French Navy: 5 Frigates (F710-714), active: La Fayette, Surcouf, Courbet, Aconit, Guépratte. Bastille Day ! The Lafayette class were the last French Frigates designed in the Cold War, with a construction which started in 1990 and five completed until 2001, all active today and modernized. Their specificity was to embrace fully the stealthy characteristics we … Read more
Conventional Attack Submarines (S-620 to S-323). Agosta, Bézévier, La Praya, Ouessant. Service: 1978-2009. Next in the cold war French submarine lineage are the last French conventional design, the Agosta class. All were named after naval battles, starting with the battle of Augusta in 1676. Developed and constructed by DCNS in the 1970s to to succeed … Read more
Nuclear Ballistic Attack Submarines (S641-651). Service 1964-1996: Le Redoutable, Le Terrible, Le Foudroyant, L’indomptable, Le Tonnant, L’inflexible S-611 to S-615 The “Le Redoutable” was the first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines class of the French Navy, with six built built in two upgraded batches between 1867 and 1985. First class built in continental western Europe and … Read more
Conventional Ballistic Submarine (Built 1963-66). Service 1966-1986. Gymnote (S655) was an experimental submarine of the French Navy, a conventional model which only purpose was to test submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM), powered by diesel electric engines and had four tubes. Gymnote was previously the world’s first all-electric submarine, built in France in the late 19th century. … Read more
Guided missile Frigates 1976-2022: D 614 FS Cassard, D 615 Jean Bart, Courbet* D 616, D 617 (cancelled) The Cassard class (Type F70 AA) were the two last “classic” anti-air warfare destroyers (before stealth was introduced) of the French Navy. They were built in the 1980s and only the first two were completed. The next … Read more
Conventional Attack Submarines (S641-651). Service 1964-1996: Daphné, Diane, Doris, Eurydice, Flore, Galatée, Minerve, Junon, Vénus, Psyché, Sirène +15 exported. We continue our dive in cold war French submarines with a later conventional design called the Daphné class. These were not “sous-marins de patrouille” or patrol submarines, but follow-up hunter-killer of the Arethuse class. They were … Read more
Conventional Attack Submarines (S635, 636, 639, 640). Service 1957-1987: Aréthuse, Argonaute, Amazone, Ariane We continue our dive in cold war French submarines, with a second postwar conventional design, the Aréthuse class. Unlike the previous Narval class, designed as “sous-marins de patrouille” or patrol submarines, the Arethuse were the first “sous marins de chasse” literrally “hunting … Read more
Conventional Attack Submarines (S631 – S638). Service 1957-1987: Narval, Marsouin, Dauphin, Requin, Espadon, Morse. For this new cycle about French cold war submarines, we will start with an introduction, the situation in 1945 and the leased training submarines, the rebuilt, streamlined La Creole class, and the first purpose-built French postwar “submarines”, the Narval class. Symbolically, … Read more
Helicopter Carrier (R97), ex-La Résolue. Service 1964-2010 14 of July/Bastille Day update: “Jeanne d’Arc” (Joan of Arc) was a helicopter cruiser of the French Navy, 6th of the name. She was designed as a hybrid helicopter cruiser for peacetime as a training vessel, and in emergency or crisis as a fully capable ASW helicopter cruiser … Read more
Guided missile Frigates 1976-2022: FS Georges Leygues, Dupleix, Montcalm, Jean de Vienne, Primauguet, La Motte-Picquet, Latouche-Tréville D-640-646 The Georges Leygues class (Type F70 AS) were anti-submarine multi-role destroyers having Exocet and Crotale missiles among others for multiple missions of strategic locations, show the flag, escort a task force, and evolved from a simple ASW corvette … Read more
