# French aviso Premier-Maître L'Her

Premier-Maître L'Her (F792) was a D'Estienne d'Orves-class aviso in the French Navy.

## Design

The aviso had a crew of 90 sailors, and vessels of this class have the reputation of being among the most difficult in bad weather. Their high windage makes them particularly sensitive to pitch and roll as soon as the sea is formed.
Their armament, consequent for a vessel of this tonnage, allows them to manage a large spectrum of missions. During the Cold War, they were primarily used to patrol the continental shelf of the Atlantic Ocean in search of Soviet Navy submarines. Due to the poor performance of the hull sonar, as soon as an echo appeared, the reinforcement of an ASM frigate was necessary to chase it using her towed variable depth sonar.
Their role as patrollers now consists mainly of patrols and assistance missions, as well as participation in UN missions (blockades, flag checks) or similar marine policing tasks (fight against drugs, extraction of nationals, fisheries control, etc.). The mer-mer 38 or mer-mer 40 missiles have been landed, but they carry several machine guns and machine guns, more suited to their new missions.
The ships construction cost was estimated at 270,000,000 French francs.

## Construction and career

Premier-Maître L'Her was laid down on 15 December 1978 at Arsenal de Lorient, Lorient. Launched on 28 June 1980 and commissioned on 5 December 1981. Her first mission was as part of Operation Olifant off the coast of Beirut in 1982.
On 1 January 2009, the ship which participated in the European anti-piracy mission Operation Atalanta east of the Gulf of Aden, responded twice to distress calls from a cargo ship under the flag of Panama. After the freighter's second distress call, the pirates having fled shortly before during the first. The aviso spotted and then stopped the two pirate boats on board which were eight Somalis, armed with six AK-47 assault rifles and a RPG-7 rocket launcher. The suspected pirates were then held aboard the ship en route to the Somali coast to hand them over to the authorities of this country.
In February 2013, the ship participated in Operation Serval for one month.
From 21 October to 20 December 2017, the vessel was engaged in the EU Navfor Med Sophia mission during which she participated in the rescue of two boats in difficulty. The ship was notably in the area during the events of 6 November 2017.
From 29 March to 15 April 2019, the ship participated in the NATO military exercise Exercise Joint Warrior. Despite the vessel's weak means of detection, the ship was appointed lead of the anti-submarine warfare force. In December 2022, the Navy Mini Drone System (SMDM) was installed on the ship to enhance her surveillance capabilities. The drone was described as being able to film and photograph and track, in real time, targets up to 25 nautical miles (46 km; 29 mi) distant from the ship.
In January 2023 Premier-Maître L'Her arrived for a three-month deployment in the Gulf of Guinea for counter-illegal fishing and counter-smuggling operations.
In April 2024, Premier-Maître L'Her returned to Brest completing a final two month deployment in the Atlantic. She sailed for the last time in June ahead of her decommissioning on 1 July. The ship was eventually to be replaced by one of a new class of ocean-going patrol vessels (the Patrouilleurs Hauturiers).
She was sunk on 14 December 2024 during the test of a F21 heavy torpoedo, fired by a submarine.

## Citations

* 1 2 Groizeleau, Vincent (18 July 2024). "Le patrouilleur Premier-maître L'Her retiré du service" [Patrol boat Premier-maître L’Her retiré withdrawn from service]. Mer et Marine (in French). Retrieved 19 July 2024.
* ↑ Groizeleau, Vincent (17 July 2020). "L'Enseigne de Vaisseau Jacoubet prend ses quartiers à Brest" [L'Enseigne de Vaisseau Jacoubet takes up residence in Brest]. Mer et Marine (in French). Retrieved 14 December 2022.
* 1 2 3 "Patrouilleurs: Les avisos français sur tous les fronts" [Patrol ships: French Avisos on all fronts.]. asafrance.fr (in French). 26 January 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
* ↑ "Euronaval: First details of the Patrouilleurs Océanique (PO) platform unveiled". Naval News. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
* ↑ Quid 1996. p. 2036. ISBN 2-221-08055-6.
* ↑ "L'aviso PM L'Her tire sa révérence après 43 années de navigation". Marine Nationale (in French). 28 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
* ↑ "Un navire français intercepte des pirates" [French ship intercepts pirates]. Le Figaro (in French). Agence France Presse. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
* ↑ Mare Clausum: The Sea Watch vs Libyan Coast Guard Case, retrieved 17 September 2021
* ↑ "Deux bâtiments brestois participent à l'entraînement Joint Warrior". www.colsbleus.fr. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
* ↑ "Première mise en place du SMDM sur le PHM Premier-maître L'Her" [First installation of the SMDM on the PHM Premier-maître L’Her] (in French). Ministère de la Défense. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
* ↑ "Opération Corymbe: Déploiement du patrouilleur de haute mer Premier-Maître L'Her dans le golfe de Guinée" (in French). Ministère des Armées. 3 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
* ↑ "Le Premier maître L'Her a achevé son dernier grand déploiement avant désarmement". Mer et Marine (in French). 22 April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
* ↑ "L'aviso PM L'Her tire sa révérence après 43 années de navigation" (in French). Marine Nationale. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
* ↑ Groizeleau, Vincent (6 May 2021). "La Marine nationale va rapidement désarmer ses derniers PHM" [The French Navy will quickly disarm its last PHM]. Mer et Marine (in French). Retrieved 15 June 2021.
* ↑ "Premier Maître L'Her (F792) (+2024)".