French Navy
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The French Navy, officially the National Navy (French: Marine Nationale) and often called La Royale (The Royal [Navy]), is the maritime arm of the French military. It consists of a full range of vessels, from patrol boats to guided missile frigates, and includes one nuclear aircraft carrier and ten nuclear submarines (four of which are submarine-launched ballistic missile-capable (SNLEs)).
The motto of the French Navy is Honneur, Patrie, Valeur, Discipline ("Honour, Homeland, Valour, Discipline"). These words are found on the deck of every ship of the Navy.
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[edit] The French Navy today
As of 2006, the French Navy is the largest naval employer in Western Europe, including, among other things, the Marseille Marine Fire Battalion. The chief of the general staff is Admiral Alain Oudot de Dainville[1].
The Navy is organised in five branches:
- The "Force d'Action Navale" ("Naval Action Force"), surface fleet
- The "Forces Sous-marines" ("Submarine forces"), strategic nuclear deterrent fleet
- The "Aviation Navale" ("Naval air force"), ground and sea-based planes and helicopters
- The "Fusiliers de Marine" ("Naval fusiliers", ground forces used to secure naval installations) and "Commandos de Marine" (amphibious assault and other special operations), collectively known as FORFUSCO.
- The "Gendarmerie Navale", police operations and coast guard
Note that the Troupes de Marine ("Naval Troops"), organised in Régiments d'Infanterie de Marine (the famous elite RIMa) are the modern name of the Troupes Coloniales ("Colonial Troops"), and are not part of the Navy, but of the Army.
Currently, French naval doctrine calls for two aircraft carriers, but the French only have one, the Charles de Gaulle, due to restructuring. The navy is in the midst of major technological and procurement changes; newer submarines and a second aircraft carrier have been ordered on top of the Rafales (the naval version) replacing older aircraft.
- See also: Current French Navy ships
[edit] Future developments
The French Navy is undertaking a significant reinforcement, both in modernising and in number, under the Projet de loi de programmation militaire 2003-2008 ("Military programme law project 2003-2008")[2] , which notably calls for:
- A second aircraft carrier to be delivered before 2015, the start of a scheduled repair and maintenance period for the nuclear powered Charles De Gaulle. The new carrier will be built in cooperation with a British program for two 65,000 ton conventionally-powered aircraft carriers, with alterations to best fit French needs and better benefit from French construction capabilities.
- 2 Horizon units (the Forbin and Chevalier Paul) that are now fitting out;
- 17 FREMM multipurpose frigates - 8 should be ordered between 2003 and 2008, the first commissioning being expected for 2008.
- 6 nuclear attack submarines of the Barracuda class - the first commissioning being expected for 2017
The equipment will also be modernised, notably
- New models of the successful Exocet missile
- MBDA Aster and SYLVER launcher systems for anti-missile/anti-air defence
- Cruise missiles (the naval or submarine SCALP EG)
[edit] Ranks of the National Navy
The following are the ranks of the French National Navy, showing the French rank, the English translation, and the equivalent in the Royal Navy and the English language rank system of the Canadian Navy.
[edit] Officers
| French Rank (in French) | French Rank (in English) | Equivalent RN Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Amiral | Admiral | Admiral |
| Vice-amiral d'escadre | Squadron Vice-Admiral | Vice-Admiral |
| Vice-amiral | Vice-Admiral | Rear Admiral |
| Contre-amiral | Rear Admiral | Commodore |
| Capitaine de vaisseau | Ship-of-the-Line Captain | Captain |
| Capitaine de frégate | Frigate Captain | Commander |
| Capitaine de corvette | Corvette Captain | Lieutenant-Commander |
| Lieutenant de vaisseau | Ship-of-the-Line Lieutenant | Lieutenant |
| Enseigne de vaisseau de première classe | Ship-of-the-Line Ensign First Class | Sub-Lieutenant |
| Enseigne de vaisseau de deuxième classe | Ship-of-the-Line Ensign Second Class | Acting Sub-Lieutenant |
| Aspirant | Aspirant | Midshipman |
[edit] Majors
- Major is equivalent to a Royal Navy Warrant Officer 1.
[edit] Officers mariniers / Non-commissioned Officers
- Maître principal, in English: "Principal Master", is equivalent to a Royal Navy Warrant Officer 2.
- Premier maître, in English: "First Master", is equivalent to a Royal Navy Chief Petty Officer
- Maître, in English: "Master", is is equivalent to a Royal Navy Petty Officer.
