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An explanation of the roles played by one of the most important types of naval vessels throughout this alternate-history of the French Confederation. Prior to the end of the Second World War the country’s aircraft carriers were not assigned into any particular regional fleets, and instead merely deployed as required. At the end of the war however, with the restored Republic seeking to re-emerge as a Great Power and also acquire a blue-water navy, a doctrine calling for one aircraft carrier per fleet was adopted. Budget cuts to the navy between 1975-1997 in favor of the nuclear arsenal and other service branches due to the American-Soviet War meant that the Indo-Antarctic Fleet went without a carrier, and the other fleets were unable to replace their carriers with more modern designs. Since then however, the Republic has for the most part keep to their strategic naval doctrine.

Seaplane Carriers of the Republic

Before the vessels which would become recognizable as ‘aircraft carriers’ were introduced, the Seaplane Carrier was the first true ship capable of launching aircraft. A leading developer of the technology, two such carriers have served the Republic in the First World War or Interwar era.

The 'Seaplane Carrier' Foudre (1912-1921) was the first vessel which carried aircraft in the nation's naval service, and was one of the first seaplane carriers in the world. A converted ship, it displaced 6,000 tonnes. Capable of carrying only a handful of planes, it was retired after the end of the First World War and is now a museum ship.

Commandant Teste (1932-1945) was another seaplane carrier, larger and able to carry 26 planes while displacing approximately 12,000 tonnes, however due to rapid advancement of technology as well as the formation of the Franco-British Union in 1940 it was relegated to anti-submarine patrols in the Atlantic for the duration of the European war, before being transferred to the Asia-Pacific after the defeat of Germany and Italy. The ship was sunk by kamikaze aircraft during the the Battle of the Dragon Sea, whilst defending a beachhead in French Indochina from a Japanese naval task force. To date, it is the only Republic aircraft carrier to be sunk in combat by an enemy force.

WW2-era Aircraft Carriers of the Republic

Following a humiliating defeat in the Battle of France, the Republic entered into a political union with the British Empire so as to continue the fight against the Axis Powers despite the occupation of New Metropolitan France. Consequently, the following aircraft carriers served as part of the military of the Franco-British Union.

Béarn (1927-1967) was the first true 'aircraft carrier' of the nation, displacing 28,900 tonnes and operating up to 40 aircraft. When the Battle of France turned against the Republic, the carrier was tasked with safely transferring the Republic's gold reserves out of the country before it was fully occupied by the Axis Powers. The carrier then received new planes from America before joining up with the Franco-British Union fleet. Béarn provided air support during the Allied invasion of Italy, as well as the liberation of Corsica and southern New Metropolitan France. With the war in Europe over, the ship was redeployed to fight in the Pacific, and then serve in the post-war First Indochina War. By then, the Republic had other new carriers in service, and so other than participating in the Suez Crisis it was relegated to the 'quiet' peace time theater of the South Atlantic. It became the flagship of the new fleet there, as the Republic began to express its ambition of becoming a truly global blue-water navy. The antiquated vessel was scrapped in 1967, never again being used in combat.

The Joffre-class of aircraft carrier had been planned for the 1930s, but delayed due to budgetary constraints caused by the recession and so were not in service before the beginning of the Second World War. The hull of the first ship in the class, the Joffre (Franco-British Union: 1943-1945, Republic service from 1945-1962) was towed to British ports where it was completed for service in the Franco-British Union following the Axis invasion of New Metropolitan France. When completed in 1943, the ship displaced 20,000 tonnes and could carry 40 aircraft. The ship took part in the Allied invasion of northern New Metropolitan France in 1943, helping support the collapse of the Axis Occupation. The carrier also took part in the liberation of Norway in early 1945, after which it was assigned to the post-war North Atlantic Fleet. The ship did not see any further combat service in World War Two, and was not deployed to Indochina. Instead, it did see service during the Suez Crisis. The Joffre has a significant level of national prestige due to its wartime efforts, and was an important ship in Cold War-era political arena until it was finally retired as a museum ship in the 1960s.

Dixmude (Franco-British Union: 1942-1945, Republic service from 1945-1951) was a small 9,100 tonne American-made Avenger-class escort carrier that originally served with the British half of the Franco-British Union for most of its career during the Second World War. After being reassigned to a French crew in the last months of the war, it was deployed as part of the newly-formed Asia-Pacific Fleet and served in the Indochinese campaign along with Béarn after the sinking of the outdated Commandant Teste. Due to the limited capabilities of the small ship (only 15-21 aircraft), it was returned to the US and scraped in 1951 before the First Indochina War even ended.

