French plans paired a fleet carrier with a seaplane carrier that could establish itself in a suitable bay. From there, the support ship could sustain long-range patrol aircraft and provide a forward logistical base for naval aviation. In functional terms, it resembled a hybrid of HMS Unicorn and the later Mobile Naval Air Bases (MONABs). The ship would arrive with the resources needed to organize a local aviation facility, giving France mobile sustainment rather than a second conventional flight deck. The concept tied carrier doctrine to maintenance, supply, and shore organization as closely as to aircraft at sea.
Notable Point · 24:15-25:32
The seaplane carrier as a mobile air base
A seaplane carrier could establish long-range maritime patrol from a sheltered bay while supplying a forward naval aviation base.