Interwar French naval aviation extended well beyond aircraft carriers. Commandant Teste served as a seaplane transport, while Algérie, colonial avisos, cruisers, and capital ships carried aircraft for reconnaissance and other fleet tasks. A colonial aviso operated a Potez 452, and Strasbourg and Dunkerque each carried two Loire 130s and a Loire 210. This investment shows that French officers understood the value of aviation even when the navy lacked enough carriers to concentrate aircraft at sea. Aviation had become a fleet-wide capability, with its reach limited by the available platforms.
Notable Point · 15:21-17:19
Interwar aviation spread across cruisers, battleships, and colonial ships
France spread reconnaissance aircraft across a seaplane transport, cruisers, battleships, and colonial vessels to compensate for its thin carrier force.