VICTOR SCHOELCHER - COMMANDANT RIVIERE

Commandant Riviere (F733) is a French frigate (fr. sloop-escort) the keel was laid in April 1957, was launched in October 1958 and entered service with the Marine Nationale in 1962. The total length of the ship at the time of launching was 103 m, width 11.5 m, with a full displacement of about 2,200 tons. The maximum speed was up to 25 knots. At the beginning of the service, the unit was armed with: 3 100 mm guns, 2 30 mm anti-aircraft guns or 2 triple 550 mm torpedo tubes. Commandant Riviere (F733) was the first of nine frigates to belong to the class of the same name, Commandant Riviere. Units of this type were built as ships intended for peacetime patrol tasks and for escort tasks (especially convoy cover) in wartime. Compared to the previous frigates of a similar role - the Le Normand type - they were clearly larger, had stronger artillery weapons and a significantly increased swimming range. The Commandant Riviere (F733) frigate was built at the Arsenal de Lorient shipyard in Lorient, Brittany. In the course of service, it was modernized, which resulted in the removal of a single 100 mm gun and the installation of 4 MM38 Exocet rocket launchers. In 1984-1985 the unit was reclassified to conduct research with the use of sonars - especially towed ones. At that time, its armament was changed. Commandant Riviere (F733) was decommissioned in 1992 and scrapped in 2015.