Post-War Aircraft Carriers of the Republic

With the victory over the Axis Powers in 1945, the Franco-British Union dissolved itself. However, while the war in Indochina against the Japanese Empire had ended, it soon turned into a colonial revolt and communist revolution. Now no longer combined with the military strength of the British Empire, and with only a few facilities for building new naval vessels intact after the previous wartime occupation of New Metropolitan France, the Post-War era was dominated by foreign-originating carriers aside from the last of the pre-war designed Joffre-class. Regardless, the Republic resolved to restore themselves as a great power with a blue-water navy, and crush the uprisings in Indochina.

The Arromanches (Franco-British Union: 1944-1946, Republic service from 1946-1974) was a 13,600 tonne carrier purchased from the British in 1946. With the war in Indochina having merely paused briefly following the end of World War Two, more carriers were deemed necessary hence the Republic's purchase. The ship was eventually based there permanently as part of the new Asia-Pacific Fleet, but was also made use of during the Suez Crisis. The obsolete carrier was scrapped in the 1970s.

Construction of the second Joffre-class, the Painlevé (1947-1963), was begun during the Second World War by the Franco-British Union however only completed by the restored Republic in 1947. Despite the ongoing war in Indochina, the two Joffre vessels were valued as propaganda assets due to the wartime service of the Joffre, and also their being the most modern French carrier design at the time. Consequently, the Painlevé was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet away from Indochina and closer to Europe where it would be more useful politically. While the defeated Italy posed no large naval threat in the immediate post-war years, and the fascist government of Spain had not made any hostile actions towards the Republic, the presence of the Painlevé was reassuring to the public. The Suez Crisis and Algerian War of Independence were the only combat deployments of the carrier. The Painlevé was due for replacement by the 1960s and as such the vessel was scrapped in 1963 after completing its service.

La Fayette (US: 1943-1947, Republic service from 1951-1963) was an American-made light aircraft carrier of 15,300 tonnes that carried 33 aircraft and served in the Pacific in Word War Two. After participating in the First Indochina War, the carrier remained apart of the Asia-Pacific Fleet based out of the Dominion of South Vietnam until scraping in the 1960s.

A sister ship to La Fayette with the same tonnage and number of aircraft, the Bois Belleau (US: 1943-1947, Republic service from 1953-1960) was leased to the Republic after also previously participating in the Allied war effort in the Pacific campaign. The ship remained apart of the new Asia-Pacific Fleet with their sister ship, although was scraped slightly earlier.

Cold War Aircraft Carriers of the Republic

The need for European military power independent from those countries across the Atlantic was a priority of the Republic during the Cold War years. Unfortunately, this need for increased spending on nuclear weapons, the army, and air force drained the naval budget. Consequently, the Indo-Antarctic Fleet was left without an aircraft carrier on the eve of the American-Soviet War, with the British Empire having to take up the role for the European Federation, while other fleets were not able to replace carriers who were passing their use-by dates.

Before the European-North American alliance broke apart, the successors to the Joffre-class were completed; the Clemenceau-class. The lead ship Clemenceau (1961-2015) would be forced to serve well beyond any predictions, and underwent major refits and was rotated among the fleets regularly throughout its history. Initially beginning service in the South Atlantic, it would also be based in the Asia-Pacific and Indo-Antarctic Fleets as it aged. The only combat it saw was the start of the War in East Africa (2015), before it was retired and scrapped. The vessel was 32,780 tonnes, and could carry 40 aircraft.

The Clemenceu's identical sister ship Foch (1963-2014) would be the main aircraft carrier of the Mediterranean during the later Cold War, American-Soviet War, and the Kuwait Crisis. It saw combat in the later, deploying in 1990. Despite the campaign being a failure, it performed well in its duties there and in Francophone African campaigns, as it did in the role of being a political tool in ensuring the neutrality of the European Federation during the 1980s.

Verdun (1961-2014*) was a unique 45,000 tonne carrier, in that it was in a class of its own. The largest Republic carrier of its era, holding 35-40 aircraft, it was deployed in the North Atlantic Fleet and was seen as proof that the nation could indeed defend its own interests without the North American alliance. The combat abilities of Verdun, although never used outside of small interventions in Francophone Africa, without any doubt contributed to preventing Europe from being engulfed in the flames of the American-Soviet War. Verdun has been maintained as a reserve ship following the completion of active service in 2014, and is thus able to be reactivated if ever required.

