French cruiser Jeanne d'Arc (R97)

Jeanne d'Arc

Jeanne d'Arc sailing down the Seine, July 1999.
History
France
Namesake	Joan of Arc
Builder	Brest DCNS
Laid down	1959
Launched	30 September 1961
Commissioned	1964
Decommissioned	1 September 2010[1]
Renamed	Built as La Résolue, renamed to Jeanne d'Arc in 1964
Homeport	Brest
Identification	R 97
Nickname(s)	"La Jeanne"
Fate	Scrapped
General characteristics
Displacement	10,575 tons (standard) 12,365 tons (loaded)
Length	182 m (597 ft)
Beam	24 m (79 ft)
Draught	7.5 m (25 ft)
Propulsion	Four 10,000 horsepower (7.5 MW) power plants with automatic heating, 29 420 kW
Speed	28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range	3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 26.5 kn (49.1 km/h; 30.5 mph) 6,800 nmi (12,600 km; 7,800 mi) at 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement	627 (total), 31 officers, 182 petty officers, 414 quartermasters and sailors, 150 cadet officers
Sensors and processing systems	1 DRBV 22 D 1 DRBV51A 2 DRBN34 1 DRBC32A 1 Sonar DUBV24 1 Inmarsat
Electronic warfare & decoys	Nixie
Armament	6 × Exocet-38 anti-ship missiles 2 × 100 mm gun turrets (4 originally, two removed in 2000) 4 × 12.7mm machine guns
Aircraft carried	4 Super Frelon (8 in war)

Jeanne d'Arc was a helicopter cruiser of the French Navy. She was the sixth vessel of the French Navy named after Joan of Arc ("Jeanne d'Arc" in French), a national heroine of France and saint of the Catholic Church who distinguished herself in the Hundred Years' War by helping France turn the tide of the Lancastrian phase.

In peacetime, Jeanne d'Arc was used for teaching and training purposes; however, in case of emergency or crisis, she was to have become a fully capable helicopter cruiser. Toward the end of her service life, Jeanne d'Arc became unsuitable for the role due to the increasing size and weight of helicopters.

Jeanne d'Arc was built as La Résolue, as her predecessor, the Jeanne d'Arc of 1930, was still in service. She was renamed Jeanne d'Arc in 1964. The ship was retired in May 2010 and decommissioned in September 2010.