#frenchnavy

[destinationsjourney]

Dunkerque, anchored at Spithead in May 1937

[omniatlas]

North America 98 years ago today: Washington Naval Conference (12 Nov 1921) https://buff.ly/2Xa6VtB Following the War, the US and Japan began expanding and modernizing their fleets. To avoid an arms race between these countries and Britain, still the world's biggest naval power, the US arranged the Washington Naval Conference, the world's first disarmament conference. The participants agreed to limit their fleet sizes, maintain the status quo in the Pacific, and guarantee China's independence, while Britain also ended its alliance with Japan. #1920s #1921 #20thcentury #november #americanhistory #ushistory #cartografia #cartographer #cartography #usnavy #royalnavy #japanesenavy #frenchnavy #italiannavy #historicalplace #historisch #historygeek #historygram #historymatters #historyteacher #mapmaking #maps #northamerica #november12 #unitedstates #navalhistory #washington #todayinhistory #historytoday #thisdayinhistory (at Washington, D.C.) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4wi79CAmXY/?igshid=mfc9ziggfzwm

[militaryword-blog]

Frence Marines Heavy Combat Action #specialforces #sniper #soldier #special #army #military #marines #respect #ChrisKyle #weapon #war #bomb #frenchmarine #frenchmarines #frencharmy #frenchmilitary #frenchnavy #frenchairforce

[destinationsjourney]

French Heavy Cruiser Foch Under Construction

The Foch was a heavy cruiser of the Suffren class that saw service in the Second World War. She was the third vessel of her class, launched in 1929 and active until her scuttling in 1942.

She was originally intended to bear the name Louvois, after the Marquis de Louvois, the Minister of War under King Louis XIV. Marshal Ferdinand Foch died on 29 March 1929, one month before the ship’s launch, and she was renamed in his honour. The main gun turrets were named after places associated with Marshal Foch during the Great War.

Ordered on 1 March 1928 and built at the Arsenal de Brest, Foch was laid down on 21 June 1928 and launched on 24 April 1929. She incorporated several design changes from the earlier ships of the class. The shallow armoured belt was replaced by an armoured caisson over the machinery spaces, with increased protection on the magazine sides. The coal-fired cruising boilers were removed and replaced by additional oil fuel bunkers, which resulted in the second funnel being slimmer than those of the preceding vessels.

194 metres in overall length with a beam of 19.26 metres, she displaced 10,160 tonnes at standard load, rising to over 13,600 tonnes at full load. Three-shaft Rateau-Bretagne geared steam turbines gave a designed speed of 32 knots. Her armament comprised eight 203 mm guns in four twin turrets, supported by anti-aircraft guns of various calibres and six 550 mm torpedo tubes. She carried up to three floatplanes and was fitted with two catapults.

Foch entered service on 20 December 1931, assigned to the First Light Division at Toulon. She remained in the Mediterranean through the interwar years. On the outbreak of war in September 1939 she was at Toulon, and subsequently sailed to Dakar. In December 1939 she sailed as part of a Franco-British force which included HMS Neptune and HMS Hermes in search of the German raider Admiral Graf Spee following the engagement off the River Plate. The operation did not result in contact with the German vessel.

Her only use of main armament in combat came in June 1940. On the night of 13–14 June she took part in Operation Vado, the bombardment of Genoa and Vado, Italy, as part of the French Third Squadron. Half of the shells from the Vado group fell into the sea, and Foch suffered a steering malfunction on the return passage, though she reached Toulon without further incident.

Following the Franco-German Armistice of June 1940, Foch remained at Toulon under the Vichy administration. When German troops advanced on the port in November 1942, she was scuttled. She burned for several days and was considered a total loss. The Italians refloated the wreck on 16 April 1943 with the intention of repair, but work ceased when Italy surrendered later that year, and she was scrapped.

[destinationsjourney]

Breguet Br 960 Vultur

First flying on 4 August 1951, the Bréguet Br 960 Vultur was a two-seat carrier-based attack and anti-submarine aircraft (ASW) built for the French Navy (Marine Nationale). Designed as a mix-powered aircraft, it had an Armstrong Siddeley Mamba 970-shaft-horsepower (720 kW) turboprop in the nose with a Rolls-Royce Nene turbojet 21.6-kn (4,900 lbf) in the tail. This enabled the Vultur to meet the speed and endurance requirements of the French Navy.

Changing requirements led to the cancellation of the attack requirement, so the second Vultur prototype was rebuilt as an anti-submarine warfare platform, powered by a single, but more powerful Mamba VI and the deletion of the Nene turbojet. Redesignated the Br 965 Épaulard (“Killer Whale”) it eventually led to the Bréguet 1050 Alizé.

More photos here.

[infamoushistory]

French Victory at the Battle of Algeciras

On July 6, 1801, the Battle of Algeciras saw a French naval squadron under Admiral Charles Linois defeat a British fleet commanded by Admiral Sir James Saumarez in the Bay of Algeciras, near Gibraltar. Taking advantage of strong coastal defenses, Spanish gunboats, and difficult sailing conditions, the French successfully repelled repeated British attacks. The British suffered heavy damage, including the loss of the 74-gun HMS Hannibal, which ran aground and was forced to surrender.

Although the victory was celebrated in France, the campaign was not over. Just days later, the British struck back in a second engagement, regaining much of the initiative. Even so, the Battle of Algeciras remains one of the few notable French naval victories against the Royal Navy during the era of the French Revolutionary Wars, highlighting the unpredictable nature of naval warfare during the age of sail.

[infamoushistory]

The Battle of Lagos: France’s Devastating Blow Against the Smyrna Convoy (1693)

On June 29, 1693 (New Style), during the Nine Years’ War, a powerful French fleet commanded by Anne Hilarion de Tourville launched a surprise attack against the Anglo-Dutch Smyrna convoy near Lagos, Portugal. The massive merchant fleet, protected by Allied warships, was carrying valuable goods from the Mediterranean toward northern Europe.

Tourville’s fleet successfully ambushed the convoy, capturing or destroying around 90 merchant vessels in one of France’s greatest naval victories of the war. The defeat inflicted a severe economic shock on England and the Dutch Republic during the reign of William III of England and Mary II of England.

The Battle of Lagos demonstrated French naval strength under Louis XIV and showed the vulnerability of even heavily protected trade routes. The loss of such a valuable convoy weakened Allied commerce and became a major setback in the struggle for control of European trade and maritime power.

[infamoushistory]

The Battle of Lagos: France’s Naval Victory Over the Anglo-Dutch Fleet

On June 27, 1693, the First Sea Battle of Lagos took place during the Nine Years’ War, as a powerful French fleet commanded by Anne Hilarion de Tourville defeated an Anglo-Dutch fleet led by George Rooke off the coast of Portugal near Lagos.

Tourville’s French fleet intercepted the allied convoy, which was protecting valuable merchant ships returning from the Mediterranean. Using skilled maneuvering and aggressive tactics, the French navy broke the Anglo-Dutch formation and captured or destroyed numerous vessels, dealing a major blow to English and Dutch naval interests.

The victory strengthened France’s reputation as a dominant naval power under Louis XIV and demonstrated Tourville’s strategic brilliance at sea. Although the war continued, the Battle of Lagos became one of the most celebrated French naval successes of the late 17th century.