French Aircraft Carrier - Bearn

 

Date of Issue: Nov 07, 2022

The stamp depicts Hunter Dewoitine and Aircraft Carrier Bearn.

The image of the Dewoitine and Bearn were printed using intaglio, and the rest of the design by offset printing.

As a ship theme collector, the aircraft carrier caught my attention.

Béarn, named for the historic province of Béarn, was an aircraft carrier converted from an incomplete

Normandie-class battleship for the Marine nationale (French Navy) during the 1920s. The only aircraft carrier France produced until after World War II, the ship played a minor role in early stages of the war, training in home waters and conducting pilot training.

The ship's flight deck was 180 meters (590 ft 7 in) long and it had a maximum width of 27 meters (88 ft 7 in). The deck itself was composed of two overlapping 12-millimeter (0.47 in) plates covered by 50–70 millimeters (2.0–2.8 in) of African teak.

The ship was designed with two hangar decks, of which only the upper 124-meter-long (406 ft 10 in) hangar could be used for aircraft operations as the lower hangar was dedicated to workshops and aircraft assembly and storage facilities.

The above image matches the design on the stamp.

Click here to know more about the aircraft carrier Bearn.

Text Source: Wikipedia
Image Source: wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com