Modern Aircraft Carriers of the Republic

Despite the scare that was the American-Soviet War, the Republic would not have been able to design and build new carriers before the conflict ended, and so while the fleets continued to age no new spending was allocated for more carriers. With the chaotic collapse of the Eastern Bloc however, and internal divisions within the European Federation re-emerging once both the Soviet Union and North American Alliance were dissolved, all it took was one last spark to galvanize the country in favor of increasing the defense budget again. That spark came in the form of the Kuwait Crisis; the Republic deployed alone in defense of Kuwait from Iraqi invasion. While the surprise that they were not being supported by their European partners was bad enough, the actual failure of the Republic to defeat the Iraqis came as a bigger shock. The navy had aged, and lacked the ability to support the ground forces who were forced into a frenzied retreat in the biggest military embarrassment since Dien Bien Phu. Consequently, the next generation of carriers began to emerge in the 1990s.

The Charles de Gaulle (1994-2017) was the lead of of the PA-1–class, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in service with the Republic, and displaced 42,500 tonnes while operating between 28 and 40 aircraft. Serving with the South Atlantic Fleet, but taking part in major campaigns in other theaters where required, the ship suffered from some technical and mechanical issues which were resolved after several years. The carrier was retired in 2017, and eventually sold to the URT in 2019 for 4 billion NSDs.

Richelieu (1997-) is the second and final ship in the PA-1-class, and was identical to its sister ship. The nuclear carrier entered service in 1997, saw combat during the battle to reunify Vietnam with the Asia-Pacific Fleet, before being reassigned to the Indo-Antarctic Fleet where it remains to this day.

While the PA-1 class can be seen as a continuation of the two-ship class doctrine that began with the Joffre and was continued with the Clemenceau, it is also similar to the Clemenceau in that it was intended to be subordinate to a larger carrier vessel. The Clemenceau-class ships were smaller than the Verdun, which was unique and in a class of its own. For the PA-1, they are subordinate to the PA-2, or the Marianne (2015-). Delayed due to a temporary fund diversion to the other branches during the Unionian-Iberian war in the mid 2000s, the Marianne finally emerged in 2015. The Republic’s first Super Carrier at 75,000 tonnes, the Marianne was also nuclear powered and for a time was given the honor of being the flagship of the North Atlantic Fleet, and command ship of the entire Navy. It was relocated to the Mediterranean in 2017. The ship has an air-wing of between 40 and 60 aircraft.

North American Carriers of the Republic

By 2015, the age of isolationism that had begun following the dissolution of the European Federation had ended. Governments in the Americas and Eastern Europe were once again present in international affairs, the Triple Entente was being reborn, the DEU had formed, and the Republic that had been a Great Power since the American-Soviet War now had ambitions of becoming a military Super Power. It was in this new dawning era that the North American continent unexpectedly became the source of the navy’s next aircraft carriers.

Napoleon (2015-) is a Nimitz-class ship of 101,600 tonnes that was obtained by the fascist regime known as the Union of America in the aftermath of the American-Soviet War. Parked in New York and used as a museum ship, it was found by the Republic during the invasion of the country in 2015. While New York fell under occupation by the Republic, experts were flown to the location to examine the Nimitz. It was then decided to tow it to New Metropolitan France for a refit and introduce it into service. When completed, the ship could carry between 85 and 90 aircraft. It was assigned to the Asia-Pacific Fleet, and saw combat during the border clashes with the Ultra-Nationalists of China, and the Third Indochina War.

The New Republic (2015-) was another part of the Nimitz-class, with the same tonnage and air-wing capacities as its sister ship Napoleon. It entered Republic service in 2015 after being gifted to the country by the Pacifican Government. Assigned to the Asia-Pacific Fleet for two years, it saw action in the Third Indochina War before redeployment to the South Atlantic Fleet in 2017.

The largest aircraft carrier to ever serve in the French Confederation’s history is the Normandy (2017-), of the Overbeck-class. Purchased from the North American Federation in 2018, the carrier displaces 132,000 tonnes, can carry 85-124 aircraft, and is the new flagship of the North Atlantic Fleet and command ship of the Navy (replacing the Marianne in those roles after it was redeployed to the Mediterranean).

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History by Fleet

Bold = vessel currently deployed with that fleet.

North Atlantic Fleet: (established 1945)

Normandy, Overbeck-class, 132,000 tonnes, can carry 85-124 aircraft. Entered service in 2017. Currently fitted with x42 Valkyrie, x35 Petrel, x20 Pelican, x8 Growler and x3 Hawkeye.

Marianne, 75,000 tonnes, can carry 40-60 aircraft. Entered service in 2015, rotated from the North Atlantic Fleet to the Mediterranean Fleet in 2017.

Verdun, 45,000 tonnes, could carry 35-40 aircraft. Entered service in 1961, moved into naval reserves in 2014.

