List of aircraft carriers of France

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The following is a list of aircraft carriers of France. Fifteen aircraft carriers have served the navy or been proposed since the 1910s.

As of 2024, one French carrier—Charles de Gaulle (R91)—remains in service of the French government.

Key[edit]

Aircraft The number of aircraft carried
Displacement Ship displacement at full combat load
Propulsion Number of shafts, type of propulsion system, and top speed generated
Service The dates work began and finished on the ship and its ultimate fate
Laid down The date the keel began to be assembled
Commissioned The date the ship was commissioned

Seaplane carriers[edit]

Foudre[edit]

Foudre, 1912
Ship Aircraft Displacement Propulsion Service
Laid down Commissioned Fate
Foudre
(converted torpedo boat tender) 		4 6,100 t
(6,000 long tons) 		24 boilers, triple expansion engines, 2 shafts 9 June 1892 1896
(1912 as carrier) 		Decommissioned on 1 December 1921 and scrapped

Commandant Teste[edit]

Commandant Teste
Ship Aircraft Displacement Propulsion Service
Laid down Commissioned Fate
Commandant Teste 26 12,134 t
(11,942 long tons) 		4 water-tube boilers, 2 geared steam turbines, 2 shafts 6 September 1927 18 April 1932 Scuttled at Toulon on 27 November 1942
Sold for scrap on 15 May 1950

Escort carriers[edit]

Avenger class[edit]

Main article: Avenger-class escort carrier
Dixmude at San Francisco, c. 1952
Ship Aircraft Displacement Propulsion Service
Laid down Commissioned Fate
Dixmude (A609)
(ex-HMS Biter, ex-Rio Parana) 		15-21 9,100 t
(9,000 long tons) 		4 diesel engines, 1 shaft 28 December 1939 9 April 1945
(as Dixmude) 		Returned to the USN on 17 June 1966, sunk in exercise "Deep Six" the next day[1]

Fleet carriers[edit]

Béarn[edit]

Béarn, 1937
Ship Aircraft Displacement Propulsion Service
Laid down Commissioned Fate
Béarn
(converted Normandie class) 		35-40 28,900 t
(28,400 long tons) 		2 reciprocating steam engines, 2 Parsons geared steam turbines, 4 shafts 10 January 1914 May 1927 Sold for scrap on 31 May 1967

Joffre class[edit]

Main article: Joffre-class aircraft carrier
Joffre class
Ship Aircraft Displacement Propulsion Service
Laid down Commissioned Fate
Joffre 40 20,000 t
(20,000 long tons) 		8 water-tube boilers, 2 geared Parsons steam turbine sets, 2 shafts 18 November 1938 Scrapped
Painlevé Cancelled

Independence class[edit]

La Fayette (R96) in Indochina, 1953
Main article: Independence-class aircraft carrier
Ship Aircraft Displacement Propulsion Service
Laid down Commissioned Fate
Bois Belleau (R97)
(ex-USS Belleau Wood) 		33 15,300 t
(15,100 long tons)[2] 		Steam turbines, 4 propellers 11 August 1941 5 September 1953
(as Bois Belleau) 		Returned to the USN in September 1960
La Fayette (R96)
(ex-USS Langley) 		33 15,300 t
(15,100 long tons)[2] 		Steam turbines, 4 propellers 11 April 1942 1951
(as La Fayette) 		Returned to the USN in March 1963

Colossus class[edit]

Main article: Colossus-class aircraft carrier
Arromanches (R95) operating in the Gulf of Tonkin, c. 1953
Ship Aircraft Displacement Propulsion Service
Laid down Commissioned Fate
Arromanches (R95)
(ex-HMS Colossus) 		48 18,300 t
(18,000 long tons) 		4 Admiralty 3-drum boilers, Parsons geared turbines, 2 shafts 1 June 1942 August 1946
(as Arromanches) 		Decommissioned on 22 Jan 1974
Scrapped 1978

Clemenceau class[edit]

Main article: Clemenceau-class aircraft carrier
Foch (R99) underway during exercise Dragon Hammer, 1992
Ship Aircraft Displacement Propulsion Service
Laid down Commissioned Fate
Clemenceau (R98) 40 32,780 t
(32,260 long tons) 		6 Indret boilers, 4 steam turbines, 2 shafts November 1955 22 November 1961 Decommissioned on 1 October 1997
Scrapped 2009
Foch (R99) 40 32,800 t
(32,300 long tons) 		6 Indret boilers, 4 steam turbines, 2 shafts 15 November 1957 15 July 1963 Decommissioned on 15 November 2000 and transferred to Brazil as São Paulo

Verdun[edit]

Ship Aircraft Displacement Propulsion Service
Laid down Commissioned Fate
Verdun Unknown 45,000 t
(44,000 long tons) 		Steam turbines, 4 shafts Cancelled 1961

Charles de Gaulle[edit]

Charles de Gaulle (R91) underway, 2009
Ship Aircraft Displacement Propulsion Service
Laid down Commissioned Fate
Charles de Gaulle (R91) 28-40 42,500 t
(41,829 long tons) 		2 K15 pressurised water reactors (PWR), 4 diesel-electric, 2 shafts 14 April 1989 18 May 2001 In service

PA 2[edit]

Ship Aircraft Displacement Propulsion Service
Laid down Commissioned Fate
PA 2 40 75,000 t
(73,815 long tons) 		2 RR MT-30 gas turbines, 4 diesel-electric engines, shafts Cancelled 2013

PA-NG[edit]

Artist's impression of PA-NG
Ship Aircraft Displacement Propulsion Service
Laid down Commissioned Fate
PA-NG 40+ 75,000 t
(73,815 long tons) 		2 × K22 pressurised water reactors (PWR), 220 MW (300,000 hp) each 2038? Preliminary design work

Helicopter carriers[edit]

Jeanne d'Arc[edit]

Jeanne d'Arc (R97) at New York on 4 July 1986
Ship Aircraft Displacement Propulsion Service
Laid down Commissioned Fate
Jeanne d'Arc (R97)
(ex-La Résolue) 		4-8 13,270 t
(13,060 long tons) 		Four 10,000 horsepower (7.5 MW) power plants with automatic heating 1959 16 July 1964 Decommissioned on 1 September 2010

PH 75[edit]

Main article: PH 75
Ship Aircraft Displacement Propulsion Service
Laid down Commissioned Fate
Unknown 25 18,400 t
(18,100 long tons) 		CAS-230 nuclear reactor, 2 shafts Cancelled 1981
Unknown 25 18,400 t
(18,100 long tons) 		CAS-230 nuclear reactor, 2 shafts Cancelled 1981

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ "Biter". U.S. Navy. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  2. ^ a b "USS INDEPENDENCE (CV-22)". NavSource Naval history. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
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