Joffre class
 Sketch of the planned Joffre class
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The Joffre-class is a class of aircraft carriers designed for the French Navy in the 1930s . Two ships of the class were planned, of which only the type ship started and was not completed due to the war. The class was named after Joseph Joffre .
development
The Joffre class was designed to provide air support in addition to the now obsolete Béarn of the fleet. The Béarn was not designed as an aircraft carrier from the start, but was based on a converted battleship hull from the First World War . The Joffre class was supposed to bridge the gap to new aircraft carriers, as it was already foreseeable during their construction that their carrier capacity would only be sufficient to a limited extent.
history
Two units were planned for the Joffre class, of which the keel was only laid for the type ship.
Joffre
The Joffre was planned as the type ship of the class. The keel was laid and construction began on November 18, 1938 in the At. & Chantiers de Penhoët in Saint-Nazaire . Since the Second World War was already looming at this time, more and more material and workers were used on other projects, and at the latest with the start of the war, the construction progress on the aircraft carrier slowed down. In June 1940 France decided to freeze construction on the ship. With the surrender of France, the ship fell into the hands of the Germans and it was initially planned to be completed. However, there was no resumption of construction, and in 1943 all plans for the ship were canceled and the parts that had been started scrapped. At this point, the Joffre was 28% complete.
Painlevé
The Painlevé was planned as the second ship in the class. Since there were more and more delays and problems with her sister ship, no date was set for the keel laying or the start of construction.
literature
- Roger Chesneau: Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946. Conway Maritime Press, 2010, ISBN 0-85177-146-7 .
- John Jordan: PA16 Joffre: France's Carrier Project of 1938. In: John Jordan (Ed.): Warship 2010. Conway Maritime Press, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-84486-110-1 , pp. 60-76.
