Aircraft Carrier, Builder Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne-sur-Mer, France
Laid Down 10 Jan 1914
Commissioned 27 May 1927
Displacement 22.501 tons standard; 28.900 tons full
Length 182,58m. (599') Beam 35,36m. (116') Draft 9,45m. (31')
2 Parsons geared turbines, four shafts
Power Output 22.500 shp. 21 kn. Range 7,000nm at 10 knots, crew 865
Armament 8x155mm guns, 6x75mm AA guns, 8x37mm AA guns (after 1935), 6x13.2mm machine guns (after 1935), 4x550mm torpedo tubes
Armor 80mm main belt, 25mm flight deck
Aircraft 35-40.
Launched in Apr 1920, carrier Béarn was not commissioned until May 1927. As the only French carrier, she was meant to be an experimental ship aboard which the French Navy would develop naval air doctrine. In 1935, her weaponry was modernized with the addition of 8 37-millimeter anti-aircraft guns and 6 13.2-millimeter anti-aircraft machine guns. Ultimately, French naval aviation did not progress as much as the navies of other powers, and Béarn remained in commission through the start of the European War. In the early months of the war, she was used to conduct carrier landing training operations for SB2U Vindicator dive bombers and other aircraft types. In May 1940, she embarked gold bullions from the French central bank and brought them out to sea, where the gold was transferred to light cruisers Jeanne d'Arc and Émile Bertin for the second leg of the journey to Canada. As she sailed on to American ports to pick up aircraft for the French Air Force, the French government surrendered, and Béarn was interned at Martinique by the United States to prevent German capture. She would remain on the side of the Allies for the remainder of the war, generally acting as an aircraft transport She remained the only carrier in French service until 1945 when France was given the British escort carrier HMS Biter (soon renamed Dixmude). In 1944, her weaponry was changed to 4 127-millimeter dual purpose guns, 24 40-millimeter anti-aircraft guns, and 26 20-millimeter anti-aircraft cannon. Upon completion of this refitting, she was used to transport aircraft and as a training ship until 1948, followed by a few years as a submarine tender. Her final years of service saw her being a stationary hulk at Toulon in southern France. She was scrapped in Italy in 1967.
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BÉARN (Fr.)
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aukepalmhof
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Re: BÉARN (Fr.)
Name: BÉARN
Builder: Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée shipyard La Seyne, France
Laid down: 10 January 1914 as the battleship VENDEE.
Launched: April 1920
1922 Converted to an aircraft carrier.
Commissioned: May 1927
Struck: 21 March 1967
Fate: Scrapped
General characteristics
Type: Aircraft carrier
Displacement: 22,146 long tons (22,501 t) (standard); 28,400 long tons (28,900 t) (full load)
Length: 182.6 m (599 ft 1 in) (o/a)
Beam: 35.2 m (115 ft 6 in)
Draft: 9.3 m (30 ft 6 in)
Installed power: 22,500 shp (16,800 kW) (turbines) 15,000 ihp (11,000 kW) (reciprocating engines)
Propulsion: 2 × Parsons geared steam turbines, 2 × reciprocating steam engines, 4 × shafts
Speed: 21.5 kn (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph)
Range: 7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement: 865
Armament: Original: 8 × 155 mm (6.1 in)/50 cal guns (8 × 1), 6 × 75 mm (3.0 in)/50 cal anti-aircraft guns (6 × 1) 8 × 37 mm (1.5 in) anti-aircraft guns (added 1935), 16 × 13.2 mm (0.52 in) anti-aircraft machine guns (6 × 1) (added 1935), 4 × 550 mm (22 in) torpedo tubes
After 1944 Refit: 4 × 127 mm (5.0 in)/38 cal dual-purpose guns, 24 × 40 mm (1.57 in) anti-aircraft guns (6 × 4), 26 × 20 mm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft autocannons
Armour: Main Belt: 8 cm (3.1 in), Flight Deck: 2.5 cm (1.0 in)
Aircraft carried: 35-40. 1939: 10 × Dewoitine D.373, 10 × Levasseur PL.7 and 9 × Levasseur PL.10
BÉARN was an aircraft carrier which served with the Marine Nationale (French Navy) in World War II and beyond. BÉARN was commissioned in 1927 and was the only aircraft carrier produced by France until after World War II, and the only ship of its class built. She was to be an experimental ship and should have been replaced in the 1930s by two new ships of the Joffre class. She was generally comparable to other early carriers developed by the major navies of the world. However, France did not produce a further replacement and as naval aviation lagged in France, BÉARN continued to serve past her time of obsolescence. In 1939, she ended her career as an experimental ship but after the defeat of France in June 1940 she was docked at Martinique where she remained for the next four years. Eventually she was sent to the United States for a refit which ended in March 1945, allowing her to serve briefly before the end of the war as an aircraft transport. Her career ended in 1967 when she was finally dismantled. Over the course of her long career, BÉARN never launched her aircraft in combat. She was named after the historic French province of Béarn.
