Charles de Gaulle (R 91)
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 R91 Charles de Gaulle | |
| Career France | Image:Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svg
<tr valign=top><td>Ordered:</td><td>3 February 1986</td></tr> |
|---|---|
| Laid down: | 14 April 1989 |
| Launched: | 19 December 1992
<tr valign=top><td>Commissioned:</td><td>18 May 2001</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>In service:</td><td>18 May 2001</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Renamed:</td><td>Laid down as Richelieu, renamed Charles De Gaulle in 1989</td></tr> |
| Status: | active in service
<tr valign=top><td>Homeport:</td><td>Toulon, France</td></tr> |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 38,000 tons empty 40,600 tons full load |
| Length: | 261.5 m overall |
| Beam: | 64,36 m overall
<tr valign=top><td>Draft:</td><td>9.43 m</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Propulsion:</td><td>2 × K15 Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) 150 MW each |
| Speed: | 27 Knots
<tr valign=top><td>Range:</td><td>Essentially unlimited</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Endurance:</td><td>45 days of food</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Capacity:</td><td>800 commandos, 500 tonnes of ammunitions</td></tr> |
| Complement: | Ship's Company: 1,350 Air Wing: 600 <tr valign=top><td>Sensors and processing systems:</td><td>DRBJ 11 B tridimensional air search radar |
The Charles De Gaulle (R91) is the only serving French aircraft carrier and is the flagship of the French Navy (Marine Nationale). She is the tenth French aircraft carrier, the first French nuclear-powered surface vessel, and the first nuclear-powered carrier built outside of the United States Navy. She is named after the French statesman and general, Charles De Gaulle.
Her complement of Dassault Rafale and E-2 Hawkeye, as well as state-of-the-art electronics and Aster missiles, give her offensive power unseen before in France. She is the second largest, after Admiral Kuznetsov, and arguably the most powerful European aircraft carrier, at least until the introduction of the Franco-British future carriers.<ref>"UK-French agreement on aircraft carriers", UK Ministry of Defence, 2006-01-24. Retrieved on 2006-11-01. (in English)</ref> It is a CATOBAR-type carrier that uses the same catapult system as that installed on the Nimitz-class carriers, the 75 m C13-3 steam catapult.
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[edit] Development
[edit] Construction
The carrier replaced the Foch, a conventionally powered aircraft carrier, in 2001. The Clemenceau and Foch were completed in 1961 and 1963 respectively; the requirement for a replacement was identified in the mid-1970s.
The hull was laid down in April 1989 at the DCN Brest Naval shipyard. The carrier was completed in May 1994 and at 35,500 tonnes was the largest warship launched in Western Europe since the HMS Ark Royal in 1950. She was named Richelieu in 1986 by the French president at the time, François Mitterrand, after the famous French politician Armand-Jean du Plessis, Cardinal and Duc de Richelieu (following a traditional name for capital ships in the French Navy, see battleship Richelieu for instance). In 1989, however, after a ferocious row, the ship was renamed to Charles De Gaulle the year after by the Gaullist Prime Minister at the time, Jacques Chirac.
Construction quickly fell behind schedule as the project was starved of funding, which was worsened by the economic recession in the early 1990s.[citation needed] Total costs for the vessel would top €3 billion. Work on the ship was suspended altogether on four occasions: 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1995.[citation needed] The ship was commissioned on 2001-05-18, five years behind the projected deadline.
[edit] Spying incident
In 1993, a group of MI6 officers posing as engineers were discovered inspecting the vessel during its construction. It is believed that they were evaluating the method of shielding the nuclear reactors.<ref>Webster, Paul, Norton-Taylor, Richard. "French Foil MI6 Carrier Snoop", The Guardian, Guardian Newspapers Ltd., 1993-08-23, p. 1. Retrieved on 2006-11-28.</ref>
[edit] Trials and technical problems
The Charles De Gaulle entered sea trials in 1999. These identified the need to extend the flight deck to safely operate the E-2C Hawkeye. This operation sparked negative publicity, however, as the same things had been performed on both the Foch and the Clemenceau when F-8 Crusader aircraft had been introduced. The 5 million francs for the extension was 0.025% of the total budget for the Charles De Gaulle project.
On 28 February 2000, a nuclear reactor trial triggered the combustion of additional isolation elements, producing a smoke incident.
