French Naval Aviation (often abbreviated in French to: (contraction of ), or , or more simply ) is the naval air arm of the French Navy. The long-form official designation is . Born as a fusion of aircraft carrier squadrons and the naval patrol air force, the Aéronavale was created in 1912. The force is under the command of a flag officer officially titled Admiral of Naval Aviation (ALAVIA) with his headquarters at Toulon naval base. It has a strength of around 6,800 military and civilian personnel. It operates from four airbases in Metropolitan France and several detachments in foreign countries or French overseas territories. Carrier-borne pilots of the French Navy do their initial training at Salon-de-Provence Air Base after which they undergo their carrier qualification with the US Navy.

Aircraft inventory

|-

| Bréguet Atlantique II || France || Turboprop || ASW || || 22 || ||

|-

| Dassault Falcon 10 M || France || Jet || Utility || || 6 || || || ||

|-

| Embraer EMB 121 Xingu || Brazil || Turboprop|| Utility || || 11 || ||

|-

| 4F

| <div style="text-align: center;">40px</div>

| Fixed wing

| E-2C Hawkeye

| Lann Bihoué

| Carrier airborne early warning

|

|-

| 11F

| <div style="text-align: center;">40px</div>

| Fixed wing

|Rafale M

| Landivisiau

| Strike fighter

|

|-

| 12F

|<div style="text-align: center;">40px</div>

| Fixed wing

|Rafale M

| Landivisiau

| Strike fighter

|

|-

| 17F

|<div style="text-align: center;">40px</div>

| Fixed wing

|Rafale M

| Landivisiau

| Strike fighter

| Ended conversion to Rafale M in June 2016.

|-

|

|

|Rotary

|Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin

|Hyères

|Plane guard

|Not part of the GAE. set sail on cruises with two Dauphin helicopters from 35F.

|-

| colspan="7" |Naval Patrol and Maritime Surveillance Aviation (l'Aviation de patrouille et de surveillance maritime)

|-

| 21F

| <div style="text-align: center;">40px</div>

| Fixed wing

| Atlantique 2

| Lann Bihoué

| Anti-submarine warfare / Naval patrol

| Detachments at Dakar and Djibouti.

|-

| 23F

|

| Fixed wing

| Atlantique 2

| Lann Bihoué

| Anti-submarine warfare / Naval patrol

|

|-

| 24F

|

| Fixed wing

| Falcon 50 M

| Lann Bihoué

| Maritime surveillance / Search and rescue

|

|-

| 25F

|

| Fixed wing

| Falcon 200 Guardian

| GAM Faa'a

| Maritime surveillance / Search and rescue

| Detachment at Nouméa.

|-

| colspan="7" |Shipborne and Shore-based Helicopters (Les hélicoptères embarqués et basés à terre)

|-

| 31F

|

| Rotary

| NH90 Caïman

| Hyères

| Search and rescue

|

|-

| 32F

|

| Rotary

| Airbus Helicopters H160M Guépard

| Lanvéoc

|

| Previously used SA321G Super Frelon.

|-

| 33F

| <div style="text-align: center;">40px</div>

| Rotary

| NH90 Caïman

| Lanvéoc

| Anti-submarine warfare / Search and rescue

|

|-

| 34F

|

| Rotary

| Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin/NH90 Caïman

| Lanvéoc

| Anti-submarine warfare

| Disbanded 4 September 2020. Planned to re-activate in 2021 operating leased SA365M3 Dauphins from Heli-Union and NHV as temporary equipment.

|-

| 35F

|

| Rotary

| Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin SPI

| Hyères

| Search and rescue

| Detachments at La Rochelle, Le Touquet-Paris-Plage and Faa'a. Uses additional leased AS365N3 from Heli-Union.

|-

| colspan="7" |Support Aviation (l'Aviation de soutien)

|-

| 10S

|

| Rotary/ Fixed wing/UAV

| Schiebel S-100 Serval

| Hyères

| Experimental

|

|-

| 50S

|

| Fixed wing

| SR20 and CAP-10

| Lanvéoc

| Elementary flying training

|

|-

| 57S

| <div style="text-align: center;"><!-- Deleted image removed: 40px --></div>

| Fixed wing

| Falcon 10 M

| Landivisiau

| Combat aviation operational training

|

|}

Retired aircraft

This is a list of retired aircraft that have flown with French Naval Aviation.

