Clemenceau (R 98), often affectionately called "le Clem'", was the lead ship of her class, and the 8th aircraft carrier of the French Navy, serving from 1961 to 1997. She was the second French warship to be named after Georges Clemenceau, the first one being a battleship of the Richelieu class, laid down in 1939 but never finished.
History
Development of Clemenceau represented France's successful effort to produce its own class of multi-role carriers to replace American and British ships which were provided at the end of World War II. The ship was a small but effective design, using elements of United States carrier design, but to a smaller scale. The vessels were given relatively heavy gun armament for their size, and some stability problems were encountered which required bulging the hull.
Clemenceau went through a major refit from September 1977 to November 1978. She was again refitted with new defensive systems from 1 September 1985 to 31 August 1987, including replacement of four of the 100 mm guns with a pair of Crotale surface-to-air missile launchers.
Clemenceau and Foch, her sister ship, served as the mainstay of the French fleet, and during her career, she sailed more than 1,000,000 nautical miles (2,000,000 km) in 3,125 days at sea, on all the seas of the world.
Missions
- 1974-1975 : Independence of Djibouti, in the Indian Ocean
- 1982-1984 : Civil war in Lebanon.
- 1987-1988 : Iran-Iraq war
- 1991 : First Gulf war
- 1993-1996 : War in Yugoslavia
Reports of a mutiny
During the May 1968 social turmoil the French political/satirical magazine Le Canard enchaîné issue of 19 June 1968 reported a mutiny aboard the Clemenceau. The carrier was bound for a nuclear test in the Pacific at the end of May, but was brought back to Toulon. Three families were informed that their sons had been 'lost at sea'. The magazine of the UNEF (National Union of Students of France) apparently carried a fuller report in its 14th June issue but the print run was seized [1].
Decommissioning controversy
On December 31 2005 Clemenceau left the French port of Toulon to be dismantled in Alang, Gujarat, India.
In December, before Clemenceau set sail for India, Greenpeace started protesting against France's attempts to dump the old 27,000-ton warship laden with toxins such as asbestos, PCBs, lead, mercury, and other toxic chemicals on India. It demanded that France should deal with its own toxic waste instead of shipping it to India, where the impoverished workers employed in a poorly managed shipbreaking industry would be exposed to these toxic waste resulting, according to Greenpeace, in injury and death. Greenpeace tried to block the departure of the ship from port of Toulon. They also said that the transportation of ship is in violation of Basel Convention.
On January 12 the ship reached Egypt, where she was boarded by two Greenpeace activists. [2] Egyptian authorities denied access to the Suez Canal, asking for a proof that the ship didn't violate the Basel Convention. On January 15 the ship was finally allowed to pass. This decision was heavily criticised by Greenpeace and other environmental groups. [3]
Indian stance
On January 6, 2006 the Supreme Court of India temporarily denied access to Alang since the ship contained tonnes of asbestos and the Basel Convention on hazardous waste prohibited the transportation of toxic materials from one country to another. [4] Gopal Krishna of Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI) made a presentation to the SCMC on 20th January, 2006 raising the issues of violation of Hazardous Waste Rules, 2003 since asbestos waste import is banned as per the Rules, non-adherence to Section 87 of the Factories Act, 1948 Schedule – XIV, which deals with the requirements in respect of dangerous processes and operations which gives specific directions for Handling and processing of Asbestos, manufacture of any article of Asbestos and any other process of manufacture or otherwise in which Asbestos is used in any form and Basel Convention besides the October 2003 order.
The Supreme Court of India constituted a Monitoring Committee (SCMC - Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on Hazardous Wastes) as per its order dated 14th October, 2003 in the ongoing Hazardous Wastes case. SCMC was asked by the apex court to look into the Clemenceau controversy. The committee submitted its interim report accordingly. Not satisfied with the committee's report, the Supreme Court on 13 February 2006 decided to constitute a new panel to go into the issue. The court directed the Government of India to suggest by February 17 the names of three or four retired Navy officers for appointment of a new panel.
On February 15, French President Jacques Chirac ordered Clemenceau to return to French waters and remain on standby following a ruling by France's highest administrative court, the Conseil d'État. The court acted on a complaint from Greenpeace regarding discrepancies in the amount of asbestos present in the ship, which Greenpeace contended would pose a severe health and environmental hazard in India. The issue now reverts to a Paris administrative court for further deliberations and rulings. The French Ministry of Defence announced an inquiry into the asbestos levels on the ship. [5]
Clemenceau is expected to remain for some time in the naval port at Brest, where she arrived in May 2006.
Industries and the French ministry of Defence argued that it was a step to accomplish an ecological disposal of retired warships [6] [7]. For comparison, the U.S. Navy recently sank the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany amid environmental controversy , for reef creation, and USS America to test weapons.
On February 28 2006, a report at the French Assembly [8] officially regarded the affair as a case of Business intelligence, specifically citing the simultaneous sinking of a US carrier sunk "off Pearl Harbor" after removal of asbestos, and the case of the British Sir Galahad, "loaded with asbestos like any warship," which is being dismantled in the very shipyard where Clemenceau was planned to be, without sparking any protest.
Trivia
- The song Les trois matelots, by Renaud, makes numerous allusions to Clemenceau.
- One of the most well-remembered television commercials in France, a 1985 spot for the Citroën Visa GTI, was shot on Clemenceau. A race pits the car against a Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard; both continue off the end of the carrier, with the small automobile briefly keeping pace with the aircraft before plummeting into the ocean. Seconds later, though, the car triumphantly emerges, perched on the foredeck of a surfacing submarine.
Design
1: 100 mm gun; 2: targeting DRBC-31 radar; 3: side elevator; 4: crane; 5: approach radar; 6: altimetry DRBI-10 radar; 7: funnel; 8: DRBV-20 sentry radar; 9: Tacon beacon; 10: low altitude/surface DRBV-50 radar; 11: air sentry DRBV-23 radar; 12: altimetry DRBI-10 radar; 13: targeting DRBC-31 radar; 14: OP3 landing mirror; 15: 4-blade propeller; 16: HF radio antenas; 17: side stairs.
Gallery
|
|
View of Clemenceau where the command tower and the main guns are clearly visible.
|
A Super Étendard ready for launch off the flight deck (July 16, 1997)
|
Super Étendards on the flight deck
|
|
|
|
|
See also
External links
