Task Force 473

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Task Force 473 was an expeditionary force of the French Navy designed to help in Operation Enduring Freedom, the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan in response to the September 11th attacks. The task force comprised 2,900 men under the command of Contre-Amiral François Cluzel and sailed in December 2001. It consisted of the nuclear aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle, frigates La Motte-Picquet, Jean de Vienne, Jean Bart, the nuclear attack submarine Rubis, the tanker Meuse, and the aviso Commandant Ducuing. The French Navy deployed most of these ships around the Indian Ocean region for seven months before bringing them back to France in mid-2002.