  • Amiot AAC.1 (Junkers Ju 52)
  • Avro Anson
  • Avro Lancaster Mk.VII
  • Beechcraft SNB-5/JRB-4
  • Blanchard Brd.1 HB3
  • Blériot-SPAD S.42
  • Bloch MB.151 C1
  • Borel-Odier T BO-2
  • Breguet BRE.14B2/A2
  • Breguet BRE.19 B2

thumb|From 1951 to 1956, 164 Grumman Avengers were delivered to French Naval Aviation and in service until 1965

  • Bréguet 521 Bizerte
  • Bréguet 1050 Alizé
  • Bréguet 1150 Atlantic
  • CAMS 30E
  • CAMS.37A/37²/37.11/Lia
  • CAMS 46 Et2
  • CAMS 55.1/55.2/55.6/55.10
  • Caudron Cau 59 ET2
  • Caudron C635 Simoun
  • Caudron C.445 Goéland

thumb|The Corsair F4U-7 was the first new aircraft delivered to the French Navy after 1945. It saw action during the Indochina war, Algerian war and operation Musketeer.

  • Canadian Car & Foundry Harvard II
  • Chance Vought F4U-7/AU-1 Corsair
  • Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina
  • Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer
  • Coutant RMC Type 17
  • Curtiss SB2C4/SB2C5 Helldiver
  • Dassault Étendard IVM/P
  • Dassault MD 312 Flamant
  • Dassault Super Étendard
  • De Havilland 100 Vampire Mk.V
  • Dewoitine 7 C1
  • Dewoitine D.373/D.376
  • Dewoitine D.510
  • Dewoitine D.520
  • Donnet-Denhaut 140/150 hp
  • Donnet-Denhaut 160 hp
  • Donnet-Denhaut 200 HP HS Triplace/RR/BB
  • Donnet-Denhaut 275hp
  • Donnet-Denhaut bimoteur
  • Dornier Do 24T
  • Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless
  • Douglas C-47D Dakota
  • Farman Lévy HB2 450&nbsp;hp
  • Farman F60 Torp Goliath/F65
  • Farman F.165/F.166/F.168 Torp
  • Farman F.223.4
  • FBA Type C
  • FBA Type H
  • FBA Type S
  • FBA type 14 HE2
  • FBA.17HL1/HL2/HMT2/HE2
  • FBA.19HMB2
  • Fouga CM.175 Zéphyr
  • Georges Lévy 280 HB.2
  • Gourdou Leseurre ET1 Type 22
  • Gourdou Leseurre LGL.32
  • Gourdou Leseurre GL.810/811/812/813 HY
  • Gourdou Leseurre GL.832 HY
  • Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat
  • Grumman TBM-3S/E/W/UT Avenger
  • Grumman JRF-5 Goose
  • Hanriot HD.2 C.1
  • Hanriot HD.3 C.2
  • Hanriot HD.14 E.2
  • Hanriot HD.17 E.2
  • Hanriot H.41
  • Junkers Ju 188
  • Latécoère 290
  • Latécoère 298
  • Latham 43 HB.3
  • Levasseur PL.4 R3b
  • Levasseur PL.5 C2b
  • Levasseur PL.7 T2B2b
  • Levasseur PL.10 R3b/PL.101 R3b
  • Levasseur PL.14 Tb2B2
  • Levasseur PL.15 T2B2
  • Lévy Besson 200&nbsp;hp
  • Lioré et Olivier LeO.7.3
  • Lioré et Olivier LeO.20 Bn3
  • Lioré et Olivier H.13/H.136
  • Lioré et Olivier H.43
  • Lioré et Olivier H.193
  • Lioré et Olivier H.257 Bis/H258
  • Lockheed P2V-1 Ventura
  • Lockheed P2V-6/7 Neptune

thumb|The Martin P5M-2 Marlin served in the French navy between 1959 and 1964.

