La Combattante III-class fast attack craft

The La Combattante III type missile boats of the Hellenic Navy are a class of four fast attack craft ordered by Greece in September 1974 from France.[2] The vessels had no class name but are referred to by type.[3] 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 Penguin Mk 2 Mod 3 missiles. Since 2019, all the ships of the class use Harpoon anti-ship missiles.

La Combattante III-class fast attack craft
HS Blessas (P-21) in 2011, before the mid-life modernization
Class overview
Builders: CMN Lurssen
Operators:
Preceded by: La Combattante IIa class
Succeeded by:
In commission:
  • 3 May 1975 (Greece)
  • 1982 (Qatar)
Planned:
  • 10 (Greece)
  • 3 (Qatar)
Completed:
  • 10 (Greece)
  • 3 (Qatar)
Active:
  • 10 (Greece)
  • 3 (Qatar)
General characteristics [1]
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 m2 target)
    • Navigation: Decca 1226C (I-band)
    • Fire-control: Thomson-CSF Castor II (I/J-band, range 31 km for 2 m2 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

Ships

La Combattante III

The ships of this class have been named after officers of the Hellenic Navy killed during World War II. They are:[4]

Greek ships
Pennant
number		 Greek
name		 Transliterated
name		 Namesake Builder Launched Commissioned Status
P 20 (original P 50) Αντιπλοίαρχος Λάσκος Antiploiarchos Laskos Commander Vasileios Laskos, captain of the submarine Katsonis, killed when the ship was sunk by the Germans on 14 September 1943 Constructions mécaniques de Normandie 20 April 1977 Active
P 21 (original P 51) Πλωτάρχης Μπλέσσας Plotarchis Blessas Lieutenant Commander Georgios Blessas, captain of the destroyer Vasilissa Olga, killed when the ship was sunk by the Germans on 26 September 1943 Constructions mécaniques de Normandie 7 July 1977 Active
P 22 (original P 57) Υποπλοίαρχος Μυκόνιος Ypoploiarchos Mykonios Lieutenant Sofoklis Mykonios, 2nd officer of the submarine Katsonis, killed when the ship was sunk by the Germans on 14 September 1943 Constructions mécaniques de Normandie 10 February 1978 Active
P 23 (original P 52) Υποπλοίαρχος Τρουπάκης Ypoploiarchos Troupakis Lieutenant Stefanos Troupakis, 3rd officer of the submarine Katsonis, killed when the ship was sunk by the Germans on 14 September 1943 Constructions mécaniques de Normandie 8 November 1977 Active

Qatari ships
Pennant number Name Builder Launched Commissioned Status
Q 01 Damsah Hellenic Shipyards 1982 Active
Q 02 Al Ghariyah Hellenic Shipyards 1983 Active
Q 03 Rbigah Hellenic Shipyards 1983 Active

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.[5] They are a similar but newer design than the Greek La Combattante III-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:[5][4]

Pennant
number		 Greek
name		 Transliterated
name		 Namesake Builder Launched Commissioned Status
P 24 Σημαιοφόρος Καβαλούδης Simaioforos Kavaloudis Torpedo Ensign Minas Kavaloudis, crew member of the submarine Katsonis, killed when the ship was sunk by the Germans on 14 September 1943 Hellenic Shipyards 14 July 1980 Active
P 25 Υποπλοίαρχος Κωστάκος Ypoploiarchos Kostakos Lieutenant Ioannis Kostakos, crew member of the submarine Glafkos, killed in a Luftwaffe attack in Malta on 27 February 1942 Hellenic Shipyards 9 September 1980 Lost in collision with the passenger ship Samaina, 6 November 1996
P 26 Υποπλοίαρχος Ντεγιάννης Ypoploiarchos Degiannis Lieutenant Ilias Degiannis, Resistance leader during World War II, executed by the Germans on 18 June 1943 Hellenic Shipyards 11 December 1980 Active
P 27 Σημαιοφόρος Ξένος Simaioforos Xenos Machinist Ensign Konstantinos Xenos, crew member of the submarine Katsonis, killed when the ship was sunk by the Germans on 14 September 1943 Hellenic Shipyards 31 March 1981 Active
P 28 Σημαιοφόρος Σιμιτζόπουλος Simaioforos Simitzopoulos Ensign Nikolaos Simitzopoulos, crew member of the destroyer Vasilissa Olga, killed when the ship was sunk by the Germans on 26 September 1943 Hellenic Shipyards 30 June 1981 Active
P 29 Σημαιοφόρος Σταράκης Simaioforos Starakis Machinist Ensign Vasileios Starakis, crew member of the submarine Triton, killed when the ship was sunk by the Germans on 16 November 1942 Hellenic Shipyards 12 October 1981 Active

Mid-life modernization

In 2003 the Hellenic Navy decided to modernize the Fast Attack Craft Missile Class La Combattante III and La Combattante IIIb.[6] 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).[7]

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

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. Conway p166
  6. Thales Wins two Hellenic Naval Contracts, article in www.defence-aerospace.com, Source: Thales Group; issued Nov. 26, 2003; web-posted Nov. 27, 2003
  7. Hellenic Navy Fast boat command, article in Greek defence magazine defencereview.gr (26 August 2018) (in Greek)

References

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
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