Commandant Bourdais (F 740) was a Commandant Rivière-class frigate of French Navy, launched on 15 April 1961 and commissioned on 10 March 1963. She was later sold to National Navy of Uruguay in 1991 where she served as ROU 01 Uruguay until her decommissioning in 2008.
Development and design
The main gun armament of the Commandant Rivière class consisted of three of the new French guns, with a single turret located forward and two turrets aft.Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 117.Blackman 1962, p. 88. These water-cooled automatic dual-purpose guns could fire a shell at an effective range of against surface targets and against aircraft at a rate of 60 rounds per minute.Friedman 1997, pp. 432–433. A quadruple anti-submarine mortar was fitted in 'B' position, aft of the forward gun and in front of the ship's superstructure, capable of firing a depth charge to or in the shore bombardment role, a projectile to .Grove 1990, p. 55. Two triple torpedo tubes were fitted for anti-submarine torpedoes, while the ship's armament was completed by two Hotchkiss HS-30 cannon. The ships had accommodation for an 80-man commando detachment with two fast landing boats, each capable of landing 25 personnel.Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 118.
Construction and career Commandant Bourdais was laid down in April 1959 and launched on 15 April 1961 at Arsenal de Lorient in Lorient. The frigate was commissioned on 10 March 1963.
The ship was sold to Uruguay in 1991 and given the new name Uruguay and was in service until 2008. She was sold for scrap some years later.
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