French aircraft carrier Foch ( R99 ) " Foch " ( R 99 ) was the second of the French Navy . She was the second warship named in honour of Marshal Ferdinand Foch , after a heavy cruiser commissioned in 1932 , and scuttled in Toulon on 27 November 1942 . Ironically Ferdinand Foch is famously quoted in 1911 saying " Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value " although this was only eight years after the first powered human flight . Design . The " Clemenceau " class aircraft carriers , of which the " Foch " now renamed and reflagged as " São Paulo " is the last surviving member , are of conventional CATOBAR design . The landing area is 165 . 5m long by 29 . 5m wide ; it is angled at 8 degrees off of the ship ' s axis . The flight deck is 265m long . The forward aircraft elevator is to starboard , and the rear elevator is positioned on the deck edge to save hangar space . The forward of two 52m catapults is at the bow to port , the aft catapult is on the forward area of angled landing deck . The hangar deck dimensions are 152m by 22 - 24m with 7m overhead . History . The draft statute prepared by the Naval General Staff in 1949 asked four aircraft carriers of 20 , 000 tons to be available in two phases . At its meeting of 22 August 1949 , the Supreme Council of the Navy was even more ambitious where they asked six aircraft carrier fleet . On 15 July 1952 , the French Navy still wanted two to five with the French Union ( not available to the NATO ) . According to the RCM 12 , the final document of the Lisbon Conference of 1952 , France should make available NATO aircraft carrier in the D - day , two on day 30 , three on day 180 . But by 1953 , the Navy had to be satisfied with two aircraft carriers . The PA 54 Clemenceau , budgeted in 1953 , was delayed until November 1955 , the PA 55 Foch , budgeted for 1955 , was delayed until February 1957 . Between 1980 and 1981 , she underwent a study to certify the platform before catapulting aircraft carrying missiles , bombs , AM - 39 Exocet and tactical nuclear bombs . Like her sister ship the Clemenceau , the Foch underwent a modernization and refit , replacing 4 of her 8 100mm guns with 2 Crotale air - defense systems . Unlike the Clemenceau , the Foch in 1997 also received 2 Sadral launchers ( for 6 Mistral missiles each ) ; those launchers were purchased by France in 1994 . The Dassault Rafale was test flown from the Foch ( but not Clemenceau ) after deck modifications in 1992 and operated from this carrier after further 1995 - 6 deck modifications . After a 37 - year career in the French Navy , on 15 November 2000 , she was sold to the Brazilian Navy , and renamed . In the French Navy , she was succeeded by the " Charles de Gaulle " ( R 91 ) . Combat history . In 1977 F - 8 Crusader s from 14 . F squadron on " Foch " participated in the Saphir missions over Djibouti . On 7 May 1977 , two Crusaders went separately on patrol against what were supposedly French Air Force ( 4 / 11 Jura squadron ) F - 100 Super Sabre s stationed at Djibouti . The leader intercepted two fighters and initiated a dogfight as part of the training exercise , but quickly called his wingman for help as he had actually engaged two Yemeni MiG - 21 Fishbeds . The two French fighters switched their master armament to " on " but , ultimately , everyone returned to their bases . This was the only combat interception by French Crusaders . In 1983 – 1984 , the ship was sent to Lebanon for combat operations during the civil war with an air wing consisting of six F - 8 Crusaders , fifteen Super - Etendards , three Etendard IVPs , five Br 1050 Alizés and six SA - 321G Super - Frelons . She would rotate with " Clemenceau " providing constant on station air support to French peacekeepers . In October 1984 , France sent " Foch " for operation Mirmillon off the coast of Libya , in response to tension in the Gulf of Sidra . She was involved in the Yugoslav Wars between July and August 1993 , in February and March 1994 , and in February and from May to July 1994 in support of UN operations . In fiction . Foch features prominently in the 1995 film Crimson Tide as the setting for several television news reports about the ongoing conflict in Russia . Foch was used in this role after the U . S . Navy refused to assist in the film ' s production , thus removing the possibility of filming onboard a U . S . carrier . Foch also appears briefly in Tom Clancy ' s 1986 techno - thriller novel Red Storm Rising forming part of a NATO task force which also includes the aircraft carriers USS Nimitz and USS Saratoga . In an attack by Soviet Tu - 22M bombers , Foch is hit by three antiship missiles and sunk .