Encyclopedia > French aircraft carrier Arromanches
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The fourth and last HMS Colossus (R15) had a relatively brief time with the Royal Navy. She was the name-ship of the Colossus-class Light Fleet aircraft carriers, and were basically smaller derivatives of the Illustrious-class carriers. She was launched in 1943 and commissioned in 1944. She served with the British Pacific Fleet from 1945-46, prior to being loaned to France, where she was renamed Arromanches in 1946. While in French service, she participated in the Indo-China conflict in 1948 for three months. She returned to France in 1949 and purchased by them in 1951. The following year, she returned once again to Indo-China, this time as a fully fledged French warship. Between 1958-59 she was reconstructed with a 4 degree angled flight deck.
In 1968 she was converted to an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) carrier, operating up to 24 helicopters. She decommissioned in 1974 after a long and faithful career with the French Navy. She was broken up at Toulon in 1978, a place that had been present to the first Colossus in 1793 and the last in 1978.
French planners counted on achieving localized superiority in numbers and firepower to offset the superior human and material resources their opponents could muster in the overall theater of operations.
French forces had too few aircraft to provide the level of support the army needed, and the available airplanes were worn, out of production, and ill-suited to their new roles.
French makers were now offering powerful, turbine-engined helicopters that ccould easily handle the missiles and their sighting equipment, even at altitude in the desert.
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