Béarn-class Fleet carrier

Ships in class: Béarn

Béarn was commissioned in 1927 and was the only aircraft carrier produced by France until after World War II, and the only ship of its class built. She was to be an experimental ship and was slated for replacement in the 1930s by two new ships of the Joffre class. She was generally comparable to other early carriers developed by the major navies of the world. However, France did not produce a further replacement and as naval aviation lagged in France, Béarn continued to serve past her time of obsolescence. In 1939, she ended her career as an experimental ship, but after the defeat of France in June 1940 she was docked at Martinique, where she remained for the next four years.