WesWorld

Summary

Tran Nhat Duat class Frigate - 1942
- Tran Nhat Duat: Laid down at Saigon January 1943, completed November 1943
- Trieu Thi Trinh: Laid down at Saigon January 1946, completed November 1946

Chi Lang class Aviso-Drageur - 1942
- Chi Lang (ex-Algérien): Laid down at Nouméa July 1943, completed April 1944
- Van Kiep (ex-Bambara): Laid down at Nouméa January 1944, completed October 1944
- Dong Da: Laid down at Nouméa July 1944, completed April 1945
- Tuy Dong: Laid down at Nouméa January 1945, completed October 1945
- Tay Cay: Laid down at Nouméa July 1945, completed April 1946
- Can Don: Laid down at Nouméa January 1946, completed October 1946
- Ngoc Hoi: Laid down at Nouméa July 1946, completed April 1947
- Bach Dang: Laid down at Nouméa January 1947, completed October 1947

Tran Nhat Duat, Indochinese Training Frigate laid down 1943
The Sans Reproche or Tran Nhat Duat class frigates were designed by DCNS in the late 1930s, originally as light seaplane tenders. Since the 1920s, the Marine Nationale's Aeronavale operated significant forces of floatplane fighters and torpedo bombers, although by 1940 these forces had largely relocated to the Pacific Ocean. The design was intended to support squadrons of floatplane fighters and attack aircraft by setting up floatplane bases in remote or undeveloped regions. In 1942, when Indochina's Patrouille Navale formed, the leadership looked for an inexpensive patrol ship to serve as a short-term flagship, oceanic patrol vessel, and training ship. DCNS offered both the escortier rapide design and their seaplane tender. The Patrouille Navale's leadership quickly determined that the seaplane tender offered a more useful mix of capabilities, as the ship was significantly more spacious than the escortier rapide. Two ships were ordered for construction in 1943, with one vessel going to the Marine Nationale and a second to the Patrouille Navale. The Indochinese vessel, to be built in Saigon, would be named Tran Nhat Duat, while the second ship, built in Marseilles, would be named Sans Reproche. The Indochinese government purchased a second ship of the class in 1945, while the Marine Nationale ordered Sans Peur for 1944.

Displacement:
1,400 t light; 1,465 t standard; 1,725 t normal; 1,933 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
355.29 ft / 344.49 ft x 39.37 ft x 10.50 ft (normal load)
108.29 m / 105.00 m x 12.00 m x 3.20 m

Armament:
2 - 3.94" / 100 mm guns (1x2 guns), 39.68lbs / 18.00kg shells, 1943 Model
Automatic rapid fire guns in a deck mount with hoist
on centreline forward
2 - 2.24" / 57.0 mm guns (1x2 guns), 6.61lbs / 3.00kg shells, 1943 Model
Automatic rapid fire guns in a deck mount with hoist
on centreline forward, all raised guns - superfiring
4 - 0.79" / 20.0 mm guns (2x2 guns), 0.24lbs / 0.11kg shells, 1943 Model
Machine guns in deck mounts
on side, evenly spread, all raised mounts
Weight of broadside 94 lbs / 42 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 550

Armour:
- Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 0.98" / 25 mm 0.39" / 10 mm 0.39" / 10 mm
2nd: 0.59" / 15 mm 0.20" / 5 mm 0.20" / 5 mm

- Conning tower: 0.98" / 25 mm

Machinery:
Diesel Internal combustion motors,
Geared drive, 2 shafts, 5,417 shp / 4,041 Kw = 20.00 kts
Range 6,500nm at 15.00 kts
Bunker at max displacement = 467 tons

Complement:
133 - 173

Cost:[/B]
£0.509 million / $2.037 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
Armament: 11 tons, 0.6 %
Armour: 7 tons, 0.4 %
- Belts: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Armament: 4 tons, 0.2 %
- Armour Deck: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Conning Tower: 3 tons, 0.2 %
Machinery: 140 tons, 8.1 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 792 tons, 45.9 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 325 tons, 18.8 %
Miscellaneous weights: 450 tons, 26.1 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
4,285 lbs / 1,944 Kg = 140.4 x 3.9 " / 100 mm shells or 1.5 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.13
Metacentric height 1.5 ft / 0.5 m
Roll period: 13.3 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 70 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.12
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 2.00

Hull form characteristics:
Hull has rise forward of midbreak
Block coefficient: 0.424
Length to Beam Ratio: 8.75 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 18.56 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 43 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 35
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 20.00 degrees
Stern overhang: 3.28 ft / 1.00 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 20.67 ft / 6.30 m
- Forecastle (25 %): 19.36 ft / 5.90 m
- Mid (50 %): 18.04 ft / 5.50 m (9.84 ft / 3.00 m aft of break)
- Quarterdeck (15 %): 9.84 ft / 3.00 m
- Stern: 9.84 ft / 3.00 m
- Average freeboard: 14.57 ft / 4.44 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 62.0 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 164.3 %
Waterplane Area: 8,479 Square feet or 788 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 209 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 56 lbs/sq ft or 275 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0.97
- Longitudinal: 2.32
- Overall: 1.06
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is excellent
Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent
Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
Excellent seaboat, comfortable, can fire her guns in the heaviest weather

