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 (subsequently four) 1500-tonne Bâtiments Multimission (B2M) at a cost of ~€100m (US$136m).^[1]

BATRAL class

BATRAL Francis Garnier
Class overview
Builders	DCN, Brest ASMAR, Talcahuano
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 6 in)
Beam	13 m (42 ft 8 in)
Draught	3 m (9 ft 10 in)
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; 18 mph)
Range	4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
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

• Maipo (LST-91) 1982–1998
• Rancagua (LST-92) 1983–present
• Chacabuco (LST-95) 1986–present

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)

• 
  Francis Garnier at sea
• 
  Francis Garnier in port
• 
  Dumont D'Urville with her landing bow opened

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.