During the night of 9 November–10 November 2000, in the Western Atlantic, en route toward Norfolk, Virginia, the port propeller broke and the ship had to return to Toulon to replace the faulty element. The investigations that followed showed similar structural faults in the other propeller and in the spare propellers: bubbles in the one-piece copper-aluminium alloy propellers near the center. The fault was blamed on the supplier, Atlantic Industries, which had already gone bankrupt. To make matters worse, all documents relating to the design and fabrication of the propellers had been lost in a fire. As a temporary solution, the less advanced spare propellers of the Foch and the Clemenceau were used, limiting the maximum speed to 24 knots (44 km/h) instead of the contractual 27 knots (50 km/h). This did not affect air operations.
On 5 March 2001, the Charles De Gaulle went back to sea with two older propellers and sailed 25.2 knots (47 km/h) on her trials. Between July and October, the Charles De Gaulle had to be refitted once more due to abnormal noises, as loud as 100 dB, near the starboard propeller, which had rendered the aft part of the ship uninhabitable.
On 8 November 2001, a sailor performing a routine maintenance task lost consciousness due to a toxic gas leak. A non-commissioned officer attempted to rescue him and collapsed as well. They were immediately rescued by the onboard medical team and sent to Toulon Hospital. Both survived.
[edit] Active service
[edit] Refitting
On 16 September, 2001, the French press reported slightly higher than acceptable radioactivity levels aboard the Charles De Gaulle, thought to be caused by a faulty isolation element. It was later discovered that the radioactivity levels were normal, but that the regulations concerning acceptable radioactivity levels had changed. While the United States was preparing its response to the 9/11 attacks in the form of Operation Enduring Freedom, the media complained about the lack of deployable French military power. At the same time, the Defence Commission reported the maintenance of the Fleet to be substandard. In this context, the Charles De Gaulle, then under repairs, was again an object of criticism, with former President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing describing it as a "half-aircraft-carrier".
[edit] Link 16
On 11 October, 2001, the frigate Cassard, four AWACS aircraft and the Charles De Gaulle were involved in a successful trial of the Link 16 high-bandwidth secure data network. The network allows real-time monitoring of the airspace from the South of England to the Mediterranean Sea. The collected data were also transmitted in real time to the Jean Bart through the older Link 11 system.
[edit] Afghanistan: Mission Héracles
On 21 November, 2001, France decided to send the Charles De Gaulle to the Indian Ocean in support of Operation Enduring Freedom against Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Task Force 473, with 2900 men under the command of Contre-Amiral François Cluzel, sailed on 1 December. The task force was comprised of the nuclear aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle, frigates La Motte-Picquet, Jean de Vienne and Jean Bart, the nuclear attack submarine Rubis, the tanker Meuse and the aviso Commandant Ducuing.
Embarked air power comprised 16 Super Étendards, one E-2C Hawkeye, two Rafales and several helicopters. Super Étendard aircraft carried out their first missions above Afghanistan on 19 December, executing reconnaissance and bombing missions, covering over 3,000 kilometres. Overall they carried out 140 missions, averaging 12 every day, dodging five Stinger missiles.
On 18 February, 2002, a Helios observation satellite spotted abnormal activities near Gardez. The next day, after American Special Forces in the region confirmed these observations, the Charles De Gaulle launched two reconnaissance Super Étendards. On the 20th, British and US forces entered the valley and "Operation Anaconda" began in early March.
In March, Super Étendards and six Mirage 2000 aircraft carried out airstrikes against targets claimed to be al Qaeda. A few targets suggested by US forces were denied out of fear of hitting civilians. Nevertheless, French involvement was complimented by the US President George W. Bush on 2002-03-11, mentioning "our good ally, France, who deployed a quarter of her Navy in Operation Enduring Freedom".[citation needed] At this point, the French air complement had been increased to 16 Super Étendards, 6 Mirage 2000 D, 5 Rafales, and two Hawkeye AWACS. From February, the Charles De Gaulle and the USS John C. Stennis exchanged a few aircraft as a means of strengthening the ties between the allies.
On 2 May, the Charles De Gaulle arrived in Singapore for relief and returned to Oman on 18 May. At the same time, tensions began to increase over the question of Iraq. Vice-Admiral François Cluzel declared before the press: "France is opposed to any military action against Iraq. Should anything of this nature be undertaken, we would be unlikely to be part of the coalition."
