French aviso Second-Maître Le Bihan

History
France
Name	Second-Maître Le Bihan
Namesake	Marcel Pierre Marie Le Bihan
Builder	Arsenal de Lorient, Lorient
Laid down	1 November 1976
Launched	13 August 1977
Commissioned	7 July 1979
Decommissioned	2002
Identification	Callsign: FABH Pennant number: F788
Fate	Sold to Turkey, 2002
Turkey
Name	Bafra
Namesake	Bafra
Acquired	26 June 2002
Commissioned	24 July 2002
Identification	Pennant number: F-505
Status	Active
General characteristics
Class and type	D'Estienne d'Orves-class aviso
Displacement	1,100 t (1,100 long tons) standard 1,270 t (1,250 long tons) full load
Length	80 m (262 ft 6 in) oa 76 m (249 ft 4 in) pp
Beam	10.3 m (33 ft 10 in)
Draught	5.3 m (17 ft 5 in)
Propulsion	2 SEMT Pielstick 12 PC 2 V400 diesel engines 8,900 kW (12,000 bhp), 2 shafts
Speed	23.5 knots (43.5 km/h; 27.0 mph)
Range	4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	90
Sensors and processing systems	1 Air/surface DRBV 51A sentry radar 1 DRBC 32E fire control radar 1 Decca 1226 navigation radar 1 DUBA 25 hull sonar
Electronic warfare & decoys	1 ARBR 16 radar interceptor 2 Dagaie decoy launchers 1 SLQ-25 Nixie countermeasure system
Armament	2 Exocet MM38 SSMs (removed from French ships when reclassified as OPVs)[1] 1 × 100 mm CADAM gun turret with Najir fire control system and CMS LYNCEA 2 × 20 mm modèle F2 guns 4 × 12.7 mm machine guns 4 × L3 or L5 type torpedoes in four fixed catapults (removed from French ships when reclassified as OPVs)[1] 1 × sextuple Bofors 375 mm rocket launcher (removed from French ships when reclassified as OPVs)[1]

Second-Maître Le Bihan (F788) is a D'Estienne d'Orves-class aviso in the French Navy. She was transferred to the Turkish Navy as TCG Bafra (F-505).

Design[edit]

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.^[2]

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 mer-mer 38 or mer-mer 40 missiles have been landed, but they carry several machine guns and machine guns, more suited to their new missions.

Its construction cost was estimated at 270,000,000 French francs.^[3]

Construction and career[edit]

Service in the French Navy[edit]

Second-Maître Le Bihan was laid down on 1 November 1976 at Arsenal de Lorient, Lorient. Launched on 13 August 1977 and commissioned on 7 July 1979.

Service in the Turkish Naval Forces[edit]

The ship was purchased from France in 2002 and acquired after arriving in Turkey on 26 June 2002 after salvage work was carried out at DCN. She was later commissioned on the 24 July of the same year.

Citations[edit]