French frigate Jean Bart

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Jean Bart.

Jean Bart was a Cassard-class anti-air frigate of the French Marine Nationale. She was the eighth^[1] vessel of the French Navy named after the privateer Jean Bart. She was commissioned on 3 March 1991.^[2]

Jean Bart in April 2014
History
France
Name	Jean Bart
Namesake	Jean Bart
Builder	DCNS S.A.
Laid down	12 February 1986
Launched	19 March 1988
Commissioned	21 September 1991
Decommissioned	31 August 2021
Identification	D 615
Status	Decommissioned
General characteristics
Class and type	Cassard-class frigate
Displacement	4,500 t (4,400 long tons)
Length	139 m (456 ft 0 in)
Beam	14 m (45 ft 11 in)
Draught	6 m (19 ft 8 in)
Propulsion	4 Pielstick PA6 BTC diesel engines 2 fixed pitch propellers 4 diesel-alternators (3400 kW) for electrical plant
Speed	25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range	8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Complement	22 officers 142 non-commissioned officers 80 enlisted personnel
Sensors and processing systems	DRBV26C sentry radar 1 DRBJ11B tri-dimensional air sentry radar 1 DIBV2A infra-red alert system 2 DRBN34 navigation and landing radar 1 DUBV 24C hull sonar
Electronic warfare & decoys	1 ARBR 17 radar detector 1 SAIGON radio emission detector 1 ARBB 33 jammer 2 SAGAIE NG decoy launchers 2 DAGAIE decoy launchers 1 Syracuse II system
Armament	Anti-air; 1 × Mk 13 launcher (40 × Standard SM-1MR anti-air missiles) Anti-ship; 8 × MM40 Exocet anti-ship missiles Anti-submarine; 2 × fixed torpedo tubes (10 × L5 mod 4 torpedoes) Guns; 1 × Creusot- Loire Compact 100 mm/55 Mod 68 DP gun 2 × 20 mm F2 anti-aircraft guns 4 × 12.7 mm machine guns CIWS; 2 × Sadral sextuple launcher (39 × Mistral CIWS anti-air missiles)
Aircraft carried	1 × Panther anti-submarine helicopter

Jean Bart was fitted with a number of types of prototype equipment which were later incorporated in the La Fayette-class frigates. The vessel was withdrawn from service in August 2021.^[3]

Service history

On 12 April 2008, Jean Bart aided the capture of the pirates who had taken over the luxury yacht MY Le Ponant. She took part in Operation Unified Protector until she returned to her home port Toulon in April 2011.^[4]

In October 2014, Jean Bart entered the US Fifth Fleet and joined up with CTF 50 for Opération Chammal.^[5]

On 11 October 2019, Jean Bart, accompanied by the Royal Navy frigate HMS Montrose, intercepted a suspicious dhow in the Arabian Sea and seized 170 kilograms (370 lb) of illegal narcotics.^[6]

From 4 May to 1 June 2020, Jean Bart participated in the European Union's Operation Irini, enforcing the arms embargo on Libya.^[7][8] The frigate returned to Toulon from her deployment to the Indian Ocean in March 2021^[9] and had been expected to decommission in Spring 2021 to be replaced by the FREMM-class frigate Alsace.^[10] However, it was subsequently announced that the frigate would remain in service temporarily and deploy on one final mission to Greece in April to demonstrate her capabilities in the context of a French offer to transfer her to the Hellenic Navy.^[11] After the Greek Government elected not to acquire her, Jean Bart was decommissioned on 31 August 2021.^[3]

References

1. "Les précédents Jean Bart". Marine Nationale (in French). www.defense.gouv.fr. 24 August 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
2. "Jean Bart (D 615)". Marine Nationale (in French). www.defense.gouv.fr. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
3. Groizeleau, Vincent (31 August 2021). "Pas de seconde vie grecque pour la frégate Jean Bart, définitivement retirée du service". Mer et Marine (in French). Retrieved 31 August 2021.
4. "Libye: point de situation opération Harmattan n°16". Ministère de la Défense. 4 April 2011. Archived from the original on 9 May 2011.
5. "Chammal : La Frégate Jean Bart Intègre la Task Force 50" (in French). colsbleus.fr. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
6. "HMS Montrose Lands Major Drugs Haul in Arabian Sea". Royal Navy. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
7. "The Operation sets sail". Operation Irini. EUVNAFOR Med. 7 May 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
8. "FS Jean Bart" (PDF). EUVANFOR Med. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
9. "La frégate Jean Bart rentre à Toulon au terme de son ultime mission". Mer et Marine (in French). 5 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
10. "Marine nationale : les programmes qui vont façonner la future flotte française". Mer et Marine (in French). 1 February 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
11. "French Navy Frigate 'Jean Bart' To Demonstrate Its Capabilities To The Hellenic Navy". navalnews.com. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.