Breakdown of Miscellaneous Weights:
- 30 tons for electronics
- 9 tons for depth charges (32x573-lb bombs)
- 16 tons for miscellaneous radio, electronics and ECM gear
- 10 tons for HVAC
- 10 tons for aft crane
- 100 tons for up to four floatplanes or mines
- 5 tons for minesweeping paravanes
- 20 tons for crew comforts
- 250 tons for cadets
450 tons total miscellaneous weight

Electronics:
- DRBV-9 surface and air search radars (1 radar, 7 tons)
- DRBN-1 navigational surface and air search radar (1 radar, 2 tons)
- DRBC-3B fire-control radar (1 radar, 4 tons)
- DRBI-2R height-finding radar (1 radar, 2 tons)
- DUBV-7 Hull Sonar (5 tons)
- SAGEM HF/DF (3 tons)
- Diesel electric generator set (5 tons)
- Gunnery Computer for 100mm and 40mm guns (2 tons)

Ships in Class:
- Tran Nhat Duat: Laid down at Saigon January 1943, completed November 1943
- Trieu Thi Trinh: Laid down at Saigon January 1946, completed November 1946

Notes:
Electronics fit is the same as that aboard the Le Breton-class escorteur rapide.

Arabe-class, French Aviso-dragueurs laid down 1943

Displacement:
634 t light; 672 t standard; 837 t normal; 970 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
234.32 ft / 229.66 ft x 27.89 ft x 10.17 ft (normal load)
71.42 m / 70.00 m x 8.50 m x 3.10 m

Armament:
2 - 3.94" / 100 mm guns in single mounts, 35.27lbs / 16.00kg shells, 1943 Model
Dual purpose guns in deck mounts with hoists
on centreline ends, evenly spread
4 - 1.57" / 40.0 mm guns (2x2 guns), 1.95lbs / 0.88kg shells, 1943 Model
Anti-aircraft guns in deck mounts
on side, all amidships
Weight of broadside 78 lbs / 36 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 450

Armour:
- Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 0.98" / 25 mm 0.20" / 5 mm -

Machinery:
Diesel Internal combustion motors,
Geared drive, 2 shafts, 8,405 shp / 6,270 Kw = 25.00 kts
Range 6,800nm at 15.00 kts
Bunker at max displacement = 298 tons

Complement:
77 - 101

Cost:
£0.391 million / $1.566 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
Armament: 9 tons, 1.0 %
Armour: 3 tons, 0.3 %
- Belts: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Armament: 3 tons, 0.3 %
- Armour Deck: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Conning Tower: 0 tons, 0.0 %
Machinery: 217 tons, 25.9 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 226 tons, 27.0 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 203 tons, 24.3 %
Miscellaneous weights: 180 tons, 21.5 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
547 lbs / 248 Kg = 17.9 x 3.9 " / 100 mm shells or 0.4 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.10
Metacentric height 0.9 ft / 0.3 m
Roll period: 12.5 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 53 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.24
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 1.13

Hull form characteristics:
Hull has rise forward of midbreak
and transom stern
Block coefficient: 0.450
Length to Beam Ratio: 8.24 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 17.69 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 67 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 47
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 15.00 degrees
Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 17.39 ft / 5.30 m
- Forecastle (25 %): 16.08 ft / 4.90 m
- Mid (50 %): 14.76 ft / 4.50 m (8.53 ft / 2.60 m aft of break)
- Quarterdeck (15 %): 8.53 ft / 2.60 m
- Stern: 8.53 ft / 2.60 m
- Average freeboard: 12.27 ft / 3.74 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 117.3 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 119.7 %
Waterplane Area: 4,244 Square feet or 394 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 122 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 27 lbs/sq ft or 133 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0.55
- Longitudinal: 2.94
- Overall: 0.65
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
Room for accommodation and workspaces is adequate

Breakdown of Miscellaneous Weights:
- 17 tons for electronics
- 15 tons for hydrophones and ASDIC
- 17 tons for depth charges (64x573-lb bombs)
- 25 tons for Lance roquettes anti-sous-marin de 265mm modèle 1942
- 10 tons for HVAC
- 16 tons for miscellaneous radio, electronics and ECM gear
- 20 tons for crew comforts
- 60 tons for minesweeping equipment
180 tons total miscellaneous weight

Electronics:
Not yet Finalized

Ships in Class:
Chi Lang Group
- Chi Lang (ex-Algérien): Laid down at Nouméa July 1943, completed April 1944
- Van Kiep (ex-Bambara): Laid down at Nouméa January 1944, completed October 1944
- Dong Da: Laid down at Nouméa July 1944, completed April 1945
- Tuy Dong: Laid down at Nouméa January 1945, completed October 1945
- Tay Cay: Laid down at Nouméa July 1945, completed April 1946
- Can Don: Laid down at Nouméa January 1946, completed October 1946
- Ngoc Hoi: Laid down at Nouméa July 1946, completed April 1947
- Bach Dang: Laid down at Nouméa January 1947, completed October 1947

Notes:
This class was originally ordered by the Marine Nationale. Due to concerns in Indochina stemming from Asian conflict in 1943, the Algérien was transferred to Indochina shortly after her launch, and renamed Chi Lang; the Bambara was similarly transferred shortly after she was laid down in 1944, and renamed Van Kiep. Six more ships would follow over the next few years.