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After the Second World War, France began a renovation of its Navy that led to the possession of one of the most powerful war fleets
in the world. The French Navy reached a second level, immediately behind those of United States and the Soviet Union and on par with
that of United Kingdom. The Clemenceau, French aircraft carrier launched in 1957, and her twin Foch were the most visible fruit of
that effort. The previous design for a 16000-tonne aircraft carrier, developed in 1947, was never built; instead, the French Navy
had used foreign aircraft carriers supplied by the Allies to fill the gap left by the obsolescence of the Béarn.
The new Clemenceau class was much larger, similar in size - and also in other aspects - to the American Essex class. The 3780 tonnes
of fuel carried could provide a reasonable autonomy at average speeds. Powerful cannons were intended as antiaircraft armament;
initially, twelve twin 57-millimeter cannons, replaced in 1956 by twelve single 100-millimeter cannons, which in turn were reduced
to eight in 1958. These ships were completed with an angled flight deck of 8 degrees, a mirror system - of French patent - for
approximation, two elevators and two steam catapults. The funnel was integrated into the isle, as in the American aircraft
carriers. The electronic equipment included a DRB1 10 three-dimensional radar, a SENIT automatized command and control system -
based in the American equipment - and an SQS-505 sonar. The units of the Clemenceau class were once the most powerful aircraft
carriers, with the exception of the large American counterparts.
Class: Clemenceau (2 units - Clemenceau (R-98), Foch (R-99))
Type: Aircraft carrier
Length: 265 meters
Beam: 51.2 meters
Draught: 7.7 meters
Displacement (standard): 22350 tonnes
Propulsion: 2 x shaft, 4 x steam turbine Parsons, 6 x boiler Indret, 126000 horsepower
Speed: 32 knots (59 kilometers/hour)
Range: 6300 nautical miles (11667 kilometers) at 18 knots
Fuel: 3780 tonnes of petrol
Complement: 2150
Armament: 8 x 100-millimeter cannon, 5 x 12.7-millimeter machine gun
Aircraft: 40 (Vought F-8E fighters, Dassault-Bréguet Super Étendard strike aircraft,
Bréguet 1050 Alizé antisubmarine aircraft and Aérospatiale SA 321 Super Frelon antisubmarine helicopters)
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