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''Foch'' () was the second that served with the
French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
from 1963 to 2000. The carrier was the second warship named in honour of the
Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...
, British Field Marshal and Marshal of
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
Ferdinand Foch Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general and military theorist who served as the Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. An aggressive, even reckless commander at the First Marne, Flanders and Ar ...
After serving with the French navy, the vessel was sold to
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and renamed ''São Paulo''.


Design

The ''Clemenceau''-class aircraft carriers, of which ''Foch'', now renamed and reflagged as ''São Paulo'', is the last surviving member, are of conventional CATOBAR design. The landing area is long by wide; it is angled at 8 degrees off of the ship's axis. The flight deck is long. The forward aircraft elevator is to starboard, and the rear elevator is positioned on the deck edge to save hangar space. The forward of two catapults is at the bow to port, the aft catapult is on the forward area of angled landing deck. The hangar deck dimensions are with overhead.


History

The draft statute, prepared by the Naval General Staff in 1949, asked for four aircraft carriers of 20,000 tons to be available in two phases. At its meeting of 22 August 1949, the Supreme Council of the Navy was even more ambitious, where they proposed a six aircraft carrier fleet. On 15 July 1952, the French Navy still wanted two to five for the French Navy (not available to
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
). According to RCM 12, the final document of the Lisbon Conference of 1952, France should make available to NATO an aircraft carrier on D-day, two on day 30, three on day 180. But from 1953, the Navy had to revise its ambitions downwards, with a target of three aircraft carriers. The PA 54 ''Clemenceau'', budgeted in 1953, was delayed until November 1955, the PA 55 ''Foch'', budgeted for 1955, was delayed until February 1957. Between 1980 and 1981, she underwent a study to certify the platform before catapulting aircraft, carrying missiles, bombs,
AM-39 Exocet The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Etymology The missile's name was given by M. Guillot, then the technical direct ...
and tactical nuclear bombs. Like her sister ship , ''Foch'' underwent a modernization and refit, replacing four of her eight guns with two Crotale air-defense systems. Unlike ''Clemenceau'', ''Foch'' also received in 1997 two Sadral launchers (for 6
Mistral Mistral may refer to: * Mistral (wind) in southern France and Sardinia Automobiles * Maserati Mistral, a Maserati grand tourer produced from 1963 until 1970 * Nissan Mistral, or Terrano II, a Nissan 4×4 produced from 1993 until 2006 * Microp ...
missiles each); those launchers were purchased by France in 1994. The
Dassault Rafale The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", and "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Equipped with a wide range ...
was test flown from ''Foch'' (but not ''Clemenceau'') after deck modifications in 1992 and operated from this carrier after further 1995-96 deck modifications. After a 37 year career in the French Navy, on 15 November 2000, the carrier was sold to the
Brazilian Navy ) , colors= Blue and white , colors_label= Colors , march= "Cisne Branco" ( en, "White Swan") (same name as training ship ''Cisne Branco'' , mascot= , equipment= 1 multipurpose aircraft carrier7 submarines6 frigates2 corvettes4 amphibious war ...
, and renamed . In the
French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
, she was succeeded by (R 91).


Principal operations

Main naval operations for the époque were conducted by the twin carrier Clemenceau. ''Foch'' was engaged in the following: * 1966: ''Foch'' participated, with Alfa Force (french: Force Alfa), to the campaign of French nuclear experimentation in the
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
. * 1978 : during the Independence of
Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
, ''Foch'' deployed in the
Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
in ''Operation Saphir II''. * 1983 : ''Foch'' participated to the support of the French contingent deployed in
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
within the cadre of the ''Operation Olifant'' missions. The carrier would rotate with '' Clemenceau'' providing constant on station air support to French peacekeepers in the
Multinational Force in Lebanon The Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF) was an international peacekeeping force created in August 1982 following a 1981 U.S.-brokered ceasefire between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel to end their involvement in the confl ...
FSMB and the
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ( ar, قوة الأمم المتحدة المؤقتة في لبنان, he, כוח האו"ם הזמני בלבנון), or UNIFIL ( ar, يونيفيل, he, יוניפי״ל), is a UN peacekeeping m ...
UNIFIL. * 1993–1999 : Foch was regularly engaged in Operations ''Balbuzard'', ''Salamandre'' and ''Trident'' in the
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
during the engagement of
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
in ex-
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
within the cadre of FORPRONU and the
SFOR The Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian war. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. It ...
and KFOR. The carrier ensured the security of French elements deployed on the ground, and conducted aerial raids under the command of the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
and
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
.


