French frigate Sénégalais

	Starboard view of Free French Destroyer Escort Sénégalais (T-22).
History
United States
Name	USS Corbesier
Namesake	Antoine Joseph Corbesier
Builder	Dravo Corporation, Wilmington, Delaware
Laid down	24 April 1943
Launched	11 November 1943
Fate	Transferred to Free France, 2 January 1944
Stricken	14 May 1952
History
Free France
Name	Sénégalais (T-22)
Namesake	Senegal
Acquired	2 January 1944
History
France
Name	Sénégalais (F-02)
Acquired	14 October 1946
Renamed	Yser, for Yser, August 1962
Reclassified	frigate Sénégalais (F-702) 1952
Stricken	May 1965
Fate	1965 sold for scrap to Walter Ritscher, Hamburg
General characteristics
Class and type	Cannon-class destroyer escort
Displacement	1,240 long tons (1,260 t) standard; 1,620 long tons (1,646 t) full;
Length	306 ft (93 m) o/a; 300 ft (91 m) w/l;
Beam	36 ft 10 in (11.23 m)
Draft	8 ft 9 in (2.67 m)
Propulsion	4 × GM Mod. 16-278A diesel engines with electric drive, 6,000 shp (4,474 kW), 2 screws
Speed	21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Range	10,800 nmi (20,000 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	15 officers and 201 enlisted
Armament	3 × single Mk.22 3"/50 caliber guns; 1 × twin 40 mm Mk.1 AA gun; 8 × 20 mm Mk.4 AA guns; 3 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes; 1 × Hedgehog Mk.10 anti-submarine mortar; 8 × Mk.6 depth charge projectors; 2 × Mk.9 depth charge tracks;

Yser, originally named Sénégalais, was a frigate in the Free French Naval Forces during World War II and the French Navy post-war. The ship was originally built as USS Corbesier (DE-106), an American Cannon-class destroyer escort named for Antoine Joseph Corbesier, for more than 40 years he was the beloved swordmaster of the U.S. Naval Academy Midshipmen. The name Corbesier (DE-106) was cancelled 24 September 1943 so it could be used for USS Corbesier (DE-438).^[2]

History[edit]

During World War II, Corbesier was transferred to the Free French Naval Forces under lend lease on 2 January 1944, and renamed Sénégalais. Ownership of the vessel was transferred to France on 21 April 1952 under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program. She was renamed Yser about that same time.

World War II[edit]

In the night on 2/3 May 1944, U-371 was spotted recharging her batteries on the surface off Djidjelli on the Algerian coast. The area was swamped with six escorts from the convoy GUS-38 and three aircraft squadrons. At 01.18 hours on 3 May, the U-boat managed to damage Menges with a Gnat in the stern. The other vessels hunted the U-boat until the early morning of 4 May when Fenksi had to surface his boat and save his crew, but at 04.04 hours he still fought back and also damaged the FFL Sénégalais (T 22) with a Gnat before scuttling the U-boat.^[1]