FS Clemenceau (1957-1997)

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FS_Clem1.jpg
Clémenceau aircraft carrier

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French Navy Ensign

Ordered:
Laid down: Novembre 1955
Launched: 21st of Decembre 1957
Commissioned: 22nd Novembre 1961
Decommissioned: 1st of Octobre 1997
Fate: scrapped
Struck: 14th of April 2003
General Characteristics
Displacement: 24200 tonnes (32500 full load)
Length: 265 m
Width: 51,20 m
Beam:
Draught: 8,60m
Propulsion: 6 Indret boilers, 4 steam turbins producing 126 000 hp (94 MW), 2 propellers
Speed: 32 knots
Range:
Complement: 1338 men, including 64 officers (1920 men including the air group). 984 men if only helicopters are carried.
Armament: 8 x 100 mm turrets (originally) ; in the 90s, 4 are replaced by 2 SACP Crotale EDIR systems, with 52 missiles; 5 x 12,7 mm machine guns.
Electronics: *1 x DRBV-23B air sentry radar
  • 1 x DRBV-50 lox-altitude or surface sentry radar (later replaced by a DRBV-15)
  • 1 x NRBA-50 approach radar
  • 1 x DRBI-10 tri-dimensional air sentry radar
  • several DRBC-31 fire radar (later DRBC-32C)
  • DRBN-34 navigation radars
Planes about 40 aircrafts :
Motto:

The Clémenceau (R98), often affectionately called "le Clém'", was the 8th aircraft carrier of the French Navy. From the 60s to the 90s, she was the backbone of the French Navy, along with her sister-ship, the Foch. During her career, she sailed more than a million nautiical miles in 3125 days at sea, on all the seas of the world. She was the second French warship to be named after Georges Clémenceau, the first one being a battleship of the Richelieu class, laid down in 1939 and never finished.

Her main missions include

Trivia

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1: 100 mm gun; 2: targetting DRBC-31 radar; 3: side elevator; 4: crane; 5: approach radar; 6: altimetry DRBI-10 radar; 7: funnel; 8: DRBV-20 sentry radar; 9: Tacon beacon; 10: low altitude/surface DRBV-50 radar; 11: air sentry DRBV-23 radar; 12: altimetry DRBI-10 radar; 13: targetting DRBC-31 radar;


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1: 100 mm gun; 11: air sentry DRBV-23 radar; 14: OP3 landing mirror; 15: 4-blade propeler

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FS_Clem_plan3.jpg
1: 100 mm gun; 13: targetting DRBC-31 radar; 16: HF radio antenas; 17: side stairs


Wheel of the French carrier Clémenceau.

Control panel of the engines of the Clémenceau.

View of the Clémenceau where the command tower and the main guns are clearly visible.

A Super-Etendard ready for launching of the flying deck of the FS Clémenceau (16th of July 1997)

Super Etendards on the flying deck of the Clémenceau aircraft carrier

See also: FS Clemenceau (1957-1997), FS Clemenceau, Ship's wheel, Control panel, FS Clémenceau, Breguet Alizé, Dassault Etendard, Dassault Super Etendard, Eurocopter Dauphin, F-8 Crusader