Combat history

In 1977
F-8 Crusader The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U) is a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft built by Vought for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps (replacing the Vought F7U Cutlass), and for the Fren ...
s from 14.F squadron from ''Foch'' participated in the Saphir missions over
Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
. On 7 May 1977, two Crusaders went separately on patrol against what were supposedly French Air Force (4/11 Jura squadron) F-100 Super Sabres stationed at Djibouti. The leader intercepted two fighters and initiated a
dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...
as part of the training exercise, but quickly called his wingman for help as he had actually engaged two
Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
i MiG-21 Fishbeds. The two French fighters switched their master armament to "on" but, ultimately, everyone returned to their bases. This was the only combat interception by French Crusaders. In October 1984, France sent ''Foch'' for Operation Mirmillon off the coast of
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
, in response to tension in the Gulf of Sidra. She was involved in the
Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from ...
between July and August 1993, in February and March 1994, and in February and from May to July 1994 in support of UN operations. She also was part of NATO's Allied force operations with Super Étendards flying strike missions over
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
in 1999. She was forced to withdraw early four months into her deployment, the longest in her service history, due to problems with her catapult system and other issues. In 2000, ''Foch'' made her last deployment by leading Task Force 473 on a four month around-the-world tour.


In fiction

''Foch'' was featured prominently in the 1995 film '' Crimson Tide'' as the setting for several televised news reports by American
journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
Richard Valeriani Richard Valeriani (August 29, 1932 – June 18, 2018) was an American journalist who was a White House correspondent and diplomatic correspondent with NBC News in the 1960s and 1970s. He previously covered the Civil Rights Movement for the network ...
(playing himself in the film) about the ongoing conflict in Russia. ''Foch'' was used in this role after the U.S. Navy refused to assist in the film's production, thus removing the possibility of filming on board a U.S. carrier. ''Foch'' also appears briefly in Tom Clancy's 1986
techno-thriller A techno-thriller or technothriller is a hybrid genre drawing from science fiction, thrillers, spy fiction, action, and war novels. They include a disproportionate amount (relative to other genres) of technical details on their subject matter ( ...
novel
Red Storm Rising ''Red Storm Rising'' is a war novel, written by Tom Clancy and co-written with Larry Bond, and released on August 7, 1986. Set in the mid-1980s, it features a Third World War between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Warsaw Pact for ...
forming part of a NATO task force which also includes the aircraft carriers and . In an attack by Soviet
Tu-22M The Tupolev Tu-22M (russian: Туполев Ту-22М; NATO reporting name: Backfire) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1960s. According to some s ...
bombers, ''Foch'' is hit by three anti-ship missiles and sunk.


Gallery

File:FS_Foch1.jpg File:Meuse-Foch-RAM.jpg, ''Meuse'' refueling ''Foch'' File:Sao Paulo carrier.jpg, ''São Paulo'', ex-''Foch'' File:Super Étendard launching from Foch (R99) off Lebanon 1983.JPEG, Super Étendard ready to be launched from ''Foch'' during the ship's 1983 deployment to Lebanon File:Grumman F-14A Tomcats of VF-14 fly over French aircraft carrier Foch (R99) in the Caribbean Sea, 1 May 1990 (6451896).jpg, F-14 Tomcats overfly ''Foch'' in 1990 during an exercise.


Notes


References


Bibliography

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Sources

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External links


CV Foch
Aircraft Carrier Foch on Alabordache {{DEFAULTSORT:Foch (R99) Clemenceau-class aircraft carriers Ships built in France 1959 ships de:Foch (R99) zh:福熙號航空母艦