BATRAL-class landing ship

The Bâtiment de Transport Léger (abbreviated BATRAL; "Light ferry ship") are small landing ships of the French Navy. Also known as Champlain-class by the lead ship,[2] they have been used for regional transport and patrol needs in French Overseas Departments and Territories since the 1970s.[1] On 9 January 2014 it was announced that the two remaining Batrals in French service would be replaced in 2015/16 by three 1500-tonne Bâtiments Multimission (B2M) at a cost of ~€100m (US$136m).[1]

BATRAL class
BATRAL Francis Garnier
Class overview
Succeeded by: Bâtiment Multimission (B2M)[1]
General characteristics
Type: Landing ship tank
Displacement: 770 t, 1,330 t fully loaded
Length: 80 m (262 ft)
Beam: 13 m (43 ft)
Draught: 3 m (10 ft)
Installed power:
  • 2 × diesel SACM Wärtsilä UD 33 V12 M4
  • 3,600 hp (2,700 kW)
  • Electric power: 2 × DA 180 kW
Propulsion: 2 × 4-bladed propellers
Speed: 16 knots (30 km/h)
Range: 4,500 nautical miles (8,330 km) at 13 knots (24 km/h)
Complement:
  • 3 officers
  • 15 petty officers
  • 26 quarter-masters
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • 1 × DECCA 1226 navigation radar
  • Inmarsat system
Armament:
  • 2 × 40 mm anti-air guns
  • 2 × 12.7 mm machine guns
Aviation facilities: Helicopter landing deck

Design

The Batrals can ferry over 400 tons of matériel, in the hangar and on the deck. Loading and unloading can be done from a harbour or on a beach. Two flat-bottom vessels allow unloading fifty men and light vehicles each. The accommodations are designed for a Guépard-type intervention unit (five officers, fifteen petty officers and 118 men), or for typical company-sized armoured units. A helicopter landing deck allows landing for light helicopters, and transfer to and from heavy helicopters.

History

The Chilean Navy purchased the plans and built three ships in the ASMAR shipyards in the early 1980s.

Ships
French Navy
  • Champlain decommissioned
  • Francis Garnier decommissioned
  • Dumont D'Urville decommissioned in July 2017
  • Jacques Cartier decommissioned[3]
  • La Grandière decommissioned in 2016
Chilean Navy
  • Rancagua (R92)
  • Chacabuco (R95)
  • Maipo (R91) decommissioned in 1998, later sold to civil operator
Côte d'Ivoire Navy
  • L'Elephant
Gabon Navy
  • President el Hadj Omar Bongo (L05)
Royal Moroccan Navy
  • Daoud Ben Aicha (402)
  • Ahmed Es Skali (403)
  • Abou Abdallah El Ayachi (404)

References
  1. Pape, Alex (9 January 2014). "France orders three new multimission vessels". IHS Jane's Defence Weekly.
  2. Champlain class
  3. "Le Batral Jacques Cartier est rentré en France" [The landing ship Jacques Cartier returned to France]. Marine Nationale (in French). Ministère de la Défense. 15 July 2013.
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