The Foudre was a French seaplane carrier, the first in history.[1][2] Her development followed the invention of the seaplane in 1910 with the French Le Canard.
The Foudre was first commissioned in 1896 as a torpedo boat tender (Croiseur porte-torpilleurs), with the role of helping bring torpedo boats to the high seas, and launch them for attack.
She was then modified as repair ship in 1907, as a minelayer in 1910, as a seaplane carrier in 1911 (depot, transport, and launch by crane), and seaplane carrier with a flying-off deck in 1913. She was initially converted to carry torpedo-carrying planes in hangars on the main deck. They were lowered on the sea with a crane.[3]
First seaplane carrier
In April 1910, Vice-Admiral Auguste Boué de Lapeyrère, Navy Minister, established a committee to study the usage of balloons and planes by the navy.
Seaplane tender
On 29 November 1911 a navy airbase was established at Fréjus Saint-Raphaël, and the torpedo boat tender Foudre was sent to the naval yard in Toulon to be converted as a seaplane tender. The ship was fitted out in a totally new way. A deck was installed at the bow for the seaplane to take off. The seaplane would land on the water, and be craned on board for stowing.
Tactical exercises of the seaplane Canard Voisin with the seaplane carrier Foudre, in June 1912.
A float-equipped Canard Voisin seaplane was bought by the navy for this purpose in December 1911. The Foudre would be stationed at Fréjus, working as a seaplane tender, allowing for stowage, repair and supply of the seaplanes. The ship was armed on 15 April 1912, and trials with the Canard Voisin then started.
On 1 May 1912 the Navy Ministry purchased several more seaplanes, a monoplane Breguet with a single float, a Nieuport with double float, and a converted Farman biplane.
Canard Voisin seaplane under trial in August 1911.
Experiments at sea started with the Foudre in July 1912 during tactical exercises in the Mediterranean. The Canard Voisin, and a new foldable Nieuport were used. During the exercises, in which a wargame simulated the fight of two rival navies, the use of the Nieuport allowed the discovery of a surprise attack by the "adversary". During the summer of 1912 many flights of the Canard Voisin from the Foudre were accomplished in the bay of Saint-Raphaël.
By the middle of 1913, the navy had 11 seaplane pilots. The Foudre was again used in large-scale naval exercises. One of its planes, a Nieuport used for observations, foiled a "surprise attack" by a group of warships. Five more seaplanes were ordered following these exercises.
Liftoff platform experiments
A Caudron seaplane, being craned on La Foudre in April 1914.
In November 1913, a 10-meter flying-off deck was installed, with the objective of using it for a Caudron G.3 seaplane. The plane successfully lifted off from the ship on 8 May 1914. At the beginning of the war, the platform was dismantled, and further experiments were postponed to a later date.
World War I
Foudre circa 1914.
During World War I her roles were numerous, ranging from submarine tender to seaplane/aircraft transport, and headquarters ship in 1916. She was employed as an aviation school ship after the war.[citation needed]
Notes
↑ "The first ship to be transformed into a seaplane-carrier was the auxiliary cruiser Foudre in August 1912" (Fr: "le premier navire transformé en " porte-hydravions " est le croiseur auxiliaire Foudre en août 1912") French Defense Ministry
↑ "Le premier navire à être transformé en porte hydravion a été le croiseur auxiliaire Foudre en août 1911" "The first ship to be transformed into a seaplane carrier was the auxiliary cruiser Foudre in August 1911" Archived 2006-11-20 at the Wayback Machine
Le Roy, Thierry (January 1996). "L'escadrille de Port Said: Première escadrille de l'aviation maritime française 1914–1916 (1e partie)" [The Port Said Squadron: The First French Naval Aviation Squadron 1914–1916]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (34): 29–31. ISSN1243-8650.
Le Roy, Thierry (February 1996). "L'escadrille de Port Said: Première escadrille de l'aviation maritime française 1914–1916 (2e partie)". Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (35): 18–21. ISSN1243-8650.
Le Roy, Thierry (March 1996). "L'escadrille de Port Said: Première escadrille de l'aviation maritime française 1914–1916 (Fin)". Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (36): 31–36. ISSN1243-8650.
