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Lafayette French Aircraft Carrier
- Extended Description
- THE INDEPENDENCE CLASS
In 1942, President Roosevelt ordered nine Cleveland-class light cruisers then in construction to be completed as the Independence class of light carriers. One of these, USS Fargo (CL 85), was re-ordered as USS Langley, (CVL 27). Built as were all the modified ships at New York Shipbuilders, she was laid down on 11 April 1942, launched on 22 May 1943 and commissioned on 31 August. She saw service in the Pacific for 18 months before being taken in hand for a major re-fit. Decommissioned in January 1 947, she was transferred to France four years later where, rechristened the Lafayette, she served from 2 June 1951 until 1963. Returned to the US in March, she was immediately stricken, and broken up the following year.
ARMAMENT AND EQUIPMENT
The cruiser hull form of the Independences meant that the hangar and flight decks built up as superstructure were cramped, and they could not operate a full air wing, reducing their effectiveness. They were distinctive in appearance, with four stubby uptakes abaft the small island on the starboard side, and the sheer of the original design was always evident. In French ser vice her single catapult was replaced by two, and she received more modern radar installations.
TECHNICAL DATA
Type: Light aircraft carrier
Machinery: 4-shaft turbines delivering a total of 100,000shp
Dimensians (overall): Length, 189.75m (622.5ft); beam (fd), 33.3m (lO9ft)
Displacement: 10,660t standard; 14,750t deep load
Draught: 7.4m (24.25ft) deep load
Complement 1569
Speed: 31.5 knots (58.5km/h)