- Second-maître, in English: "Second Master", is is equivalent to a Royal Navy Petty Officer, but more junior.
[edit] Militaires du rang (équipage)- Junior ranks
- Quartier-maître de première classe, in English: "Quarter-master First Class" is equivalent to a Royal Navy Leading Seaman
- Quartier-maître de deuxième classe, in English: "Quarter-master Second Class" is equivalent to a Royal Navy Able Seaman
- Matelot breveté, in English: "Certified Mate", is equivalent to a Royal Navy Ordinary Seaman
[edit] History
The French navy is affectionately known as La Royale ("the Royal"). The reason is not well known; some theorise that it is for its traditional attachment to the French monarchy, some others said that before to be named "nationale", the Navy had be named "royale" or simply because of the location of its headquarters, "rue Royale" in Paris. The navy did not sport the royal titles common with other European navies like the British Royal Navy.
[edit] Middle Ages
The history of the French Navy goes back to the Middle Ages, when it was defeated by the English at the Battle of Sluys and, with Castilian help, managed to beat the English at the Battle of La Rochelle.
The Navy became a consistent instrument of national power around the seventeenth century with Louis XIV. Under the tutelage of the "Sun King," the French Navy was well financed and equipped, managing to score several early victories in the Nine Years War against the Royal Navy and the Dutch Navy. Financial troubles, however, forced the navy back to port and allowed the English and the Dutch to regain the initiative. Before the Nine Years War, in the Franco-Dutch War, it managed to score a decisive victory over a combined Spanish-Dutch fleet at the Battle of Palermo.
[edit] 18th century
The eighteenth century saw the beginning of Royal Navy domination, which managed to inflict a number of significant defeats on the French. However, the French Navy continued to score various successes, as in the campaigns led in the Atlantic by Picquet de la Motte. In 1766, Bougainville led the first French circumnavigation.
During the American War of Independence the French Navy played a decisive role in supporting the American side. The French Navy was the only standing navy to fight the British, alongside the modest Continental and American state navies and American privateers.[1] In a very impressive effort, the French under de Grasse managed to defeat an English fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781, thus ensuring that the Franco-American ground forces would win the ongoing Battle of Yorktown.
In India, Suffren managed impressive campaigns against the British (1770-1780), successfully contending for supremacy against Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes.
The French Revolution, in eliminating numerous officers of noble lineage (among them, Charles d'Estaing), all but crippled the French Navy. Efforts to make it into a powerful force under Napoleon were dashed by the death of Latouche Tréville in 1804, and the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, where the British all but annihilated a combined Franco-Spanish fleet. The disaster guaranteed British naval domination until World War II.
The only French Naval victory against the British during the Napoleonic Wars was the 1810 Battle of Grand Port, a frigate action in the Indian Ocean won by Admiral Duperré.
[edit] 19th century revival
[edit] Global interventions
In a speech in 1852, Napoleon III famously proclaimed that "The Empire means peace" ("L'Empire, c'est la paix"), but actually he was thoroughly determined to follow a strong foreign policy to extend France's power and glory. Around that time, the French Navy was involved in a multitude of actions around the world.
[edit] Oceania
In 1842, the French Navy took over Tahiti under Admiral Abel Aubert Dupetit Thouars. French activity in those parts would continue throughout the 19th century, as his nephew Abel-Nicolas Bergasse Dupetit Thouars went on pacifying the Marquesas Islands in 1880.
[edit] The Crimean War
Napoleon's challenge to Russia's claims to influence in the Ottoman Empire led to France's successful participation in the Crimean War (March 1854–March 1856). During this war Napoleon successfully established a French alliance with Britain, which continued after the war's close.
[edit] East Asia
Napoleon took the first steps to establishing a French colonial influence in Indochina. He approved the launching of a naval expedition in 1858 to punish the Vietnamese for their mistreatment of French Catholic missionaries and force the court to accept a French presence in the country. An important factor in his decision was the belief that France risked becoming a second-rate power by not expanding its influence in East Asia. Also, the idea that France had a civilising mission was spreading. This eventually led to a full-out invasion in 1861. By 1862 the war was over and Vietnam conceded three provinces in the south, called by the French Cochin-China, opened three ports to French trade, allowed free passage of French warships to Cambodia (which led to a French protectorate over Cambodia in 1867), allowed freedom of action for French missionaries and gave France a large indemity for the cost of the war.
