Jean Moulin – författare

French carrier aviation traces its origins to the Foudre, a highly original ship initially designed to carry torpedo boats into action but later converted into a seaplane carrier. During the First World War this was supplemented by a number of merchant ships requisitioned to support aircraft and the former sloop Bapaume became the first French ship to launch wheeled aircraft while underway.The Washington Treaty of 1922 prevented the completion of traditional capital ships, so France, like the other major naval powers, decided to convert an incomplete battleship, the Béarn, to an experimental carrier. Between 1929 and 1936 there were fifteen ‘paper designs’, all covered in this book, but the only aviation ship added to the inter-war French navy was the highly unusual Commandant Teste, whose tactical rationale and service history is explored at length. France’s first purpose-designed carriers, Joffre and Painlevé were ordered just before the outbreak of the Second World War but the Armistice of 1940 meant that neither was ever completed.Some design work continued during the war, which culminated in the projected PA28 Clemenceau of 1948, but the ship proved too expensive and was cancelled in 1949. Instead, France acquired four second-hand ships from Britain and the USA which, as Dixmude, Arromanches, Lafayette and Bois Belleau, played a significant role in the postwar conflict in French Indochina.After budgeting and planning delays, the Marine National finally obtained its first modern indigenously built carriers with Clemenceau (1961) and Foch (1963). These important ships enjoyed long and successful careers, and their evolution and service histories form a major focus of this book. The final chapters cover developments up to the nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle and an epilogue looks at the French Navy’s plans for future naval aviation, making this a complete history from the earliest days to the present.

The French produced some of the most striking and innovatory interwar cruiser designs. A large amount of new information about these ships has become available over the past twenty years in France, but this book is the first to make this accessible to an English-speaking readership. Part I explains the design philosophy behind each of the classes built after 1922, and outlines the characteristics of each type, accompanied by detailed data tables and a comprehensive set of specially-drawn plans based on official documents, as well as carefully-selected photographs. Coverage includes the De Grasse, laid down in August 1939 and completed postwar as an AA cruiser, and also the heavy cruisers of the Saint Louis class intended to follow her, about which little has been published. Part II deals with the historical side, covering not only the eventful careers of these ships, but also explaining the peacetime organisation of the Marine Nationale, the complex politics of this turbulent period and their impact on the navy. Like its highly successful predecessor, French Battleships, this beautifully presented book subtly blends technical and historical analysis to produce what must become the standard reference work.

The French produced some of the most striking and innovatory interwar cruiser designs. A large amount of new information about these ships has become available over the past twenty years in France, but this book is the first to make this accessible to an English-speaking readership. Part I explains the design philosophy behind each of the classes built after 1922, and outlines the characteristics of each type, accompanied by detailed data tables and a comprehensive set of specially-drawn plans based on official documents, as well as carefully-selected photographs. Coverage includes the De Grasse, laid down in August 1939 and completed postwar as an AA cruiser, and also the heavy cruisers of the Saint Louis class intended to follow her, about which little has been published. Part II deals with the historical side, covering not only the eventful careers of these ships, but also explaining the peacetime organisation of the Marine Nationale, the complex politics of this turbulent period and their impact on the navy.Like its highly successful predecessor, French Battleships, this beautifully presented book subtly blends technical and historical analysis to produce what must become the standard reference work.