Joffre, 20,000 tonnes, could carry 40 aircraft. Entered Republic service in 1945 after prior Franco-British Union service, joined the new North Atlantic Fleet in 1945, retired and made a museum ship in 1961.

South Atlantic Fleet: (established 1945)

New Republic, Nimitz-class, 101,600 tonnes, can carry ‎85–90 aircraft. Entered Republic service in 2015, redeployed from the Asia-Pacific Fleet to the South Atlantic Fleet in 2017. Currently fitted with x30 Valkyrie, x35 Petrel, x10 Pelican, x4 Growler and x3 Hawkeye.

Charles de Gaulle, PA-1-class, 42,500 tonnes, could carry 28–40 aircraft. Entered service in 1994, retired to reserve duties in 2017 and sold to URT in 2019.

Clemenceau, Clemenceau-class, 32,780 tonnes, could carry 40 aircraft. Entered service in 1961, rotated from the South Atlantic Fleet to the Asia-Pacific Fleet in 1994, rotated from the Asia-Pacific Fleet to the Indo-Antarctic Fleet in 1997, scrapped in 2015.

Béarn, converted Normandie-class battleship, 28,900 tonnes, could carry 40 aircraft. Entered service in 1927, joined the South Atlantic Fleet in 1945, retired to reserve duties in 1961, scrapped in 1967.

Mediterranean Fleet: (established 1947)

Marianne, PA-2-class, 75,000 tonnes, can carry 40-60 aircraft. Entered service in 2015, rotated from the North Atlantic Fleet to the Mediterranean Fleet in 2017. Currently fitted with x20 Valkyrie, x25 Petrel, x8 Pelican, x3 Growler and x1 Hawkeye.

Foch, Clemenceau-class, 32,780 tonnes, could carry 40 aircraft. Entered service in 1963. Scrapped in 2014.

Painlevé, Joffre-class, 20,000 tonnes, could carry 40 aircraft. Entered service in 1947. Scrapped in 1963.

Asia-Pacific Fleet: (established 1945)

Napoleon, Nimitz-class, 101,600 tonnes, can carry 85-90 aircraft. Captured from the fascist Union of America in 2015 in New York, refitted and entered Republic service in 2015. Currently fitted with x30 Valkyrie, x25 Petrel, x12 Rafale M, x10 Pelican, x4 Growler and x3 Hawkeye.

Richelieu, PA-1-class, 42,500 tonnes, can carry 28–40 aircraft. Entered service in 1997, rotated from the Asia-Pacific Fleet to the Indo-Antarctic Fleet in 2015.

Clemenceau, Clemenceau-class, 32,780 tonnes, could carry 40 aircraft. Entered service in 1961, rotated from the South Atlantic Fleet to the Asia-Pacific Fleet in 1994, rotated from the Asia-Pacific Fleet to the Indo-Antarctic Fleet in 1997, scrapped in 2015.

Bois Belleau, Independence-class, 11,000 tonnes, could carry 33 aircraft. Entered Republic service in 1953 after prior US service, scrapped in 1960.

La Fayette, Independence-class, 11,000 tonnes, could carry 33 aircraft. Entered Republic service in 1951 after prior US service, scrapped in 1963.

Dixmude, Avenger-class, 9,100 tonnes, could carry 15-21 aircraft. Entered Republic service in 1945 after prior Franco-British union service from 1942-1945, scrapped in 1966.

Commandant Teste, unique seaplane tender, 12,134 tonnes, could carry 26 aircraft. Entered service in 1932, assigned to the Asia-Pacific Fleet in 1945, sunk by the Axis Powers in 1945.

Indo-Antarctic Fleet: (Established 1946)

Richelieu, PA-1-class, 42,500 tonnes, can carry 28–40 aircraft. Entered service in 1997, rotated from the Asia-Pacific Fleet to the Indo-Antarctic Fleet in 2015. Currently fitted with x12 Valkyrie, x10 Rafale M, x10 Petrel, x2 Pelican, x2 Growler and x1 Hawkeye.

Clemenceau, Clemenceau-class, 32,780 tonnes, could carry 40 aircraft. Entered service in 1961, rotated from the South Atlantic Fleet to the Pacific Fleet in 1994, rotated from the Pacific Fleet to the Indo-Antarctic Fleet in 1997, scrapped in 2015.

NO CARRIER IN FLEET 1975-1997: British membership of European Federation assigned to cover aircraft carrier duties.

Arromanches, Colossus-class, 18,300 tonnes, could carry 48 aircraft. Entered Republic service in 1946 after prior Franco-British union service from 1944-1945, scrapped in 1974.