Last October – during a visit to Toulon – we saw the French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier – the Charles de Gaulle – moored alongside the dock during a refit.
Charles de Gaulle is the flagship of the French Navy (Marine Nationale), and is the only nuclear-powered carrier to have been completed and operated other than by the United States Navy. She was laid down in April 1989, and her hull was launched in May 1994, but she was not completed and ready for sea trials until 1999. During her construction, work was stopped on four occasions (1990, 1991, 1993, and 1995) due to financial restrictions caused by the economic recession, and she was finally commissioned on 18th May 2001.
The period between the start of her sea trials and her entry into service was troubled. Firstly, it was discovered that the flight deck needed to be extended so that she could safely operate E-2C Hawkeye AEW aircraft. Secondly, her propellers were discovered to have been poorly manufactured after one of them lost a blade during a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. They were replaced by older propellers that limited her maximum speed to 24 knots … which impaired her ability to operate the aircraft that were embarked.
Since entering service, she has been refitted several times and undergone a major overhaul. This has kept her in frontline service, and she has taken part in operations against targets in Afghanistan and the Islamic State.
The ship's characteristics are:
Models of the Charles de Gaulle in the Toulon Naval Museum
The museum has two models of the Charles de Gaulle. The first shows her during one of her initial design stages …
… and the other shows her as built.
Next to the later is a large model of a Dassault Rafale M fighter aircraft, which forms the bulk of the ship’s complement of aircraft.
Charles de Gaulle is the flagship of the French Navy (Marine Nationale), and is the only nuclear-powered carrier to have been completed and operated other than by the United States Navy. She was laid down in April 1989, and her hull was launched in May 1994, but she was not completed and ready for sea trials until 1999. During her construction, work was stopped on four occasions (1990, 1991, 1993, and 1995) due to financial restrictions caused by the economic recession, and she was finally commissioned on 18th May 2001.
The period between the start of her sea trials and her entry into service was troubled. Firstly, it was discovered that the flight deck needed to be extended so that she could safely operate E-2C Hawkeye AEW aircraft. Secondly, her propellers were discovered to have been poorly manufactured after one of them lost a blade during a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. They were replaced by older propellers that limited her maximum speed to 24 knots … which impaired her ability to operate the aircraft that were embarked.
Since entering service, she has been refitted several times and undergone a major overhaul. This has kept her in frontline service, and she has taken part in operations against targets in Afghanistan and the Islamic State.
The ship's characteristics are:
- Displacement: 42,500 tonnes (full load)
- Dimensions:
- Length: 858ft (261.5m)
- Beam: 211.2ft (64.36m)
- Draught: 30.9ft (9.43m)
- Propulsion: 2 × Areva K15 pressurised water reactors powering 2 × Alstom steam turbines driving 2 propellers
- Speed: 27 knots
- Range: Unlimited distance due to her nuclear power system
- Complement: 1,650 (including her air wing)
- Sensors and processing systems: DRBJ 11 B tri-dimensional air search radar; DRBV 26D air search radar; DRBV 15C low altitude air search radar; Arabel target acquisition radar
- Electronic warfare and decoys: ARBR 21 Detector; ARBB 33 Countermeasures suite; ARBG2 MAIGRET Interceptor; 4 × Sagaie decoy launchers; SLAT (Système de lutte anti-torpille) torpedo countermeasures
- Armament: 4 × 8 cell A-43 Sylver launchers armed with MBDA Aster 15 surface-to-air missiles; 2 × 6 cell Sadral launchers armed with Mistral short range missiles; 8 × Giat 20F2 20mm cannon
- Aircraft: Dassault Rafale M figher aircraft; Northrup Grumman E-2C Hawkeye AEW aircraft; Eurocopter SA365 Dauphin, Eurocopter EC725 Caracal and Eurocopter AS532 Cougar helicopters
Models of the Charles de Gaulle in the Toulon Naval Museum
The museum has two models of the Charles de Gaulle. The first shows her during one of her initial design stages …
… and the other shows her as built.
Next to the later is a large model of a Dassault Rafale M fighter aircraft, which forms the bulk of the ship’s complement of aircraft.
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Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteVery interesting information and photos- 12 years from start to commissioning?...seems a long time for the French. It would be interesting to see how the Charles De Gaulle stats stands against the USS Enterprise and other nuclear US Carriers. Thanks for Posting. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteThe design was recast several times before and during the building process. That - and building its nuclear power plant - caused a lot of the delay.
She initially entered service with a somewhat out-of-date air group (Crusaders and Etandards I understand) but now has newer French-built fighters. As to how well she compares with her US equivalents ... well she is probably less capable due to the smaller size of her air group. That said, she has been used operationally and seemed to perform quite well.
All the best,
Bob
She is a big beastie .. and impressive .. especially since the French have an aircraft carrier (nuclear powered to boot) .. and with aircraft (now there is a novelty the RN could take note of)
ReplyDeleteGeordie an Exiled FoG,
DeleteShe is - or has been until very recently - Europe’s only proper full-sized strike carrier. (I don’t think of the Spanish and Italian carriers as strike carriers.) That said, her replacement is already planned and could be a variant of the design used for the UK’s two QEclass carriers.
If the UK has not sold its ageing Harrier fleet at a knock-down price to the US Marines. we might have had a working air group available as soon as the first of the new carriers came into service. It would not have been state-of-the art by any means, but at least it would have been useable, unlike the F-35, which seems to be having a fair number of teething problems.
All the best,
Bob
Amen to that!
DeleteGeordie an Exiled FoG,
DeleteI never understood the indescent haste with which the Government disposed of the Harrier fleet, much of which still had considerable flying hours left.
All the best,
Bob