Legendary Moments in Military Aviation: French Aéronautique Navale

The Aéronavale (French Navy) flew both the and the Dassault Étendard IV, which became legendary jets of the French Navy, and one of their main operating bases was in Brittany, northern France, which I visited in June 2003 for the .

During the second Landivisiau airshow of 2003, the rain was endless, and the mist made the weather seem tropical. I will post the airshow soon; for now, I want to share these images of these iconic jets, their history, and their fate.

I had open access to all areas during this great airshow, and passing through the aircraft maintenance hangars at the rear of the aircraft parking ramp, I emerged onto a road that I have named the , perhaps the Avenue of Death or decay, sadness. Here, you could find the last of these , formerly F-8E and the remains of another famed jet, the , all belonging to the . They had seen combat on ships and on land worldwide, but their days were numbered; their fate was sealed, and a lucky few would be preserved at various French air bases.

As you entered the fictitious Avenue d'Crusader, the jets were parked to the right and left, sadly, all looking neglected.

Vought F-8 Crusader and Dassault Étendard 1V. Landivisiau Air Base 2003

The Vought F.8 Crusader was chosen over the for a defensive role on the new and Clémenceau aircraft carriers. With the Phantom too large for these ships, a test evaluation flight was conducted in March 1962. It was performed on the Clémenceau using two F-8s from based on the U.S.S. Saratoga. Following the test's success, an order was placed for 46 all-weather interceptor aircraft, comprising 6 two-seater and the rest single-seater aircraft. It later transpired that the order changed to single-seaters only.

On July 6, 1965, a Crusader made its first airborne refuelling from an . They formed Carrier Air Wing 2, with 12F and 14F officially coming into service on March 1, 1966. Both squadrons moved from their home base at Lann-Bihoué to N.A.S. Landivisiau.

In September 1982, the F-8 Crusaders embarked on the Foch for the first Olifant IV mission in Lebanon. In September 1983, just a year after the first Olifant mission, they returned for Olifant XVII. By October of 1984, 12. F was embarked on the Foch, heading to Libya and Operation Mirmillion. This show of power was to deter the Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. During this operation, the F-8 Crusaders successfully engaged and intercepted two Libyan Air Force Mirage V jets.

By 1993, trouble had arisen in the , and both the Foch and Clémenceau deployed to the for the Balbuzard missions. The missions ceased in June 1999 with the conclusion of over .

They began their update program in 1993, but their fate was set: They would both be withdrawn from service by the end of December 1999.

In October 1999, three aircraft, Numbers 11, 34, and above 39, participated in their last exercise. They operated from the Foch during exercise PEAN 99 alongside Sea Harriers and AV-8s.

By the time of their demise, it was estimated that for every hour of flight, they required 67 hours of maintenance, including major maintenance at the in the .

After 140,000 flight hours, 25,000 catapult launches, and landings, the last F-8s or what was left, retired to the

Avenue d'Crusader at N.A.S. Landivisiau in .

The Étendard IV was designed after the , and only the French Aéronautique Navale was interested in procuring the aircraft.

On May 21 1958, the first of five pre-serial aircraft took to the skies. It quickly became a fine, high-performance assault fighter aircraft with a secondary role as an interceptor and in aerial combat. With its proven performance and external payload capability. The French Aéronautique Navale ordered 90 jets from Dassault. The order was placed for 69 Étendard IV M and 21 Étendard IV P ( fitted with five cameras in their sleek nose cones). They were also to be deployed on the new Clémenceau-class carriers and the Foch. The first production aircraft flew on July 16, 1961, at .

The Étendard IV was Dassault's first naval project, and what an achievement it was. It served in many campaigns, including most of the ones mentioned for the F.8s. During my visit, the only airframes left were the Étendards IVPMs. These have a long and complete record.

118 Étendard IVPM.

Painted in unique markings to mark the July 2000 deactivation of at Landivisiau.

115 Étendard IVPM 16.F FN.

As I mentioned, they were involved in numerous combat situations. For aircraft 115, April 15, 1994, was a bad day as it was hit by an while on a photo run over during a Balbazard mission over . Riddled with shrapnel holes and no elevators, the 16. The commanding officer and pilot returned the damaged aircraft to the Clémenceau carrier with the help of his wingman flying alongside.

By June 27 2000, Étendard 115 was back flying from the Foch on its last cruise in the Adriatic Sea on photo reconnaissance missions. They participated in fifty-eight missions during the previous cruise across Kosovo, and when this aircraft made its last launch from the Foch on July 27, it had witnessed . Its mark of 18 films was still evident in 2003.

107 Étendard IVPM 16.F FN.

The side-photography capability of these aircraft is clearly evident.

107 Étendard IVPM 16.F FN.

It carries 21 mission marks from 16 Flotillas' final cruise on the Foch.

109 Étendard IVPM 16.F FN.

Carries 19 mission marks.

153 and 163 Étendards IVPM 16.F FN.

153 Étendard close-up of its markings.

101 Étendard and, sadly, the most neglected withdrawn-from-use airframe present in 2003.

Here are some of the above aircraft's better moments.

39 F-8P Crusader 12.F FN (Aéronautique navale).

Cutting short on finals for the 1999 , where three Aéronavale (French Navy) F-8Ps appeared.

34 F-8P Crusader 12F.F.N.

Following very fast behind 39 above at the 1999 R.I.A.T. AT .

This is a quick update on Monday, December 2, 2024. The has acquired F-8P serial 34, as seen above.

The Vietnam War Museum has registered it as on the US register and hopes to raise the funds needed to ship it to the USA and perform the initial restoration.

One of the F-8Es was converted to an F-8P (Prolongé/Prolonged) in 1993. Since being withdrawn from active service, it has been stored in a hangar at the , .

What a sight it would make to see it back in the air!

Watch this space.

7 F-8P Crusader 12F F.N.

Seen preparing to depart I.A.T. on departure day, July 27 1999.

39 F-8P Crusader 12F F.N.

39 F-8P, having had technical problems during the Sunday Tattoo, was left stranded near the threshold to runway 09. Early Monday morning, a registered 80/AW from based at that had earlier picked up ground crew from the N.A.S. Landivisiau to carry out repairs on the stranded Crusader.

40 Vought F-8E Crusader F.12 FN.

It participated in the flying display at along with F-8E 32 during the 1981 I.A.T. This was the original colour applied to the French Aéronautique Navale F-8E Crusaders, which is very similar to the . They later transitioned to a dark grey, followed by the last and final blue-grey, as seen above.