Another visit by an allied ship. FS Sagittaire in the Port of Gdynia - MarinePoland.com
Another visit by an allied ship. FS Sagittaire in the Port of Gdynia
Date of publication: 29.05.2023
In connection with the upcoming international Baltops exercise, a mine destroyer belonging to the French Navy (Marine nationale) entered Gdynia on May 27. This is the third visit in the past two weeks by a unit belonging to a NATO country.

The stay in the Gdynia port was of a working nature, allowing the sailors to rest and replenish supplies. During the visit, the ship's commander met with the command staff of the 13th minesweeper squadron of the 8th Coastal Defense Flotilla, headed by Cmdr. Lt. Michal Dziugan, as well as representatives of the 3rd Flotilla of Ships. The visit was an opportunity to get acquainted with the activities of the Polish Navy's mine countermeasure forces, its equipment in the form of, among other things, modern mine destroyers proj. 258, as well as to exchange experiences and naval reminiscences.

FS Sagittiare (M650) is a Tripatile-type mine destroyer that entered service in 1996. She comes from a large series of mine countermeasure ships, numbering 38 units, serving under the flags of France, as well as Belgium, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Indonesia, Latvia and Pakistan. Interestingly, she is the second vessel of her type bearing the same name and designation, as the first was sold in 1992 to Pakistan, where she is still in service as Munsif (M 166). The ship is 51.50 meters long and has a displacement of 615 tons. The crew consists of 46 officers and sailors. It reaches a speed of 15 knots. It is powered by a Werkspoor-Wärtsilä ARUB 215 V 12 diesel engine. Its armament is an AA 20 mm F2 machine gun, two 12.7 mm machine guns, two 7.62 mm machine guns. Its equipment includes the DUBM-21E sonar, the Racal-Decca DRBN-38 navigation radar, the Syledis radio-navigation system and the Inmarsat mini M satellite communication system. It also has remotely operated underwater vehicles designed to neutralize dangerous found objects. Its equipment includes SAAB Bofors Double Eagle Mk 2, also used by the Polish Navy on Kormoran 2-type mine destroyers.


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