French aircraft carrier back in French Port

XINHUA NEWS AGENCY | 2/25/03

[kattracks]

PARIS, Feb 25, 2003 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- France's only aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle returned to the southern port of Toulon on Tuesday after three weeks of exercises in the eastern Mediterranean.

The ship was to remain in dock for around a week before leaving for new exercises, a navy spokesman said.

During its three-week exercises in the Mediterranean starting from Feb. 4, Charles-de-Gaulle had joint training with the American aircraft carrier Harry Truman, deployed ahead of a possible US-led strike on Baghdad.

On Feb. 17, the French armies confirmed that Charles-de-Gaulle will not head for the Gulf region after finishing the exercises in the Mediterranean.

It said the exercise of Charles-de-Gaulle was planned a long time ago and not related to the "international situation," a reference to Washington and London's speeding-up military deployment in the Gulf region.

France, one of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, insists that UN weapons inspections are the right way to disarm Iraq and opposes any military interventions on Iraq without UN mandate.

Nuclear-powered and escorted by a fleet of five frigates, the French carrier has on board 14 Super-Etendards, two radar Hawkeye planes, four Rafales, two Pedro helicopters and two Pumas.

Copyright 2003 XINHUA NEWS AGENCY.

[BlueLancer]

"That thing is a multi billion dollar engineering abortion. Among the MAJOR engineering flaws is the nuclear powerplant with insufficient cooling for more than a few minutes at max output when it will go into emergency shut down for an hour or so before it can be restarted."

And propellers that have a tendency to keep coming off at the most inconvenient times ... like, when they're in the middle of the Atlantic.

[tracer]

The real reason for the return to port is that the carrier nearly was scuttled by the simultaneous landing of 15,000 ravenous, garbage-seeking sea gulls on its flight deck...

[bmwcyle]

Recently delivered to the French Navy from DCN shipbuilders, this ship will be the largest carrier of all Central European countries. The ship went on sea trials Jan.26/99 but returned 48 hours later in tow with propulsion problems. The French Navy is reportably asking for a second ship, which is tentatively to be named Richelieu.

[tracer]

Patience, brother FReeper. Patience......

[bmwcyle]

Specifications

Charles De Gaulle Class Aircraft Carriers

---

Name Builder LD LCH COM
R91 Charles De Gaulle DCN International,Brest Apr.14/89 May.7/94 /2000

completed November 1998
ex Richelieu
transferred from builders to the French Navy in 1996
enegine problems encountered Jan.27/99
repaired by Mar.17/99
now fully operational except for lengthening of flight deck and increased radiation protection on reactors

Name Builder STATUS
R92 Richelieu DCN International,Brest N/A

Second ship was cancelled, but now it appears the Navy is attempting to get it.
Whether they will or not is speculative.

---

Displacement

Full Load 40,600 tons
Design 35,500 tons

---

Dimensions

Length O/A 857.94' (261.5m)
Length W/L 790' (240.8m)
Beam 103' (31.4m)
Draft 28' (8.53m)
Flight Deck Length 857.94' (261.5m)
deck to be lengthened 13' (4m) to accommodate EC-2 Hawkeye
Flight Deck Width 211.155' (64.36m)
Hangar 452.7' (138m) x 95' (29m) x 20' (6.1m)
Flight Deck 8.3 degree angled deck
2 elevators
2 USN C-13 catapults
3 arresting wires

---

Propulsion

Nuclear Reactors 2 GEC Alsthom PWR Type K15
Turbines geared turbines
Shafts 2
Horsepower 76,200shp
Endurance 5 years (nuclear core)
Speed 27 knts

---

Armament

AAW 8 x Giat 20F 22-- 20mm AA
Missiles 2 x 16 cell Sylver VLS launchers
w/32 Aster 15 SAAM missiles
2 x Sadral launchers
w/ 6 missiles each

---

Aircraft

Fixed Wing 40 aircraft and helicopters (design)
w/ Rafale M
Super Etendard
E-2C Hawkeye (after modifications)
Helicopters AS 365F Dauphin
AS 565 SA Panther
NH-90 NFH

---

Countermeasures

Decoys 4 x CSEE Sagaie AMBL-2A 10-barrel trainable launchers
Jammers 2 x ARBB.33
Radar Warning 1 x Thomson-CSF ARBR.21
2 x SAT Vampir DIBV.1

---

Radars

Air Search Thomson-CS DRBJ 11B 3D Arabel radar
Thompson-CS DRBV 26D Jupiter E-band
Surface Search Thompson-CS DRBV 15C Sea Tiger Mark 2
Navigation Racal 1229 DRBN 34A
Fire Control Senit Combat Management System (CMS)
Air Navigation NRBP 20A

---

Complement

Usual 1750-1950
plus 800 troops can be carried

[RobFromGa]

that is classic.... LOLOLOLOLOL!!!

[ArrogantBustard]

Yep, they are going to station it off the coast of Maryland

The Maryland Air National Guard would blow it the heck out of the water.

[Cobra64]

The French are lucky it didn't sink.

Last Fall, the same French carrier was on maneuvers and dropped a prop. It had to be towed back to cheese-port, France. The French are so inept, they can't even build a CAR that any civilised person would buy.

[RobFromGa]

They've only got one aircraft carrier, but they have ten tousand of these ready to go...

[Howlin]

LOL!

[Blood of Tyrants]

Here on FreeRepublic. Can't find it now, sorry.

[cynicom]

They failied to list how many cowards on board.

[schaketo]

This ship is in the battle cruiser “Accordion” class perfected by the frogs after years of intentionally losing wars.

[rickmichaels]

...after three weeks of exercises in the eastern Mediterranean.

This involved testing the efficiency of the bucket-brigade by repeatedly pulling the cork out of the bottom of the ship and quickly stuffing it back in when they couldn't bail fast enough and the ship started to sink.

[strela]

Jeez - did somebody wash that thing in hot water and it shrank? What is its power source - an Evinrude Troll-a-Matic?

[Havoc]

They were out for three weeks and couldn't find anyone to surrender to. Went back to port depressed and looking for psychological counseling.

[lesbianseagull]

Hey France, Your Welcome!

[Blood of Tyrants]

Try these links for a hint:

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/3702/euro2.htm

http://www.antenna.nl/wise/505/4972.html

[bmwcyle]

This is a real carrier.

[CFC__VRWC]

Yep, they are going to station it off the coast of Maryland

The Maryland Air National Guard would blow it the heck out of the water.

Hell, a Maryland crab boat with a skipper armed with a 12-gauge could probably capture it.