Italian sloop Eritrea

Francis Garnier
History
Italy
Name	Eritrea
Ordered	8 May 1935
Launched	28 September 1936
Completed	10 February 1937
Fate	Transferred to France 1948
France
Name	Francis Garnier
Namesake	Francis Garnier
Acquired	12 February 1948
Stricken	1966
Fate	Sunk as target ship 1966
General characteristics
Type	Colonial ship
Displacement	2,165 long tons (2,200 t) standard 3,068 long tons (3,117 t) full load
Length	96.9 m (317 ft 11 in)
Beam	13.3 m (43 ft 8 in)
Draught	4.7 m (15 ft 5 in)
Propulsion	2-shaft diesel-electric, 7,800 hp diesel, 1,300 hp electric motors
Speed	20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h)
Range	6,950 nmi (12,870 km)
Complement	234
Armament	4 × 120 mm (4.7 in) guns (2 × 2) 2 × Vickers-Terni 40 mm/39 pom pom (2 × 1) 4 × 13.2 mm (0.52 in) machine guns (4 × 1)
Armour	Deck: 25 to 32 mm (0.98 to 1.26 in) Conning tower: 100 mm (4 in)

Eritrea was a colonial ship of the Italian Regia Marina constructed in the Castellammare Shipyards near Napoli. Construction started in 1935 and she was commissioned in 1937.^[1] She served mainly in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.^[2]