Post by Diarist on Jun 29, 2014 4:42:59 GMT 1
Design
Béarn was originally designed as a Normandie-class battleship; she was laid down at the Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée shipyard in La Seyne on 10 January 1914. The outbreak of the Great War in August 1914 interrupted work, which was halted for the duration of the conflict. By that time, work on Béarn had not significantly progressed: her hull was only 8–10 percent complete and her engines were only 25 percent finished. Her boilers were 17 percent assembled, and her turrets were at 20 percent completed. The incomplete hull was launched in April 1920 to clear the slipway, though the Navy had not yet decided what to do with it. On 18 April 1922, the Navy determined that Béarn was to be completed as an aircraft carrier. Her four sisters, which were at further stages of completion, were instead broken up for scrap. Much of the material from breaking up these ships was used to complete Béarn and several cruisers also ordered in 1922. Conversion work began in August 1923, and lasted until May 1927.
Béarn was 170.6 m (560 ft) long between perpendiculars and 182.6 m (599 ft) long overall. She had a beam of 27.13 m (89.0 ft) and a draft of 9.3 m (31 ft). Her standard displacement was 22,146 long tons (22,501 t), which at full load increased to 28,400 long tons (28,900 t). She was equipped with two sets of steam turbines that drove the inner pair of propeller shafts, with steam supplied by six Normand du Temple water-tube boilers. A pair of reciprocating engines powered the outer shafts; Béarn's propulsion system enabled her to steam at a top speed of 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph). She carried 2,160 long tons (2,190 t) of fuel oil. At a cruising speed of 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph), the ship could steam for 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi). She had a crew of 875 officers and men.
Béarn's primary weapon was her complement of aircraft, which numbered 40 planes. The ship's aviation facilities consisted of a 180-meter (590 ft) long flight deck, three electrically-powered elevators, and a single 124 m (407 ft) long hangar. Below the hangar, there were aircraft maintenance facilities and storage for spare parts. Béarn stored up to 3,530 cubic feet (100 m3) of aviation gasoline and 530 cu ft (15 m3) of oil, which was protected by inert gas. The ship's gun armament comprised eight 6.1 in (150 mm) /55 Mod 21 guns in casemates for defense against surface attack, and six 76 mm (3.0 in) anti-aircraft (AA) guns, eight 37 mm (1.5 in) AA guns, and sixteen machine guns.
Service history
Before the decision to convert Béarn into an aircraft carrier was made, the French Navy decided to construct a mocked-up flight deck on the unfinished hull after it was launched in April 1920. The aviator Paul Teste conducted a series of landing experiments on the temporary flight deck that concluded in October. These experiments convinced the Navy to convert Béarn as a semi-experimental ship, which should be replaced by purpose-built aircraft carriers as soon as was practicable. They were however never ordered.
Source: Wikipedia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_aircraft_carrier_B%C3%A9arn
Béarn was originally designed as a Normandie-class battleship; she was laid down at the Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée shipyard in La Seyne on 10 January 1914. The outbreak of the Great War in August 1914 interrupted work, which was halted for the duration of the conflict. By that time, work on Béarn had not significantly progressed: her hull was only 8–10 percent complete and her engines were only 25 percent finished. Her boilers were 17 percent assembled, and her turrets were at 20 percent completed. The incomplete hull was launched in April 1920 to clear the slipway, though the Navy had not yet decided what to do with it. On 18 April 1922, the Navy determined that Béarn was to be completed as an aircraft carrier. Her four sisters, which were at further stages of completion, were instead broken up for scrap. Much of the material from breaking up these ships was used to complete Béarn and several cruisers also ordered in 1922. Conversion work began in August 1923, and lasted until May 1927.
Béarn was 170.6 m (560 ft) long between perpendiculars and 182.6 m (599 ft) long overall. She had a beam of 27.13 m (89.0 ft) and a draft of 9.3 m (31 ft). Her standard displacement was 22,146 long tons (22,501 t), which at full load increased to 28,400 long tons (28,900 t). She was equipped with two sets of steam turbines that drove the inner pair of propeller shafts, with steam supplied by six Normand du Temple water-tube boilers. A pair of reciprocating engines powered the outer shafts; Béarn's propulsion system enabled her to steam at a top speed of 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph). She carried 2,160 long tons (2,190 t) of fuel oil. At a cruising speed of 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph), the ship could steam for 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi). She had a crew of 875 officers and men.
Béarn's primary weapon was her complement of aircraft, which numbered 40 planes. The ship's aviation facilities consisted of a 180-meter (590 ft) long flight deck, three electrically-powered elevators, and a single 124 m (407 ft) long hangar. Below the hangar, there were aircraft maintenance facilities and storage for spare parts. Béarn stored up to 3,530 cubic feet (100 m3) of aviation gasoline and 530 cu ft (15 m3) of oil, which was protected by inert gas. The ship's gun armament comprised eight 6.1 in (150 mm) /55 Mod 21 guns in casemates for defense against surface attack, and six 76 mm (3.0 in) anti-aircraft (AA) guns, eight 37 mm (1.5 in) AA guns, and sixteen machine guns.
Service history
Before the decision to convert Béarn into an aircraft carrier was made, the French Navy decided to construct a mocked-up flight deck on the unfinished hull after it was launched in April 1920. The aviator Paul Teste conducted a series of landing experiments on the temporary flight deck that concluded in October. These experiments convinced the Navy to convert Béarn as a semi-experimental ship, which should be replaced by purpose-built aircraft carriers as soon as was practicable. They were however never ordered.
Source: Wikipedia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_aircraft_carrier_B%C3%A9arn