Further reading
Moulin, Jean (2020). Tous les porte-aéronefs en France: de 1912 à nos jours[All the Aircraft Carriers of France: From 1912 to Today]. Collection Navires et Histoire des Marines du Mond; 35 (in French). Le Vigen, France: Lela Presse. ISBN978-2-37468-035-4.
The Vought SB2U Vindicator is an American carrier-based dive bomber developed for the United States Navy in the 1930s, the first monoplane in this role. Vindicators still remained in service at the time of the Battle of Midway, but by 1943, all had been withdrawn to training units. It was known as the Chesapeake in Royal Navy service.
French Naval Aviation is the naval air arm of the French Navy. The long-form official designation is Force maritime de l'aéronautique navale. Born as a fusion of aircraft carrier squadrons and the naval patrol air force, the Aéronavale was created in 1912. The force is under the command of a flag officer officially titled Admiral of Naval Aviation (ALAVIA) with his headquarters at Toulon naval base. It has a strength of around 6,800 military and civilian personnel. It operates from four airbases in Metropolitan France and several detachments in foreign countries or French overseas territories. Carrier-borne pilots of the French Navy do their initial training at Salon-de-Provence Air Base after which they undergo their carrier qualification with the US Navy.
The Voisin Canard was an aircraft developed by Voisin brothers during 1910 and first flown early in 1911. It was named the Canard because of the resemblance of its forward fuselage to that of a duck's long neck while in flight. It was originally flown as a landplane: with the addition of floats it became one of the first seaplanes used by the French Navy.
The Latécoère 298 was a French seaplane that served during World War II. It was designed primarily as a torpedo bomber, but served also as a dive bomber against land and naval targets, and as a maritime reconnaissance aircraft. Of a sturdy and reliable construction and possessing good manoeuvrability, it was France's most successful military seaplane, and served throughout the war in various guises.
The Dewoitine D.27 was a parasol monoplane fighter aircraft designed by Émile Dewoitine in 1928.
The Morane-Saulnier M.S.225 was a French fighter aircraft of the 1930s. It was produced in limited quantities to be used as a transitional aircraft between the last of the biplanes and the first monoplane fighters.
The CAMS 37 was a French 1920s biplane flying boat designed for military reconnaissance, but which found use in a wide variety of roles.
The CAMS 55 was a reconnaissance flying boat built in France in the late 1920s which equipped the French Navy throughout the 1930s.
The Loire 46 was a French single-seater fighter aircraft of the 1930s. A high-winged monoplane designed and built by Loire Aviation, it was purchased by the French Air Force. It was also supplied to the Spanish Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War, but was almost out of service by the outbreak of World War II.
The Dewoitine D.1 was a French single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1920s, built by the French industrial company Dewoitine.
The Loire-Nieuport LN.40 aircraft were a family of French naval dive-bombers for the Aeronavale in the late 1930s, which saw service during World War II.
The Donnet-Denhaut flying boat was a maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft produced in France during the First World War. Known at the time simply as "Donnet-Denhaut" or "DD" flying boats, the DD-2, DD-8, DD-9, and DD-10 designations were applied retrospectively to denote the various changes in configuration made during their service life.
The FBA 17 was a training flying boat produced in France in the 1920s.
The Wibault 7 was a 1920s French monoplane fighter designed and built by Société des Avions Michel Wibault. Variants were operated by the French and Polish military and built under licence for Chile as the Vickers Wibault.
The Grigorovich M-1 was a single engined flying boat designed by Dmitry Pavlovich Grigorovich and built in Russia in 1913.
Groupe de Chasse or groupe de chasse is the French language term for "fighter group" or "fighter wing". More literal translations include "pursuit group" and "hunting group".
Escadron de Chasse is a French Air and Space Force fighter squadron currently stationed at BA 188 Djibouti Air Base.
Escadron de Chasse 1/4 Gascogne is a squadron of the French Air and Space Force. It houses the Dassault Rafale and was the second unit of the French Air and Space Force to receive the aircraft.
The Yokosuka E6Y was a Japanese submarine-based reconnaissance seaplane developed at the Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal for the Imperial Japanese Navy during the 1920s. The prototype first flew as the Yokosho 2-Go in 1929.
Escadrille Spa.153 was a French fighter squadron active from 1 July 1917 to war's end. It was Mentioned in dispatches for its proficiency. By the Armistice, the squadron was credited with 10 German airplanes and three observation balloons destroyed.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
France
