Misplaced Pages

La Combattante III-class fast attack craft

HS Blessas (P-21) in 2011, before the mid-life modernization
Class overview
Builders	CMN Lurssen
Operators	Hellenic Navy
Preceded by	La Combattante IIa class
Succeeded by	Roussen class
In commission	3 May 1975
Planned	10
Completed	10
Active	9
General characteristics
Type	Missile boat
Displacement	359–425 t (353–418 long tons)
Length	56.2 metres (184 ft)
Beam	7.9 metres (26 ft)
Draft	2.5 metres (8.2 ft)
Propulsion	4 x MTU 20V 538 TB92 diesels 4 x shafts (P 20-23) 18,000 bhp (12.54 MW) sustained
Speed	36.5 knots (67.6 km/h; 42.0 mph)
Range	300 nmi (30 knots) 2,000 nmi (15 knots)
Crew	42 (5 officers)
Sensors and processing systems	2 x CSEE Panda optical directors for 30 mm guns Thomson-CSF Vega I or II system (P 20-P 23) Radar: Search: Thomson-CSF Triton G-band (range 33 km for 2 m target) Navigation: Decca 1226C (I-band) Fire-control: Thomson-CSF Castor II (I/J-band, range 31 km for 2 m target
Electronic warfare & decoys	Decoys: Wegmann chaff launchers Thomson-CSF DR 2000S intercept
Armament	SSMs: 4 x Harpoon anti-ship missiles Guns: 2 x Otobreda 76 mm (85 rounds/min, 16 km anti-surface, 12 km (6.5 nmi) anti-aircraft) Torpedoes: 4 x Emerson Electric 30 mm (2 twin, 1,200 rounds/min)
Armor	2.5 in (64 mm) Kevlar over vital spaces

The La Combattante III type missile boats are two classes of fast attack craft built for the Hellenic Navy. The first group of four were ordered by Greece in September 1974 from France. The vessels had no class name but are referred to by type. They are similar to the La Combattante IIa-class fast attack craft already in service, but are larger and armed with torpedoes. A second group of six were ordered in 1978, to be built under license in Greece and use the Norwegian Penguin Mk 2 Mod 3 missiles. Since 2019, all the ships of the class use Harpoon anti-ship missiles.

Ships

La Combattante IIIa

The La Combattante IIIa type missile boats of the Hellenic Navy are a class of four fast attack craft built in France to the La Combattante III design. The vessels had no class name but are referred to by type. The ships of this class have been named after officers of the Hellenic Navy killed during World War II. They are:

La Combattante IIIb

The La Combattante IIIb type missile boats of the Hellenic Navy are a class of six fast attack craft built in Greece to a French design. The vessels had no class name but are referred to by type. They are a similar but newer design than the Greek La Combattante IIIa-class fast attack craft, with the main difference that they use Kongsberg Penguin Mk 2 Mod 3 missiles. The six ships were built at Hellenic Shipyards (first launching in 1979). Kostakos (P 25) sank after collision with a ferry in November 1996.

The ships of this class have been named after junior officers of the Hellenic Navy killed during World War II. They are:

Mid-life modernization

In 2003 the Hellenic Navy decided to modernize the Fast Attack Craft Missile Class La Combattante III and La Combattante IIIb. For the four Combattante III fast attack craft, Thales Nederland delivered the TACTICOS combat management system which includes four multifunctional operator consoles, one surveillance radar, one fire control tracking system, one electro-optical tracking and fire control system, an integrated low probability of interception radar, two target designation sights and a tactical data link. The weapon suite of the Combattantes III remained unchanged. Thales was responsible for the integration of these existing guns, surface-to-surface missiles and torpedo system. The modernization project was completed in 2010. After the completion of the modernization program, Hellenic Navy substituted all the existing anti-ship missiles (Penguin Mk2 Mod 3 and Exocet) with Harpoon missiles (coming from stock from previously decommissioned ships).

Gallery

• Aerial photo of Simaioforos Xenos (HS P-27) La Combattante IIIb class FAC, in 1988

See also

• La Combattante-class fast attack craft
• Greek La Combattante IIa-class fast attack craft

Notes

1. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995 p166
2. La Grèce disposera en 1978 de canonnières lance-missiles françaises d'un nouveau modèle, article in French newspaper Le Monde, 16 November 1976 (in French)
3. ^ Conway p166
4. ^ "Πυραυλάκατοι (ΤΠΚ) τύπου LA COMBATTANTE III" (in Greek). Hellenic Navy. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
5. Thales Wins two Hellenic Naval Contracts, article in www.defence-aerospace.com, Source: Thales Group; issued Nov. 26, 2003; web-posted Nov. 27, 2003
6. Hellenic Navy Fast boat command, article in Greek defence magazine defencereview.gr (26 August 2018) (in Greek)

References

• Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995 (1995) Naval Institute Press, Annapolis ISBN 1-55750-132-7
• https://web.archive.org/web/20060906041332/http://www.hellenicnavy.gr/facm_la_combattanteIII_en.asp
• http://www.ellinikos-stratos.com/naytiko/combattanteIIIa.asp

Bibliography

• Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995 (1995) Naval Institute Press, Annapolis ISBN 1-55750-132-7

v t e Ship classes of the Hellenic Navy
Frigates	FDI HN class Hydra class Elli class
Gunboats	ex-Asheville class Thetis class ex-Osprey 55 class Osprey HSY-55 class Osprey HSY-56A class
Submarines	Glafkos class (Neptune I) Poseidon class (Neptune II) Papanikolis class
Fast attack craft	La Combattante IIa class La Combattante IIIa class La Combattante IIIb class Roussen class
Mine warfare ships	ex-Hunt-class minehunters ex-Osprey-class minehunters MSC-294-class minesweepers
General support ships	Etna-class replenishment ship ex-Lüneburg-class replenishment ships Atlas
Auxiliary ships	Ouranos-class coastal tankers Orion-class coastal tankers
Training ships	Aris
Landing vessels	Jason-class LSTs ex-Zubr-class LCACs ex-Barbe-class LCUs

• Missile boats of the Hellenic Navy
• Missile boat classes