BÉARN was originally designed as a Normandie-class battleship; she was laid down at the Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée shipyard in La Seyne on 10 January 1914. The outbreak of World War I in August 1914 interrupted work, which was halted for the duration of the conflict. By that time, work on BÉARN had not significantly progressed: her hull was only 8–10 percent complete and her engines were only 25 percent finished. Her boilers were 17 percent assembled, and her turrets were at 20 percent completed. The incomplete hull was launched in April 1920 to clear the slipway, though the Navy had not yet decided what to do with it. On 18 April 1922, the Navy determined that BÉARN was to be completed as an aircraft carrier. Her four sisters, which were at further stages of completion, were instead broken up for scrap. Much of the material from breaking up these ships was used to complete BÉARN and several cruisers also ordered in 1922. Conversion work began in August 1923, and lasted until May 1927.
Before the decision to convert BÉARN into an aircraft carrier was made, the French Navy decided to construct a mocked-up flight deck on the unfinished hull after it was launched in April 1920. The aviator Paul Teste conducted a series of landing experiments on the temporary flight deck that concluded in October. These experiments convinced the Navy to convert BÉARN as a semi-experimental ship, which should be replaced by purpose-built aircraft carriers as soon as was practicable. The Joffre class, ordered in the late 1930s, were nevertheless not completed. In the late 1920s, André Jubelin, a future admiral and pioneer of the French naval air force, served aboard the ship. In March 1936, a Potez 565 took off from BÉARN, the first time a twin-engined aircraft had ever operated from an aircraft carrier.
At the French declaration of war against Germany on 3 September 1939, BÉARN was assigned to the Force de Raid, under the command of Admiral Gensoul, along with the battleships DUNKERQUE and STRASBOURG, three light cruisers, and eight destroyers. A month later, the carrier was tasked with hunting down the German cruiser ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE, as part of an immense effort to destroy the commerce raider.
During the German invasion of France in 1940, BÉARN was ordered to Toulon, to load French gold bullion for transfer overseas. On 25 May, BÉARN met up with the light cruisers JEANNE D’ARC and ÉMILE BERTIN at an Atlantic rendezvous, and the flotilla successfully carried Bank of France bullion reserves to Halifax, Canada. BÉARN then went to the U.S. East Coast to load new aircraft which had been ordered from American manufacturers, including twenty-seven Curtiss H-75s, forty-four SBC Helldivers, twenty-five Stinson 105s, and also six Brewster Buffaloes intended for the Belgian Air Component. Before these aircraft could reach their destination, the armistice with Germany was signed, and BÉARN instead sought harbour in Martinique, her crew showing little inclination to join the British in their continued fight against the Germans. She was one of a number of French ships that were effectively interned at Martinique—at U.S. insistence—to prevent their use by Germany. The carrier's aircraft were unloaded ashore, where a significant number of them were destroyed either by exposure to the elements or scavenging.
On 14 May 1942, the United States pressured Martinique to demilitarize the ship due to the pro-Vichy leanings of her crew. On 30 June 1943, the ship was handed over to the Free French Naval Forces, along with JEANNE D’ARC and ÉMILE BERTIN, which had also been interned in the Caribbean. BÉARN remained in Martinique until 1944 when she was sent to the United States for a major refit. The modernization, which lasted until March 1945, upgraded her anti-aircraft armament and optimized her for her role as an aircraft transport.
On 21st July 1945 BÉARN entered No. 1 dry-dock at Gibraltar for cleaning, general repairs and underwater coating. She was undocked on 30th July.
This role was continued after the war, as part of the French attempt to recover their possessions in Indochina. BÉARN arrived in Indochina in mid-October 1945, as part of a major French effort to reassert control over the colony. Among the forces committed to the region were the battleship RICHLIEU, the cruisers GLOIRE and SUFFREN, and several smaller warships. In December 1945, BÉARN transported fourteen LCAs and six LCVPs from Singapore to Vietnam, and contributed a shore party to man them in the Dinassauts. After returning from Indochina, the ship was used as a barracks ship for submarines based in Toulon. BÉARN remained in this duty until she was sold on 31 May 1967 to shipbreakers in La Spezia, Italy, where she was subsequently dismantled.
