French aircraft carrier heads home

BBC News ^ | 02/17/2003

[dighton]

The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is returning to France next week, say French officials, apparently scotching suggestions that it might be heading for the Gulf.

The vessel set sail on 4 February from its Mediterranean home port of Toulon, amid speculation that its final destination might be the Gulf.

Officially the vessel was heading for exercises off Crete, but some military analysts believed that it would subsequently join the build-up of military forces in the Gulf.

However, a senior French naval spokesman said on Monday there was “no question” of the Charles de Gaulle going to the Gulf.

“As planned, we will leave Crete again on 21 February and we should arrive back in Toulon on 25 February,” said Lieutenant Commander Bertrand Bonneau of the Charles de Gaulle battle group.

“There is no question at all of us going to the Gulf,” he told the French news agency AFP.

France has been leading European resistance to an early conflict with Iraq, but has been expected to eventually back a war if it believes all diplomatic routes have been exhausted.

Its confirmation that the Charles de Gaulle was returning home appeared to suggest that even in the medium future, it saw no place for conflict.

“I assumed the Charles de Gaulle would steam on to the Gulf,” said Ewan Southby-Tailyour, editor of Jane’s Amphibious and Special Forces.

“I think the statement about it returning home might be just “today’s statement”.

“It is almost certainly directed at the Americans, to try to add credence to their political statement in the UN Security Council.

“They are trying to show the US they really don’t believe we should be going to war yet.”

The French Government had not confirmed speculation that the Crete exercises would lead on to a Gulf deployment, but the Defence Ministry had stressed that the Charles de Gaulle was set for any mission.

“When a ship sails, it goes battle-ready - in terms of its crew, its weaponry and its aircraft, in times of peace or crisis,” said spokesman Christophe Prazuck at the time the vessel set sail.

“A ship like the Charles de Gaulle is not half-operation, or giving an illusion of being operational. It is totally operational.”

The Charles de Gaulle’s three weeks of exercises have included some with a US aircraft carrier, the Harry S Truman, deployed in the Mediterranean ahead of a possible war.

The exercises have taken place between Sicily and Crete, with the Charles de Gaulle based at Souda Bay on Crete, about 250 kilometres (150 miles) south of Athens.

Fighting power

If, as analysts suspect, the Charles de Gaulle eventually turns round once again and sails back towards the Gulf, it will take around two days’ extra sailing to get back to the eastern Mediterranean.

From there - or from closer to the Gulf - the French vessel could be used to deploy French aircraft to join any war on Iraq.

Around 40 aircraft are on board, including fighter jets and reconnaissance planes.

The nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle has been beset by technical problems over the years, but is a potent symbol of French military power.

It returned in July 2002 from a seven-month mission in the Indian Ocean as part of the war against terror.

Although France is still strongly backing extended weapons inspections, it sees war as a last resort, and is thought to fear being sidelined militarily if war does finally come.

[Calvin Locke]

Nothing about the mysterious fire at the company that built/designed the props?
(right after the first one broke, I believe)

Nothing about the problems the washing machines (Yes, clothes washing machines...) were causing?

[spetznaz]

Actually there are a number of countries who have aircraft carriers (although the most famous carrier nation is the US ....which also has the most).

Examples of such countries: Britain (3), France (2), Brazil (2), Russia, Italy (1), Spain (1), India(1), Thailand(1), Japan(1).India plans to get a second carrier (in addition to a British carrier it got) and China has been working on naval aviation from carriers.

Of the above countries most of them have VTOL type carriers (meaning they can only use harrier jump jets), however the following have 'American-style' catapult carriers: France, Brazil, US and Russia ......and once India gets the Russian carrier it will also have a similar system (although its current carrier, the British Hermes/Indian Viraat, is a VTOL harrier equiped carrier).

Here is a picture showing the difference between a catapult carrier and a VTOL carrier:

Examples of Catapult Carriers

US Nimitz Class:

French De Gaulle

Brazilian Sao Paulo

Russian Kuznetsov (which is to be given to India)

The above are 'full size carriers.' Actually that is a far better moniker than 'catapult carrier' because the main thing about them is they have full-size decks while VTOL carriers have short decks. They are able to use their huge decks to launch aircraft that are not VTOL (vertical take off/landing).

However most nations with aircraft carriers in the world have the 'short-deck' VTOL-type carriers thata re only able to launch VTOL aircraft like the Harrier! The Harrier is used because it can land vertically (like a helicopter) meaning little space is required. Here are some pictures of VTOL carriers.

Examples of VTOL carriers

British Ocean class

Italian Garibaldi

Spanish Asturias

Indian Viraat (they got this one from the UK where it was called the Hermes)

Chakri carrier belonging to Thailand

Japanese Ohsumi

[Wolfstar]

What?!! The French have surrendered already? I thought they'd at least wait until the shooting started.

[Redcloak]

The De Gaulle has an interesting design. It has twin screws and a twin rudder system. This, in itself, is not the inovative feature. The true genius is contained in a special compartment under the fantail. At the captain's command, the deck retracts and a long boom extends from the rear of the ship. This boom then curls under the ship and between the rudders as it heads home.

[Wolfstar]

Too funny!!! Thanks for the great belly laugh.

[Willie Green]

Didn't the CDG lose a screw while underway recently?

French carrier won't stop in Norfolk after breaking propeller

[Oztrich Boy]

It was at Oran, in French North Africa.

The British suggested a number of alternatives

1. Demilitarization at Oran.

2. Sail to internment at a British Port

3. (The one the French usually forget when ranting about "perfidious Albion") Remove themselves from the European theatre by sailing to the French West Indies

4. You surrender monkeys really don't want to go here.

[Wolfstar]

Is that rust on the decks? Or do my eyes deceive me?

[Dqban22]

A GREAT POWER?...

How much more arrogant and hypocritical can the French president get? To threaten the Eastern Europeans by denying them entrance to the European Union because of their support for the United States denotes the delirious mind of an old decrepit leader with Napoleonic dreams who lives disassociated with reality. Doesn’t president Chirac forget that once, during the occupation of Spain by Napoleon Bonaparte, the French soldiers taken prisoner after being defeated by the Spaniards were exchanged for « petit couchons ”?

[Young Werther]

The carrier should be renamed "The Petain!"

[Smedley]

Probably forgot to wind it up ...

More than likely forgot their supply of white flags and instructions in how to surrender in every known language.

[texson66]

God help us all, here the US Navy is helping the French! A Helping Hand

[nkycincinnatikid]

Don't the belgies have a carrier also? I understand they have modified a hydrofoil channel ferry to launch gliders when it runs into the Oostende pier at full speed.

[harpseal]

The British fired on teh Fench Fleet at Oran neutralizing a large part of the fleet prior to Ameican entry into WWII. Ameican forces at Casablanca engaged one French Battleship, I think but am not certain it was the Jean Bart

The remainder of the French Fleet was scuttled rather than let it fal into German hands as Germany occupied even Vichy France.

[thepitts]

Bet it's flying a white flag.

[Cuttnhorse]

Cool stuff Spetz...thanks.

[Boiler Plate]

"The Renault Alliance of aircraft carriers."

Mike,

Now that's funny but all too true!

[rickmichaels]

POS country, POS navy, POS ship.

[baggadonuts]

potent symbol of French military power

The personification of an oxymoron.

[Focault's Pendulum]

A more fundamental question is: Why does France even have an aircraft carrier?

They found it on E Bay, and thought it looked neat.