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Photo

Béarn before war

Ships

Name	No	Yard No	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Comp	Fate
Béarn		1071	F C de la Méditerranée, La Seyne	10.1.1914	15.4.1920	6.1927	FNFL 6.1943, aircraft transport 3.1945, submarine depot ship early 1950s, stricken 11.1966

Technical data

Displacement standard, t	22146
Displacement full, t	28400
Length, m	170.6 pp 182.6 oa
Breadth, m	27.1 wl 31.0 fd
Draught, m	9.30
No of shafts	4
Machinery	2 Parsons steam turbines, 2 VTE, 6 Normand du Temple boilers
Power, h. p.	22500 + 15000 = 37500
Max speed, kts	21.5
Fuel, t	oil 2160
Endurance, nm(kts)	7000(10)
Armour, mm	main belt: 80, flight deck: 24, upper hangar deck: 24, lower hangar deck: 60 - 28, casemates: 70 - 24
Armament	8 x 1 - 155/50 M1920, 6 x 1 - 75/50 M1924, 4 - 550 TT (beam), 16 x 1 - 8.80, 40 aircraft (D.1 fighters, P.L.5 fighters-recon planes, P.L.2 torpedo bombers, E.T.1 recon planes, F.B.A.17 amphibious planes)
Complement	865

Air group

Year	Fighters	torpedo bombers	diving bombers
9/1939	20 D.373	5 P.L.7	---
early 1940	---	---	40 LN401 and V-156-F

Standard scale images

Graphics

Aircraft facilities

 (fd - 4,860m², ha - 4,182m² / ~20,500m³): Flight deck: 180.0x27.0m. Upper hangar: 124.5x19.5xm, lower hangar: 98x18m. There were 3 lifts, fore and amidships were 15.3x15.7m, aft was 8.2x12.2m. There were no catapults. Aircraft fuel stowage: 328 000l.

Project history

Laid down as battleship of Normandie class. To follow decisions of Washington Naval Conference she was rebuilt to aircraft carrier. Works were begun in August, 1923. Battle value of the ship was sharply reduced by insufficient area of a flight deck that ensured simultaneous usage of no more than 10-12 aircrafts. By the end of 1930th Béarn was unique aircraft carrier with torpedo tubes (according to some sources, they were removed only late 1939), and was considered too slow for operations with a fleet. In 1939 decision on her conversion to seaplane depot ship with preservation of possibility of basing of wheeled aircrafts was accepted.

Ship protection

80mm main belt had 83m length. Also flight, upper hangar and lower hangar decks were protected by 24, 24 and 60-28mm armour respectively. 155mm guns were placed in casemates with 70mm armour.

Modernizations

1935: - 4 x 1 - 8.80; + 8 x 1 - 37/50 M1925

(autumn 1943 - 3.1945, New Orleans, USA): ship was converted to aircraft transport, flight deck was shortened, its breadth rose to 35.2m, fuel stowage was increased to 4500t, amidships lift was removed. Complement was 651. Radars were installed. Fully new artillery consisted of 4 x 1 - 127/38 Mk 12, 6 x 4 - 40/56 Mk 1.2, 26 x 1 - 20/70 Mk 4

Naval service

In a beginning of war Béarn served as an aircraft transport for transportation of the aircrafts bought in the USA. Her four squadrons of diving bombers were based ashore. In the late 1939 she carried to the USA 250t of gold in payment for deliveries. During the second route (19/5-1.6.1940) Béarn carried to Canadian Halifax 3880 boxes with a part of French gold (194t).

At the moment of armistice signing Béarn was at Fort-de-France (Martinique) and under the agreement was disarmed 1.5.1942.

30.6.1943 Government of Martinique recognised the Algerian Government and Béarn has passed to the USA for repair. Since autumn of 1943 till March, 1945 works on her conversion to aircraft transport proceeded: flight deck was shortened, central elevator was removed, modern electronic equipment was installed. She carried troops and equipment in Atlantic and Indian oceans.