In China, France took part in the Second Opium War along with Great Britain, and in 1860 French troops entered Beijing. China was forced to concede more trading rights, allow freedom of navigation of the Yangzi river, give full civil rights and freedom of religion to Christians, and give France and Britain a huge indemnity. This combined with the intervention in Vietnam set the stage for further French influence in China leading up to a sphere of influence over parts of Southern China.
In 1866, French Navy troops made an attempt to colonize Korea, during the French Campaign against Korea. The French Navy also had a significant presence in Japan with the Bombardment of Shimonoseki in 1863. In 1867-1868, some level of presence in Japan was maintained around the actions of French Military Mission to Japan, and the subsequent Boshin war.
In the Sino-French War (1884-1885), the French Navy obliterated the Chinese navy at the Battle of Foochow.
[edit] Mexico
The French Navy conducted a successful blockade of Mexico in the Pastry War of 1838. It was then heavily involved in French intervention in Mexico (January 1862–March 1867). Napoleon, using as a pretext the Mexican Republic's refusal to pay its foreign debts, planned to establish a French sphere of influence in North America by creating a French-backed monarchy in Mexico, a project which was supported by Mexican conservatives tired of the anti-clerical Mexican republic.
[edit] Technological innovations (19th century)
In the nineteenth century, the navy recovered and became the second finest in the world after the Royal Navy. The French Navy, eager to challenge British naval supremacy, took a leadership role in many areas of warship development, with the introduction of new technologies.
- France led the development of shell guns for the Navy, with its invention by Henri-Joseph Paixhans
- In 1850, Le Napoléon became the first steam-powered battleship in history.
- La Gloire became the first seagoing ironclad in history when she was launched in 1853.
- In 1863, the French Navy launched Plongeur, the first submarine in the world to be propelled by mechanical power.
- In 1876, the Redoutable became the first steel-hulled warship ever.
The French Navy also became an active proponent of the "Jeune École" doctrine, calling for small but powerful warship using shell guns to annihilate the British fleet.
Her conceptual and technological edge proved attractive to the newly industrialising Japan, when the French engineer Émile Bertin was invited for four years to design a new fleet for the Imperial Japanese Navy, which led to her success in the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894.
 Plongeur (1876). |
 La Gloire (1863). |
[edit] 20th century
The navy continued to innovate significantly and performed well in World War I.
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Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. This article has been tagged since January 2007. |
[edit] The first proto-aircraft carrier
The invention of the seaplane in 1910 with the French Le Canard led to the earliest development of ships designed to carry airplanes, albeit equipped with floats. In 1911 appears the French Navy La Foudre, the first seaplane carrier. She was commissioned as a seaplane tender, and carried float-equipped planes under hangars on the main deck, from where they were lowered on the sea with a crane. La Foudre was further modified in November 1913 with a 10 metre flat deck to launch her seaplanes.[2]
[edit] Genesis of the flat-deck carrier
| "An airplane-carrying vessel is indispensable. These vessels will be constructed on a plan very different from what is currently used. First of all the deck will be cleared of all obstacles. It will be flat, as wide as possible without jeopardizing the nautical lines of the hull, and it will look like a landing field." |
| Clément Ader, "L'Aviation Militaire", 1909 |
As heavier-than-air aircraft developed in the early 20th century various navies began to take an interest in their potential use as scouts for their big gun warships. In 1909 the French inventor Clément Ader published in his book "L'Aviation Militaire" the description of a ship to operate airplanes at sea, with a flat flight deck, an island superstructure, deck elevators and a hangar bay.[3] That year the US Naval Attaché in Paris sent a report on his observations[4] and the first experiments to test the concept were made in the United States from 1910.
[edit] Fleet Construction Between the World Wars
Every naval fleet consists of a variety of ships of different sizes, and no fleet has enough resources to make every vessel supreme in its class. Nonetheless, different countries strive to excel in particular classes. Between the world wars, the French fleet was remarkable in its building of small numbers of ships that were "over the top" with relation to their equivalents of other powers.
For example, the French chose to build "super-destroyers" which were deemed during the Second World War by the Allies as the equivalent of light cruisers. The Le Fantasque class of destroyer is still the world's fastest class of destroyer. The Surcouf submarine was the largest and most powerful of its day.
But the French did not or could not build supreme examples of every category. When the Germans came out with the so-called pocket battleships, the French responded with a class of two ships of the Dunkerque type, with guns just powerful and numerous to defeat them, not full-size battleships of the day.
[edit] World War II
At the outset of the war, the French Navy participated in a number of operations against the Axis Powers, patrolling the Atlantic and bombarding Genoa. The French surrender and its armistice terms, however, completely changed the situation: the French fleet immediately withdrew from the fight.
