There is no direct mechanical reload for the Crotale, but some assisted hoist system for manual reload (30 minutes, no less...), where the missiles are stowed horizontally.
French sources are not that expensive on the topic, but this is what came up
in discussions about the Lafayette frigate class:
- Missiles are stowed below-deck (hangar roof in this case) and reloaded to the launcher via trapdoors on the roof
-
This view of the Lafayette shows the missile insertion portholes for dockside replenishment of the magazine in the side of the superstructure (You'll have to zoom a bit). This gives you an idea of the height of the magazine in this configuration.
- Note that the launcher points to 3 o'clock for reloading. The layout of other classes equipped with Crotale shows that other configurations are possible, with the magazine e.g. forward of the launcher
on the F70 frigates.
- The same source gives the overall height to ~2.75-3m, with a gangway below, which constrains the over height of the superstructure
- Chinese ships apparently use
a more direct mechanical loader for their HHQ-7 version, but since the launch unit is different from the French original, the loader could be a local design too.
In the end, the length/width of the system looks more important than the height, and might force the position of your launcher on the hangar roof.
Edit: found a top view where the trapdoor for the loader is clearly visible (stbd from the launcher), which shows the space taken:
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