Strasbourg - light aircraft carrier project?

[TheKaramelka18]

After reviewing various resources, I found information, about battleship Strasbourg, after the end of the war, was proposed to be rebuilt as a light aircraft carrier. But there is very little information and this is at the level of "mentions". Now I wondered if there was such a project or did it not go further than the proposal?

 

[Tzoli]

I doubt that conversion and never even heard of it! She was wrecked at Mers-el-Kebir in 1940 then shelled again by USS Nevada in 1944, her hull was beyond repair at this point no sense using her for dubious conversion.

 

[Archibald]

Fact is that a lot of hulls from the 1942 Toulon scuttling took more than a decade to clear, and it was hoped some might be salvageable (hint: few if none at all were).
By 1945 France was firing by all tubes to get new carriers, any past, present, future or foreign hull was worth considering. I vaguely remind that the Commandant Teste floatplane tender was considered at some point - even if it had been ruined in the scuttling. Btw, it was refloated and used as floating depot until the 1960's. At the time Toulon harbor was kind of France past, present and future carrier "museum". Béarn was scrapped only in 1967, and thus neighboured with Foch and Clemenceau !

Quick check show that Strasbourg wreck was actually refloated in 1945 and got 10 more years of life... as a giant target. I'm not saying it was considered as carrier nor that it was ever feasible.

EDIT: I knew it. It was considered, but little is known about it indeed. It was not part of the June 1945 "official proposal" hence probably a secondary (and unrealistic) proposal. Loosely related to the well documented atempt at finishing Jeant Bart as carrier (a missed opportunity, really).

Les six porte-avions de l'étude du 20 juin 1945

Blog proposant souvent de suivre les programmes anciens, nouveaux de la Marine nationale et parfois de faire de même pour les marines étrangères.

lefauteuildecolbert-blogspot-com.translate.goog

Aéronautique navale de chez nous

Dans l’esprit de nos concitoyens, nos forces aériennes ont été, depuis leurs origines, presque uniquement constituées de l’armée de l’Air, laquelle a mis en ligne, en quelque quatre-vingts ans, un nombre considérable d’appareils de tous types, de l’avion d’entraînement au bombardier stratégique...

books.google.fr

Yes ! Seems the reason Strasbourg wreck was refloated, was some hopes it could be rebuild as a carrier. Don't underestimate 1945 France delusions of grandeur...

Note: old CA (heavy cruisers) and a recent BB (Jean Bart) were considered as basis for carrier rebuild. Make some sense that a BC, intermediate between them, was considered too: and Strasbourg was very much France own take as a mid-1930's BC in the broad sense of the word that is: a small battleship with some sacrifices along the way.