Malafon was a French ship-launched anti-submarine missile

Anti-submarine missile

An anti-submarine missile is a standoff weapon including a rocket designed to rapidly deliver an explosive warhead or homing torpedo from the launch platform to the vicinity of a submarine.-History:...

 system. Developed in the 1950s and 60s, the weapon was intended to take advantage of the greater detection ranges possible with towed sonar arrays. The missile entered service in 1966 and was manufactured by Groupe Latécoère

Groupe Latécoère

The Groupe Latécoère is an aircraft company based in Toulouse, France. Founded by Pierre-Georges Latécoère in 1917, the company was known in the past particularly for its seaplanes...

The weapon is essentially a glider-delivered version of the L4 torpedo. The launcher is a circular mount which allows the weapon to be slewed to the correct bearing, whereupon it is fired at a fixed elevation of +15°. Two solid booster rockets accelerate it to 830 km/h within 4 seconds before falling away. The unpowered glider continues at an altitude of 100 meters, altering course in mid flight under radio control of the launch platform. Effective range was 13 km. As it reaches the target the glider drops the torpedo

Torpedo

The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...

 which splashes into the sea and commences a circular search pattern. The flight time of the Malafon meant that it was expected to hit the water up to 800 m from the submarine's location. The L4 torpedo had a speed of 30 kt over a range of 5 km.

The Malafon was a large weapon, with each missile weighing 1,330 kilos. As a result is was only employed on larger vessels. It was typically used for medium and long range submarine targets, though it could have been used against surface ships.

The system was declared obsolete in 1997

Ships

The Malafon system was fitted to the following ship classes

• T 47 class destroyer
  T 47 class destroyer
  The T 47 class were the first destroyers built for the French Navy after the Second World War. Twelve ships were built between 1955 and 1957. The ships were modernised in the 1960s and decommissioned in the 1980s when they were replaced by Georges Leygues-class frigatesThese ships were larger than...
  
  
• T56 (La Galissonnière )
  T 53 class destroyer
  The T 53 class were the second group of destroyers built for the French Navy after World War 2. These ships were a modified versionof the T 47 class destroyers. The main difference with the preceding ships was the provision of improved air warning and tracking radars as well as an anti-submarine...
  
  
• Suffren class frigate
  Suffren class frigate
  The Suffren type anti-air frigates are first-rank destroyers of the French Navy, designed to protect a fleet against air threats, surface ships, submarines, and, to a lesser extent, provide fire power against land objectives...
  
  
• French destroyer Aconit (F65)
  French destroyer Aconit (F65)
  The Aconit was a unique frigate built for the French Navy during the Cold War. She was named after the French corvette Aconit which fought in the Free French Navy during World War II. the design was designated F65 by the French Navy-Design:...
  
  
• Tourville class frigate
  Tourville class frigate
  The F67 type is a class of large high-sea Destroyers of the French Navy specialised in anti-submarine warfare. They have anti-air and anti-surface capabilities....
  
  

Specifications

	Missile	Torpedo
Weight	1330 kg with booster	540 kg
Speed	230m/s (828 km/h)	30 kts
Range	13 km	5 km
Length	5.85 m	3,13 m

The missile had a 3.19m wingspan with the main body having a 65cm diameter. The torpedo had a 533mm (21 inch) diameter and could dive to 300m depth