This year on June 9th and 10th, as we did in 2006 for TM1SME (a qsl has been sent for every qso) we are going to activate TM2SME from the emergency radio room of naval museum (ex destroyer) Maillé Brézé, classified National Historic Landmark. This vessel is the third one bearing the name of Duke Armand de Brézé, who had been grown up by his uncle the “Cardinal de Richelieu” (the well known minister of King Louis XIII). Armand de Brézé was born in 1619, great admiral of the fleet in 1642, a 23-year-old admiral is not so common! Is it? That proves his qualities. He won important naval battles mainly in Mediterranean Sea, but unfortunately was killed off Orbitello in 1646. That was a terrible loss for the French Navy.

In memoriam, the Navy gave his name to a sailing vessel not long after his death (if my memory serves me right). Then, two other ships were given the name Maillé Brézé. First a torpedo boat destroyer launched in 1930 which sank in Greenock (Scotland) in 1940, after a big explosion. All the crew exept one was killed. The only survivor has visited the naval museum some time ago and told us the story. The last Maillé Brézé has been laid down in 1953 in Lorient shipyard and launched in September 1954. Her radio call sign was F.A.J.U. 17 other destroyers of the same type (called T47 type) were launched between 1950 and 1960, two of them were launched in Nantes. Unfortunately, this shipyard in Nantes doesn’t exist any more (transferred to St Nazaire Chantiers de l’Atlantique not far from U-boat Espadon who will be on air also with call F6KBG.

Thanks : F6GIN - http://qst44.monsite.orange.fr/