La Combattante IIIb-class fast attack craft

Simaioforos Xenos (P 27) in 1988

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.[1] 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.

Modernization

The Hellenic Navy has decided to modernize the Fast Attack Craft Missile Class La Combattante III and La Combattante IIIb. For the four Combattante III fast attack craft, Thales Nederland will deliver a TACTICOS combat management system, including 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 will remain unchanged. Thales will also be responsible for the integration of these existing guns, surface-to-surface missiles and torpedo system. The first of the four ships will be ready mid-2006, followed by the other three with six months intervals.

Ships

The ships of this class have been named after junior officers of the Hellenic Navy killed during World War II. They are:[1][2]

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

Specifications

(per Conway[1])

  • Displacement Full Load (tons): 429
  • Displacement Standard (tons): 359
  • Length (m): 56.2
  • Beam (m): 7.9
  • Draught (m): 2.5
  • Range (nm): 700
  • Main machinery: 4 MTU 20V 538 TB91 diesels; 15,000 bhp(m) (11.29 MW) sustained; 4 shafts
  • Speed, knots: 32.5
  • Range, nautical miles: 700 at 32 kn; 2,000 at 15 kn
  • Crew: 42 (5 officers)
  • Missiles: Kongsberg Penguin Mk 2 Mod 3 (P 24-P 29); inertial/IR homing to 27 km (15 n miles)at 0.8 Mach; warhead 120 kg.

Degiannis (P 26) has been refitted with two RGM-84 Harpoon

  • Guns: 2 OTO Melara 3 in (76 mm)/62 compact; 85 rds/min to 16 km (8.6 nmi) anti-surface; 12 km (6.5 nmi) anti-aircraft; weight of shell 6 kg.
    4 Emerson Electric 30 mm (2 twin); multipurpose; 1,200 rds/min combined to 6 km (3.2 nmi); weight of shell 0.35 kg.
  • Torpedoes: 2-21 in (533 mm)aft tubes. AEG SST-4; anti-surface; wire-guided; active homing to 12 km (6.5 nmi) at 35 kn; passive homing to 28 km (15 nmi) at 23 kn; warhead 250 kg.
  • Countermeasures: Decoys: Wegmann chaff launchers.

ESM: Thomson TM1226, D-1280.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Conway p166
  2. ↑ "Πυραυλάκατοι (ΤΠΚ) τύπου LA COMBATTANTE IIIb" (in Greek). Hellenic Navy. Retrieved 13 June 2018.

References

  • 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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