside the Second World War cruiser, HMS Belfast.

In mid 2009, she was filmed in stormy seas as part of the documentary Oceans.^[4] In late 2009, while attached to an international force of NATO vessels, Latouche-Tréville visited Portsmouth Naval Base in the United Kingdom with vessels of the Dutch, Norwegian, Spanish and Turkish navies.

On 15 October 2012, the frigate was moored at Leith Docks in Scotland.

On 18 April 2015, she escorted a replica of the 18th century sailing ship Hermione as it departed La Rochelle, France on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic to Yorktown, Virginia in the United States. Latouche-Tréville returned to Brest with the ship on 10 August.^[5][6] In May, Latouche-Tréville was among a dozen surface vessels and four submarines that took part in NATO's annual "Dynamic Mongoose" military exercise. Amid rising tensions with Russia, the two-week event in Norwegian waters saw ships under NATO command conducting a variety of anti-submarine warfare operations.^[7] On 4 June, she was moored again at Leith Docks in Scotland.

On 9 January 2020, the vessel suffered damage in a storm soon after departing from Brest, and returned to port the next day with her top mast missing. The incident also destroyed an electronic warfare pod and damaged the starboard SYRACUSE system.^[8] As of 2020, with the retirement of her sister ship La Motte-Picquet, Latouche-Tréville was the last vessel of her class in service.

In March 2022, the frigate deployed to the Baltic Sea for exercises with other NATO navies. On the deployment the ship embarked an older Alouette III helicopter. She returned to Brest in June 2022.^[9][10]

The frigate was withdrawn from service on 1 July 2022.^[1][11][12]