Yonne-class carrier
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators: |
 Sieuxerr |
| Preceded by: | |
| Succeeded by: | Painlevé-class |
| Built: | 1942-1952 |
| In service: | 1946-1999 |
| Planned: | 6 |
| Completed: | 2 |
| Cancelled: | 4 |
| Retired: | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Aircraft carrier |
| Displacement: | 26,000 t |
| Length: | 240 m |
| Beam: | 37 m |
| Draught: | 8.7 m |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 31 knots (57 km/h) |
| Range: | 13,000 nm (24,000 km) |
| Complement: | 2,000 |
| Armament: | |
| Armor: |
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| Aircraft carried: |
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| Aviation facilities: | 2 catapults, 2 lifts |
The Yonne-class carriers were a series of aircraft carriers used by the Sieuxerrian Navy. They were built in the later years of the Pan-Septentrion War and commissioned in the years after. They were the first purpose-designed carriers used by the Sieuxerrian Navy, with the previous carriers having been converted from battleships and battlecruisers. Both ships would undergo a number of refits and modernizations over their period of service and while in the same class with a number of similarities, experiences from one ship influenced the other during such modernizations and refits. The Yonne-class would act as lighter alternatives and escorts to the larger and later Painlevé-class fleet carriers.
Background
In the late-1920s and early 1930s, the Sieuxerrian Navy began to design a purpose-designed aircraft carrier to replace the carrier Bourgogne and the Bearn-class carriers, the ships all being converted from capital ships in the wake of the signing of the Ten-Power Treaty. The invasion of Sieuxerr by the Casaterran Axis in 1937 put an end to any construction of an aircraft carrier, but designing was still allowed. Combat use of the Sieuxerrian and other allied carriers during the war influenced the design heavily, with new advancements in anti-aircraft warfare and protection rapidly developing as the war progressed.
With the ground campaign in Casaterra having shifted into Sieuxerr's favor, and with the removal of the Bourgogne from active service, plans for up to six new large carriers were authorized. Yonne would be approved for construction in mid-1942 and would be laid down that same year, however the second ship, Savoie would be delayed due to financial constraints with more funding going to repair and refit existinting warships. The last 4 ships which were planned were cancelled after the end of the war.
Yonne received late-PSW fighter aircraft and AA suite, with Savoie receiving early post-PSW jet fighters and post-PSW anti-aircraft. In the early 1960s with the construction of the Painlevé-class fleet carriers, Yonne received a major refit which lasted from 1961 to 1966, during this time the ship received a new defensive armament which included one SMLM launcher firing MASURCA II surface-to-air missile. Its 37mm and 25mm guns were also removed, replaced instead with eight twin 57mm ACAD turrets like those found on the Savoie. The deck was also modernized to a new angled flight deck which hastened carrier operations. The older pneumatic catapults were removed and replaced with stronger steam-powered catapults which increased the weight of aircraft that could be launched.
Savoie would receive modernization in the early 1970s following the commission of the first Painlevé-class. Unlike the Yonne, Savoie did not receive the MASURCA launcher but instead gained two Crotale EDIR systems in place of its four twin 130mm DP guns and two of its eight 57mm ACAD turrets. The deck was also angled with the same replacement of the catapults. The deck differed slightly from the Yonne, with some new modifications which came as a result of operation experience with the Yonne.