Sources: Wikipedia; Gibraltar Dockyard Movements Book.
Togo 2020 800F sg?, Scott?
Peter Crichton
Builder: Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée shipyard La Seyne, France
Laid down: 10 January 1914 as the battleship VENDEE.
Launched: April 1920
1922 Converted to an aircraft carrier.
Commissioned: May 1927
Struck: 21 March 1967
Fate: Scrapped
General characteristics
Type: Aircraft carrier
Displacement: 22,146 long tons (22,501 t) (standard); 28,400 long tons (28,900 t) (full load)
Length: 182.6 m (599 ft 1 in) (o/a)
Beam: 35.2 m (115 ft 6 in)
Draft: 9.3 m (30 ft 6 in)
Installed power: 22,500 shp (16,800 kW) (turbines) 15,000 ihp (11,000 kW) (reciprocating engines)
Propulsion: 2 × Parsons geared steam turbines, 2 × reciprocating steam engines, 4 × shafts
Speed: 21.5 kn (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph)
Range: 7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement: 865
Armament: Original: 8 × 155 mm (6.1 in)/50 cal guns (8 × 1), 6 × 75 mm (3.0 in)/50 cal anti-aircraft guns (6 × 1) 8 × 37 mm (1.5 in) anti-aircraft guns (added 1935), 16 × 13.2 mm (0.52 in) anti-aircraft machine guns (6 × 1) (added 1935), 4 × 550 mm (22 in) torpedo tubes
After 1944 Refit: 4 × 127 mm (5.0 in)/38 cal dual-purpose guns, 24 × 40 mm (1.57 in) anti-aircraft guns (6 × 4), 26 × 20 mm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft autocannons
Armour: Main Belt: 8 cm (3.1 in), Flight Deck: 2.5 cm (1.0 in)
Aircraft carried: 35-40. 1939: 10 × Dewoitine D.373, 10 × Levasseur PL.7 and 9 × Levasseur PL.10
BÉARN was an aircraft carrier which served with the Marine Nationale (French Navy) in World War II and beyond. BÉARN was commissioned in 1927 and was the only aircraft carrier produced by France until after World War II, and the only ship of its class built. She was to be an experimental ship and should have been replaced in the 1930s by two new ships of the Joffre class. She was generally comparable to other early carriers developed by the major navies of the world. However, France did not produce a further replacement and as naval aviation lagged in France, BÉARN continued to serve past her time of obsolescence. In 1939, she ended her career as an experimental ship but after the defeat of France in June 1940 she was docked at Martinique where she remained for the next four years. Eventually she was sent to the United States for a refit which ended in March 1945, allowing her to serve briefly before the end of the war as an aircraft transport. Her career ended in 1967 when she was finally dismantled. Over the course of her long career, BÉARN never launched her aircraft in combat. She was named after the historic French province of Béarn.
BÉARN was originally designed as a Normandie-class battleship; she was laid down at the Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée shipyard in La Seyne on 10 January 1914. The outbreak of World War I in August 1914 interrupted work, which was halted for the duration of the conflict. By that time, work on BÉARN had not significantly progressed: her hull was only 8–10 percent complete and her engines were only 25 percent finished. Her boilers were 17 percent assembled, and her turrets were at 20 percent completed. The incomplete hull was launched in April 1920 to clear the slipway, though the Navy had not yet decided what to do with it. On 18 April 1922, the Navy determined that BÉARN was to be completed as an aircraft carrier. Her four sisters, which were at further stages of completion, were instead broken up for scrap. Much of the material from breaking up these ships was used to complete BÉARN and several cruisers also ordered in 1922. Conversion work began in August 1923, and lasted until May 1927.
Before the decision to convert BÉARN into an aircraft carrier was made, the French Navy decided to construct a mocked-up flight deck on the unfinished hull after it was launched in April 1920. The aviator Paul Teste conducted a series of landing experiments on the temporary flight deck that concluded in October. These experiments convinced the Navy to convert BÉARN as a semi-experimental ship, which should be replaced by purpose-built aircraft carriers as soon as was practicable. The Joffre class, ordered in the late 1930s, were nevertheless not completed. In the late 1920s, André Jubelin, a future admiral and pioneer of the French naval air force, served aboard the ship. In March 1936, a Potez 565 took off from BÉARN, the first time a twin-engined aircraft had ever operated from an aircraft carrier.
At the French declaration of war against Germany on 3 September 1939, BÉARN was assigned to the Force de Raid, under the command of Admiral Gensoul, along with the battleships DUNKERQUE and STRASBOURG, three light cruisers, and eight destroyers. A month later, the carrier was tasked with hunting down the German cruiser ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE, as part of an immense effort to destroy the commerce raider.