  • Loire 130 C.l
  • Loire 210
  • LTV/Vought F-8E(FN) Crusader
  • Martin 167-A3
  • Martin P5M-2 Marlin
  • Maurice Farman Type 1910
  • Morane Saulnier MoS.130 Et2
  • Morane Saulnier MoS.149 Ep2
  • Morane Saulnier MS.225 C1
  • Morane Saulnier MS.230 Et2
  • Morane Saulnier MS.406 C1
  • Morane Saulnier MS.500/MS.502 Criquet
  • Morane Saulnier MS.733 Alcyon

[[File:Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune Aéronavale 148335 - Flotille 25F (9642397665).jpg|thumb|

During the Algerian War of independence, the French Navy flew Lockheed Neptunes on surveillance patrol to fight weapons smuggling by sea]]

  • Morane Saulnier MS760 Paris
  • Nieuport IV.H
  • Nieuport VI.H
  • Nieuport 12
  • Nieuport N.21/N.23
  • Nieuport NiD.62 C1/NiD.622 C1
  • Nord 262 Frégate
  • North American NAA.57 P2
  • North American SNJ-3/4/5
  • Piper PA-31 Navajo
  • Potez 25 A2/TOE
  • Potez 452
  • Potez 567
  • Potez 631 C3
  • Salmson Sal.2 A2
  • SCAN 20
  • Short Sunderland Mk.III/V
  • SNCAC/Farman NC.470
  • SNCAC NC.701/NC.702 Martinet
  • SNCAN N.1001/N.1002 Pingouin
  • SNCAN N.1101 Noralpha
  • SNCAN N.1402 Noroit
  • SNCAN SV.4C Stampe
  • SNCAO/Loire-Nieuport LN.401/LN.411
  • SNCASE R.82 Romano
  • SNCASE Leo.451
  • SNCASE SE.161 Languedoc/Bloch MB.160
  • SNCASE Aquilon
  • SNCASO/Bloch MB.175
  • SNCASO SO.94/95 Corse
  • SNCASO SO.30P Bretagne
  • SOCATA MS.880 Rallye
  • Sopwith Sop.1 A2
  • Sopwith Baby/130hp Clerget
  • Sopwith Triplan C.1
  • SPAD S.VII C.1

thumb|The Crusader was the air superiority jet aircraft of the French Navy for 35 years

  • SPAD S.XIII C.1
  • SPAD XIV Canon
  • Stinson 105
  • Supermarine Seafire Mk.III/IX/XV
  • Supermarine Sea Otter
  • Supermarine Walrus
  • Tampier T.4
  • Taylorcraft L-2
  • Tellier Canon 200&nbsp;hp
  • Tellier 200&nbsp;hp
  • Tellier 350Hp
  • Tellier BM 400&nbsp;hp

thumb|The Canard Voisin was the first seaplane used by the French Navy

  • Villiers Vil.2AM C.2
  • Vickers Wellington
  • Voisin L
  • Voisin Canard
  • Voisin III
  • Voisin VIII
  • Vought V.156-F
  • Wibault Wib.74 C.1

Helicopters and autogyros

thumb|French Navy Lynx; In service from 1979 to 2020.

  • Aérospatiale Alouette II
  • Aérospatiale Super Frelon
  • Bell 47
  • LeO C-30
  • Lynx Mk.4(FN)
  • Piasecki H-21C
  • Piasecki HUP-2
  • Sikorsky H-51
  • Sikorsky S-55
  • Sikorsky S-58
  • Sud-Aviation HSS-1

See also

  • Edouard Guillaud

References & notes

  • French Fleet Air Arm, about French naval aviation.
  • (fr) Association pour la Recherche de Documentation sur l'Histoire de l'Aéronautique Navale (ARDHAN), Association for Documentation Research on the History of French Naval Aviation.