Poster tampion frigate georges leygues

The Georges Leygues is an anti-submarine frigate of the French Navy, the first of seven F70-class units. In service from 1979 to 2013, she bore the visual designation D640 and was sponsored by Villeneuve-sur-Lot, the birthplace of Georges Leygues, Minister of the Navy from 1917 to 1933.

Initially classified as a "Type C70" corvette in 1978, she was reclassified as an "Type F70" frigate in 1988. She held the speed record for vessels of her generation, reaching 36 knots.

In 1999, the Georges Leygues left Toulon for Brest, serving as the ship's keeper for the helicopter carrier Jeanne d'Arc until 2009. Adapted to the training of cadet officers, the frigate underwent an internal reorganization, reducing its crew from 250 to 200 sailors and redeveloping spaces to accommodate the cadets.

In 2000, it underwent a periodic maintenance and repair outage (IPER), strengthening its hull and adding 210 tons of concrete to maintain its stability. From 2010 to 2013, it served as an annual escort for the Projection and Command Vessel (BPC), which trains naval officers.

After its decommissioning in March 2014, its hull was used as a breakwater by the Naval Academy in Lanvéoc-Poulmic. Its dismantling was scheduled for 2023 in Bassens, Gironde.

Armed with Exocet and Crotale missiles, a 100mm cannon, anti-aircraft guns, machine guns, and torpedoes, it carried two Westland Lynx helicopters. Equipped with SIGMA 40 navigation systems, it participated in several significant operations, including Operation Lancette in 1981, missions off the coasts of Lebanon, Somalia, and Yugoslavia, and humanitarian operations in Mozambique and the Indian Ocean.