This story is already three hundred years old. How was the French frigate Serpan (Snake) with a cargo of gunpowder for the Brest garrison intercepted by a Dutch warship? In the midst of the battle, the captain noticed how the little cabin boy was hiding in fright behind the mast. “Lift him up,” shouted the captain, “and tie him to the mast. He who does not know how to look death in the eye is not worthy to live."
That terrible captain's name was Jean Bar. The most daring and successful corsair of European waters. And his own son and future vice-admiral of the French fleet, François-Cornil Bar, was tied to the mast.
The Gauls have a glorious maritime history and an equally outstanding school of shipbuilding. It would not be an exaggeration to say that French naval thought is ahead of the rest of the world. And its achievements are used by the whole world: from the battleship "Tsesarevich" and the weapon systems of Gustave Canet to the most modern frigates of the "Al-Riyadh" class (La Fayette, Saudi Arabian Navy).
Dupuis de Lom (1895)
The strongest, fastest, most armed and protected cruiser of its era. How did you manage to build "de Lom" on the primitive technologies of the 19th century? Probably, the secret of French shipbuilders has been lost, just like the secret of making gonomy steel.
Now let competent specialists from the XXI century explain how the Franks managed to place eight towers with 164-192 mm guns, two tall strongholds of conning houses, a continuous 100-mm side armor (from KVL to the upper deck!), Three steam engines and a crew from 500 people in a hull with a displacement of a modern frigate.
From the point of view of 21st century shipbuilders, this seems impossible.
Le Terrible (1935)
The leader of destroyers, the fifth in the Le Fantasque series, who holds the still unbeaten military-technical record. The highest speed for large displacement ships (with a / and 3 thousand tons or more).
45.03 knots (over 80 km / h)!
It is only today, with the advent of new materials and highly efficient gas turbines, that US Coastal Ships (LCS) have come close to the 70-year Le Terribl record.
Richelieu (1940)
The most advanced type of battleship in history. The thickness of the vertical armor "Richelieu" was not inferior to the legendary "Bismarck", and the thickness of the armored decks surpassed even the "Yamato"!
Its firepower was comparable to any battleship of the late era, with the exception of American LKs with 16 / 50 long-barreled guns and the monstrous 460mm cannons of Japanese superblinkers.
In addition, at the time of its appearance, the "Cardinal" was the fastest battle ship in the world. Later, only Iowa could surpass him in speed.
But most importantly, the Richelieu turned out to be the smallest of the WWII battleships, with a total displacement of only about 45 thousand tons (for comparison: the Bismarck turned out to be larger by 6 thousand tons, the Iowa by as much as 13 thousand).
The reason for the paradox was the bold layout of the Richelieu: with two four-gun turrets of the main battery. Such a decision non-illusoryly reduced the length of the citadel, and the possible disadvantages of placing all the artillery in the nose were offset by the advantages in the form of reduced weight and dimensions and reserves to improve the remaining characteristics of the battleship.
In general, the French built not only magnificent cruisers and battleships. Time passed forward - their skills increased.
Lafayette (1996)
French multipurpose frigate; the world's first stealth ship.
The richest and most capricious buyers immediately became interested in the novelty: Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Singapore. As a result, twenty (!) Lafayettes were built at French shipyards: five units for Marine Nacional, the rest were adapted versions for foreign customers.
FREMM (2012 - construction in progress)
Joint Franco-Italian project of a multipurpose frigate. Quality, characteristics, efficiency - everything, as usual, is on top. Moreover, despite the declared "budget", the FREMM project objectively became the largest and heavily armed frigate in the world. The flexibility of the FREMM design made it possible to create specialized anti-submarine (ASW) and anti-aircraft (AAW) defense ships on the basis of a single platform.
FREMM has earned a well-deserved recognition in the world market, pushing out all existing competitors. To date, in addition to three 6,000-ton oversized frigates for the French Navy, the DCNS defense company has managed to export a couple more frigates for the Moroccan and Egyptian navies. Also on the list of applicants for FREMM are Greece and Australia.
Charles de Gaulle (2001)
The flagship of the French naval forces. The world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier built outside the United States. In terms of displacement, it is 1.5 times inferior to the Russian Kuznetsov (although, unlike the latter, it is still capable of moving independently and has two steam catapults).
It has a modest size and capabilities, does not contain revolutionary solutions. Despite the traditional originality inherent in French ships, American technologies are actively used in the design of de Gaulle and in the composition of its wing. licensed catapults S-13 and flying radars "Hawkeye".
Today, despite its low efficiency and mediocre history of military service, the ShDG floating airfield is a clear example of the capabilities of French shipbuilding. Whatever the skeptics say, the ship is complex, large and beautiful.
Triumfan (1997-2010)
A topic that is rarely mentioned. France has its own naval nuclear forces, consisting of four Triumfan-class submarine missile carriers. On paper, French SSBNs are modest in size and have a minimum of technical sophistication. However, upon closer acquaintance, the attention of the French to innovations and fresh tech becomes noticeable. solutions.
There is a single reactor on board, combined in the same vessel with a steam generator, which, according to experts, makes the Triumfan the quietest SSBN in the world, surpassing even the Ohio in stealth.
Unlike the British fleet, which has adopted the American Trident-2 SLBMs, the French operate solid-propellant missiles of their own design - the M45 and the promising M51.
Introduced into service in 1996, the M45 is a close analogue of the Russian Bulava. The new M51 rocket in mass and dimensions (52-56 tons) is approaching the American "Trident-2".
Barracuda (2018 -?)
The only project that will be discussed in the future tense. A promising fourth-generation nuclear submarine that promises to become a leader in the class of multipurpose nuclear submarines. Among the obvious advantages of the "Barracuda": it is the world's smallest combat nuclear submarine, with a surface displacement of only about 4,700 tons (for comparison: the American "Virginia" - 7800, domestic "Ash" - 8500 tons).
Small dimensions = lower power requirement and housing wetted area. Less noise, less disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field, increased stealth of the boat.
Small dimensions, X-shaped rudders, orientation to actions in the coastal zone, in shallow water. An air defense system that allows you to shoot at air targets from under the water! Small crew (60 people), low operating costs. Reactor using low enrichment uranium intended for civilian nuclear power plants.
Barracuda is a true technical masterpiece. Correctly assessing the potential of its "baby", DCNS has developed a non-nuclear version of the "Barracuda" for export supplies.
In April 2016, the Australian Department of Defense signed a contract for the construction of 12 non-nuclear "Barracuda" (Shortfin Barracuda 1A) worth $ 37 billion.
CONCLUSIONS
The author apologizes for the somewhat chaotic retrospective of the achievements of the French navy. The material is too voluminous, but I really wanted to “target” every famous ship. At least it succeeded - the reader should form a definite opinion about French shipbuilding. An interesting and distinctive school in its own way, occupying one of the leading places in the world.
As for the Mistral UDKV depicted in the title photo, it was an excellent project of a transport-combat ship, created for modern low-intensity conflicts. With moderate capabilities and the lowest cost among the world's peers. The problem was the illiterate representation of the Mistral in the domestic media in the form of a super ship and the flagship of the Russian fleet. Although the creators of the "West Wind" probably did not even know about such an appointment of the UDKV. The French Navy has three such helicopter carriers, which are effectively used in secondary roles, behind the formidable Triumfans and Horizons.
