''Foudre'' was an
amphibious assault ship
An amphibious assault ship is a type of amphibious warfare ship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory by an amphibious assault. The design evolved from aircraft carriers converted for use as helicopter carriers (and, a ...
of the
Marine Nationale
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 th ...
, the twelfth vessel to bear
the name, and lead ship of the s. In December 2011 the vessel was sold to the
Chilean Navy
The Chilean Navy ( es, Armada de Chile) is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso.
History
Origins and the War ...
and renamed ''Sargento Aldea''.
Service history
Marine Nationale
''Foudre'' served during the war in Yugoslavia, and was the central element of
Opération Licorne
Opération Licorne was a French Armed Forces peacekeeping operation in support of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire. The French forces had been stationed in the country since shortly after the outbreak of the Ivorian Civil War. T ...
in
Côte d'Ivoire.
On 17 January 2009,
one of ''Foudres helicopters crashed off the coast of
Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...
, killing eight French military personnel.
Sale and Chilean Navy service
In October 2011 it was announced that Chile and France had finalized negotiations for sale of ''Foudre'' to Chile for around USD80 million.
She was transferred to Chile on 23 December 2011 and renamed ''Sargento Aldea''.
See also
*
Juan de Dios Aldea
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
TCD FoudreTCD Foudre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foudre
Foudre class landing platform dock
1988 ships
Ships built in France