During the German invasion of France in 1940, BÉARN was ordered to Toulon, to load French gold bullion for transfer overseas. On 25 May, BÉARN met up with the light cruisers JEANNE D’ARC and ÉMILE BERTIN at an Atlantic rendezvous, and the flotilla successfully carried Bank of France bullion reserves to Halifax, Canada. BÉARN then went to the U.S. East Coast to load new aircraft which had been ordered from American manufacturers, including twenty-seven Curtiss H-75s, forty-four SBC Helldivers, twenty-five Stinson 105s, and also six Brewster Buffaloes intended for the Belgian Air Component. Before these aircraft could reach their destination, the armistice with Germany was signed, and BÉARN instead sought harbour in Martinique, her crew showing little inclination to join the British in their continued fight against the Germans. She was one of a number of French ships that were effectively interned at Martinique—at U.S. insistence—to prevent their use by Germany. The carrier's aircraft were unloaded ashore, where a significant number of them were destroyed either by exposure to the elements or scavenging.
On 14 May 1942, the United States pressured Martinique to demilitarize the ship due to the pro-Vichy leanings of her crew. On 30 June 1943, the ship was handed over to the Free French Naval Forces, along with JEANNE D’ARC and ÉMILE BERTIN, which had also been interned in the Caribbean. BÉARN remained in Martinique until 1944 when she was sent to the United States for a major refit. The modernization, which lasted until March 1945, upgraded her anti-aircraft armament and optimized her for her role as an aircraft transport.
On 21st July 1945 BÉARN entered No. 1 dry-dock at Gibraltar for cleaning, general repairs and underwater coating. She was undocked on 30th July.
This role was continued after the war, as part of the French attempt to recover their possessions in Indochina. BÉARN arrived in Indochina in mid-October 1945, as part of a major French effort to reassert control over the colony. Among the forces committed to the region were the battleship RICHLIEU, the cruisers GLOIRE and SUFFREN, and several smaller warships. In December 1945, BÉARN transported fourteen LCAs and six LCVPs from Singapore to Vietnam, and contributed a shore party to man them in the Dinassauts. After returning from Indochina, the ship was used as a barracks ship for submarines based in Toulon. BÉARN remained in this duty until she was sold on 31 May 1967 to shipbreakers in La Spezia, Italy, where she was subsequently dismantled.
Sources: Wikipedia; Gibraltar Dockyard Movements Book.
Togo 2020 800F sg?, Scott?
Peter Crichton
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aukepalmhof
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Re: BÉARN (Fr.) aircraft carrier
Stamp from the Airmail series featuring the Dewoitine D1 fighter.
On the stamp are represented the plane Dewoitine as well as the aircraft carrier Le BÉARN.
In 1923, the French Navy placed an order for 44 units. About thirty are delivered and are partially put into service on the aircraft carrier BÉARN, as an onboard fighter. From 1927 to March 1928, then from August 1928 to January 1932, in the 7C1 aviation squadron – the first fighter squadron of the Béarn flotilla, created on March 1, 1926 –, the Dewoitine D1. C1 serves aboard this aircraft carrier. During the first period, aircraft wore the general insignia of wing aviation – the seagull on the turtle. During the second period, and in order to differentiate the three squadrons (hunting, bombing, and reconnaissance) of BÉARN, it is the winged seahorse that is represented, installed as the official insignia of the 7C1, without inscriptions on the rudder.
https://www.wopa-plus.com/en/stamps/product/&pgid=77785
France 2022 5.26E sg?, Scott?
On the stamp are represented the plane Dewoitine as well as the aircraft carrier Le BÉARN.
In 1923, the French Navy placed an order for 44 units. About thirty are delivered and are partially put into service on the aircraft carrier BÉARN, as an onboard fighter. From 1927 to March 1928, then from August 1928 to January 1932, in the 7C1 aviation squadron – the first fighter squadron of the Béarn flotilla, created on March 1, 1926 –, the Dewoitine D1. C1 serves aboard this aircraft carrier. During the first period, aircraft wore the general insignia of wing aviation – the seagull on the turtle. During the second period, and in order to differentiate the three squadrons (hunting, bombing, and reconnaissance) of BÉARN, it is the winged seahorse that is represented, installed as the official insignia of the 7C1, without inscriptions on the rudder.
https://www.wopa-plus.com/en/stamps/product/&pgid=77785
France 2022 5.26E sg?, Scott?
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