The British perceived the French fleet as a potentially lethal threat, should the French become formal enemies or, more likely, should the German Kriegsmarine gain control. It was essential that they should be put out of action. Some vessels were in British-controlled ports in Britain or Egypt and these were either persuaded to re-join the Allies as Forces navales françaises libres (FNFL) ships or were boarded and disarmed.
The bulk of the fleet, however, was in Dakar or Mers-el-Kebir. The Royal Navy delivered an ultimatum but, when agreement proved impossible, they opened fire and sunk or damaged much of the French fleet (Operation Catapult) on 3 July 1940. The action soured Anglo-French relations and inhibited further defections to the Allies.
In November, 1942, the Allies invaded French North Africa. In response, the Germans occupied (Case Anton) Vichy France, including the French naval port of Toulon, where the main part of the surviving French fleet lay. This was a major German objective and forces under SS command had been detailed to capture them (Operation Lila). This eventually resulted in the Scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon. No capital ships and few others were taken in reparable condition [3]. A few ships fled Toulon and joined the Allies, notably the submarine Casabianca.
Following this, more French moved to the Allies, including ships interned in Egypt, and there were French FNFL warships supporting the landings in southern France (Operation Dragoon) and Normandy (Operation Neptune).
 France's Le Fantasque, the fastest destroyer class ever built. |
 Seaplane carrier La Foudre. |
[edit] Customs
[edit] Prefixes
The French Navy does not use prefixes of the names of its ships (such as the Royal Navy uses HMS, for instance). Foreign commentators sometimes use the prefixes "FS" (for "French Ship") or FNS (for "French Navy Ship"); these are not official, however.
[edit] Addressing officers
Unlike in the French army and air force, one does not prepend mon to the name of the rank when addressing an officer (that is, not mon capitaine, but simply capitaine).[4]
This custom is sometimes said to date back to the Battle of Trafalgar, when Napoleon decided that French Navy officers did not deserve to be called "monsieur" (mon being here elliptical for monsieur).
Addressing a French Navy lieutenant de vaisseau (for instance) with a "mon capitaine" will attract the traditional answer "Dans la Marine il y a Mon Dieu et mon cul, pas mon capitaine !" ("In the Navy there are My God and my arse, no 'my captain'!").
[edit] Famous French Naval Officers
[edit] Heroes of the First Republic
[edit] Explorers
- Captain La Pérouse
- Captain Bruni d'Entrecasteaux
- Dumont d'Urville
- Bougainville
- Captain Cousteau
[edit] Other important French naval officers
- Pierre-Charles Villeneuve - commander of the French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar
- Admiral Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse
- Admiral d'Estaing, admiral of the French fleet which help the USA secure independence
- Duguay-Trouin, famous privateer
- Pierre Loti, mostly known for his literary works
- François Joseph Paul de Grasse - commander of the French fleet at Chesapeake Bay during the American Revolutionary War.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Source
- ^ Descriptionand photograph of Foudre
- ^ Clement Ader on the structure of the aircraft carrier:
"An airplane-carrying vessel is indispensable. These vessels will be constructed on a plan very different from what is currently used. First of all the deck will be cleared of all obstacles. It will be flat, as wide as possible without jeopardizing the nautical lines of the hull, and it will look like a landing field." Military Aviation, p35
On stowage:
"Of necessity, the airplanes will be stowed below decks; they would be solidly fixed anchored to their bases, each in its place, so they would not be affected with the pitching and rolling. Access to this lower decks would be by an elevator sufficiently long and wide to hold an airplane with its wings folded. A large, sliding trap would cover the hole in the deck, and it would have waterproof joints, so that neither rain nor seawater, from heavy seas could penetrate below." Military Aviation, p36
On the technique of landing:
"The ship will be headed straight into the wind, the stern clear, but a padded bulwark set up forward in case the airplane should run past the stop line" Military Aviation, p37 - ^ Reference
[edit] Gallery
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 Navy officers on the bridges of the frigate La Motte-Picquet |
 The French frigate Floréal, stationed in Bora-Bora lagoon |
[edit] See also
- List of Naval Ministers of France
- Category:Naval ships of France
- List of French battleships
- French Navy admirals
- French Navy officers
- French 100 mm naval gun
- Exocet
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Alabordache French Navy
- French Fleet Air Arm, about French naval aviation.
- net marine, a well documented database on french navy.
- French Navy in World War 1, including warship losses