[edit] Indian-Pakistani crisis
In June 2002, according to several reports,<ref name="hindu-report">`French jets patrolled Indo-Pak. coastline' The Hindu, Retrieved November 3, 2006</ref><ref name="bharat">Has Pakistan Lost Its Nuclear Weapons? Bharat Rakshak Monitor, Retrieved November 3, 2006</ref> while the Charles De Gaulle was in the Arabian Sea, armed Rafale fighters participated in interposition patrols near the India-Pakistan border, marking a significant point in the Rafale's operational career and its integration with the carrier. A number of sources have speculated on the exact nature and purpose of these flights.<ref name="JED report">From "En Garde!" (August 2002) in the Journal of Electronic Defense, "It is fitting for the oft-delayed development of the Rafale fighter that the aircraft literally missed the boat. It was not until February 14, after 70 days at sea, that five Rafale Fl air-combat naval versions landed on the deck of the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. On March 9, two more came aboard, joining the 16 modernized Super Etendards that they are designed to eventually replace.
The Ministry of Defense curbed enthusiasts by pointing out the squadron was not certified for combat and that the Etendards were performing all close-air-support and carrier-based reconnaissance missions. Yet on returning to home port July 4, the de Gaulle's commander, Captain Richard Laborde, announced that on June 9 the Rafales, armed with Magic 2 air-to-air missiles, set off on a joint patrol with American fighters. He termed it, precisely, a combat mission, although the assignment was for reconnaissance over the tense India-Pakistan border."</ref>
[edit] Rescue mission
On 9 October, the CrossMed (Regional Operational Centre for Monitoring and Rescue in Mediterranean Sea) received a distress call on the 8-metre Babolin, whose hull was leaking. The Charles De Gaulle, on manoeuvers in the region, sent a helicopter that airlifted the three-man crew, despite 35-knot wind, troubled sea, and bad visibility.
[edit] Continuing operations
The Charles de Gaulle participated in further actions as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2005. It returned to Southwest Asia in May 2006 and shortly after supported coalition efforts over Afghanistan. The aircraft carrier regularly participates in the annual bilateral naval exercises between the Indian and French navies<ref>Dikshit, Sandeep. "Indian, French navies plan exercises from Monday", The Hindu, 2006-03-26. Retrieved on 2006-11-01. (in English)</ref> called 'Varuna'.<ref>"Indo-French Joint Naval Exercise 'Varuna 06'", Indian Navy, 2006-03-24. Retrieved on 2006-11-01. (in English)</ref>
[edit] Integration in the Future Navy
The French Navy is usually a two-carrier navy, mainly to ensure that at least one ship is operational at all times even if the other is under repair. This scheme calls for another aircraft carrier to be built.
Cost considerations have made equipment standardisation a necessity. In this context, there is a possibility of collaboration between Britain and France for future carriers. It is possible that the new ship series could be built on the British design, incorporating the recent experience with the Charles De Gaulle. Steps have been taken to make such a scenario possible: the new carrier had to be conventionally propelled to meet the cost requirements of the Royal Navy, and while the French Navy favoured a nuclear design, French President Jacques Chirac declared at the end of 2004 that the next French carrier would use a gas turbine engine.
[edit] See also
- List of aircraft carriers
- List of naval ship classes in service
- List of ship launches in 1992
- List of ship commissionings in 2001
- Future French aircraft carrier
- Royal Navy CVF programme
[edit] External links and References
<references/>
- (French) Charles De Gaulle Aircraft Carrier Charles De Gaulle on Alabordache
[edit] Pictures
Tampion of the Charles De Gaulle |
Command bridge on the Charles De Gaulle |
Aviation bridge on the Charles De Gaulle |
Command bridge of the Charles De Gaulle |
Landing optics of the Charles De Gaulle |
Dauphin rescue helicopter on the deck of the Charles De Gaulle |
Rafale number 9 on the launching deck of the Charles De Gaulle |
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A Super-Étendard in the hangar deck of the Charles De Gaulle aircraft carrier |
A Hawkeye airborne early warning plane on the flight deck of the Charles De Gaulle aircraft carrier (5th of June 2004) |
fr:Charles de Gaulle (porte-avions) nl:MN Charles de Gaulle ja:シャルル・ド・ゴール (空母) zh:戴高樂號航空母艦
