"Langley" was taken out of "mothballs" early in 1951, refurbished and transferred to France under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program. Based in Toulon, "La Fayette" carried out many missions in the Far East until June 1953. During this action, her airgroup included Grumman F6F Hellcats and Curtiss SB2C Helldivers. Modernized in 1953-1954, she served in the Mediterranean and on the African coasts. In early 1956 she returned to Indo-China (which had been partitioned after the cease fire) equipped with Vought F4U Corsairs and Grumman TBF Avengers. She was involved in the Suez Crisis air and landing operations along with and British carriers beginning in October 1956. In March 1960, "La Fayette" participated in the rescue operations in the Moroccan city of Agadir, damaged by an earthquake. It then took part in the repatriation of the first refugees from Algeria. After more than a decade of French Navy service, she was returned to the United States in March 1963 and was sold for scrap a year later.