History
The draft statute prepared by the Naval General Staff in 1949 asked four aircraft carriers of 20,000 tons to be available in two phases. At its meeting of 22 August 1949, the Supreme Council of the Navy was even more ambitious where they asked six aircraft carrier fleet. On 15 July 1952, the French Navy still wanted two to five with the French Union (not available to the NATO ). According to the RCM 12, the final document of the Lisbon Conference of 1952, France should make available NATO aircraft carrier in the D-day, two on day 30, three on day 180. But by 1953, the Navy had to be satisfied with two aircraft carriers. The PA 54 Clemenceau, budgeted in 1953, was delayed until November 1955, the PA 55 Foch, budgeted for 1955, was delayed until February 1957. Between 1980 and 1981, she underwent a study to certify the platform before catapulting aircraft carrying missiles, bombs, AM-39 Exocet and tactical nuclear bombs. Like her sister ship the Clemenceau, the Foch underwent a modernization and refit, replacing 4 of her 8 100mm guns with 2 Crotale air-defense systems. Unlike the Clemenceau, the Foch in 1997 also received 2 Sadral launchers (for 6 Mistral missiles each); those launchers were purchased by France in 1994.
The Dassault Rafale was test flown from the Foch (but not Clemenceau) after deck modifications in 1992 and operated from this carrier after further 1995-6 deck modifications.
After a 37-year career in the French Navy, on 15 November 2000, she was sold to the Brazilian Navy, and renamed NAe São Paulo. In the French Navy, she was succeeded by the Charles de Gaulle (R 91).
Read more about this topic: French Aircraft Carrier Foch (R99)
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