French aircraft carrier Verdun

Verdun

History
France
Ordered	1958
Fate	Cancelled in 1961
General characteristics
Displacement	35,000 tons (Standard) 45,000 tons (Full Load)
Length	262 m (860 ft) (Waterline) 286.3 m (939 ft) (Overall)
Beam	34 m (112 ft) (Waterline) 58 m (190 ft) (Overall)
Draught	9.14 m (30.0 ft)
Propulsion	Steam turbines 4 shafts 200,000 shp
Speed	33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph)
Armament	2 × Masurca SAM 4 × 100mm/55-caliber modèle 53 DP guns
Aircraft carried	Unknown

Verdun was an aircraft carrier under development in France in the 1950s which was cancelled before design was completed.

History

With the Clemenceau class carriers soon to enter service, the French Navy launched an effort to build a larger carrier specifically with the nuclear strike role in mind. Construction of the carrier was considered in 1958 but due to cost the program was cancelled in 1961.

For more than 30 years, France would rely on the Clemenceau class to provide fixed wing aviation. These two ships were modified in the 1980s to accommodate AN-52 nuclear bombs, taking part of the role of the cancelled Verdun. France built a new carrier finally in the form of the Charles de Gaulle at the end of the 1990s.

See also

• List of aircraft carriers of France

References

• Robert Gardiner, ed. (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947 - 1995. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. p. 105. ISBN 1557501327.