NAe São Paulo
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | 1955 |
| Laid down: | November 15, 1957 |
| Launched: | July 28, 1959 |
| Commissioned: | France:July 28, 1960 Brazil: November 15, 2000 |
| Decommissioned: | In Service |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 24200 tonnes (32800 full load) |
| Length: | 265 m |
| Width: | 51.20 m |
| Beam: | 31.7 m |
| Draught: | 8,60 m |
| Propulsion: | 6 Indret boilers, 4 steam turbines producing 126 000 hp, 2 propellers |
| Speed: | 32 knots |
| Range: | 7 500 mn in 18 knots |
| Complement: | 1338 men, including 64 officers (1920 men including the air group). 984 men if only helicopters are carried. |
| Armament: | 8 x 100 mm turrets (originally) ; replaced by 2 SACP Crotale EDIR systems, with 52 missiles (removed before delivery to Brazil) + 5 x 12,7 mm machine guns. |
| Electronics: |
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| Aircraft | about 40 aircraft, operates a mixture of A-4KU Skyhawks, AS 532 SC Cougars, HB 350 & HB.355 Ecureuils, and SH-3 Sea Kings. |
NAe[1] São Paulo is a Clemenceau class aircraft carrier of the Brazilian Navy, formerly the French Foch. It was built in 1957 and was purchased from France in 2001.
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[edit] Background
São Paulo is the flagship of the Brazilian Navy. It replaced the World War II-era carrier Minas Gerais, which was in commission for over 40 years. The São Paulo is newer, bigger, quicker and with greater operational capacity than its predecessor.
Out of nine countries (Brazil, France, India, Italy, Russia, Spain, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States) that currently possess aircraft carriers or amphibious assault vessels equipped with flight decks, only four (Brazil, USA, France and Russia) possess embarked aircraft of conventional type (CTOL), while the other five operate STOL/VTOL aircraft only.
The old French Foch was bought to substitute the aged Minas Gerais at a bargain price of $12 million USD in 2000, no aircraft included. The government had already purchased a flotilla of used A-4 Skyhawk fighters from Kuwait for US$70 million. The A-4s do have rockets, free fall bombs and Sidewinder air-to-air missiles as armament, but the São Paulo currently serves mainly to train pilots to fly carrier operations.
President Fernando Henrique Cardoso noted during the transfer ceremony that "The transference of the Ship-Aerodrome "São Paulo" to the Operative Sector of the Navy adds to our naval power an important magnification in its ability of defense of the Brazilian interests at sea. A country as ours, possessing an extensive coast, with more than 7 thousand kilometers of coast, requires a naval power compatible with its stature in the international scene. Today, as before, Brazil is concerned about implementing concrete measures that offer the nation the guarantee of respect to its sovereignty. We are and we will always be a nation that fights for the peace, however, that does not mean being able to do without modern Armed Forces, enabled and endowed with adequate dissuasive potential. Few countries, even today, have the capacity to operate with efficiency in the high seas. It is important that Brazil continues to be one of them."[1]
Since its construction, the ship has received multiple upgrades over the years, leaving it with a diverse range of technologies. In its current form, it is expected to remain effective in its role for the foreseeable future, though further modernization efforts are expected as it is converted into a combat ready vessel. 23 A-4 Skyhawk have been acquired (assigned AF-1) to compose the fighter-bomber group of "São Paulo", together with the existing helicopters already in the national defense inventory. Its transference consolidates the operational capacity of Brazil's deployed fixed wing force.
[edit] History
The aircraft carrier São Paulo was constructed in France from 1957 to 1960. It served the French Navy as Foch. Its purchase by the Brazilian Government in September 2000 while still operational was an unknown process for a ship of this caliber, and it was received by the Brazilian navy in only two months and fifteen days and incorporated on November 15, 2000. The incorporation of "São Paulo" and the AF-1 to the Navy of Brazil realized a long held goal of being able to carry through the aerial defense of the naval forces with fixed wing aircraft.
In the first three years of service as São Paulo, the ship completed several missions, some in foreign waters (particularly Operations ARAEX [2] and TEMPEREX, where is anually used to qualify and train Super Etendards and S-2T Turbo Trackers of the Argentine Navy) and is currently working to remain operational while the military faces budget cuts.
[edit] Crew
Its crew consists of approximately 1,300 sailors (80 officers and 1,220 enlisted). This number can be raised to 2000 men, given the composition of the Onboard Aerial Detachment(DAE), in accordance with the varied nature of the missions that Task Force will be used for.
It is actively used for the qualification and re-qualification of rotary and fixed-wing pilots (with about 500 catapult launches) and the first Brazilian exercises to practice carrier-based attack missions.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Navio-Aeródromo, "Aircraft carrier".
