An item reported that the French frigate Laplace (1) which was used as weather station hit a magnetic mine off Cape Frehel between Brest and Saint Malo and sunk within 3 minutes. Of the 93 men on board were just 42 saved, 30 bodies were salvaged and 21 men missing. The rough sea harassed the rescue efforts. She was manned with navy personnel although officially belonging to the Department of Public Affairs. She was returning from her guard of three weeks on the Atlantic during which period she suffered from heavy storms. The original intention was to enter Saint Malo last Friday evening but her captain thought it was already too late. The explosion was early in the morning when she was lying anchored off Saint Malo. Her displacement was 1,400 tons.
Note
1. This was the former USS Roanoke (PG-201) laid down at the shipyard of the American Shipbuilding Company at Lorain, Ohio on 25 October 1943, renamed on 7 February a year later USS Lorain (PF-93), launched on 18 March and baptized by Mrs. Fred Henderson, commissioned on 15 January 1945, on 14 March of the next year decommissioned and sold to France on 26 March 1947 where she was commissioned as the La Place (F13) and exploded on 16 September 1950. Of the Tacoma-class frigates with a displacement of 1,430 long tons/1,453 tons (light)-2,415 long tons/2,454 tons (full load) with as dimensions 92,63 x 11,43 x 4,17 metres or 303’11” x 37’6”x 13’8”. In US navy service numbered her crew 190 men. The two engines and three boilers supplied totally 11,000 shp allowing a speed of 20 knots.
