French aviso Belfort

Laid down by the Arsenal de Lorient in the port of Lorient in 1918, Belfort was launched in March 1919 and completed in 1920.^[3] The vessel entered service on 22 April 1921.^[6] On 9 May 1922, the vessel completed tests and was commissioned as a guard ship at Cherbourg.^[7] Belfort was the first ship of the name in the French fleet and the last of the class to be built at the yard.^[8][9]

In 1928, there was no aircraft in service that could cross the South Atlantic in one trip and so the French devised an ingenious solution for their airmail service that was instigated on 1 March 1928. While mail was initially carried from Toulouse to Saint-Louis, Senegal, by Latécoère 26 mailplane and then by CAMS 51 flying boat to Praia Harbor in Cape Verde, it was then transferred to ship to be transported to Brazil, replaning in Recife to finishing its journey to Buenos Aires by Latécoère 26. Belfort was one of the six avisos allocated to the task of mail ship and lent to the French postal service Aéropostale for a nominal amount of one franc a year. After the loss of an aircraft early in the operation, the route was altered and the ships were made responsible for the entire 3,070 km (1,910 mi) journey across the Atlantic from Dakar, Senegal, to Natal, Brazil. The ships were slow and unsuited to the role, and the conditions for the crew were often harsh. They served until 1930 when they were replaced by dedicated vessels.^[10][11] The vessel then returned to France via Lisbon, Portugal, and Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, docking at Brest on 25 January 1931.^[12]

On 16 December 1935, Belfort was assigned to the seaplane squadrons based at Lorient.^[13] Equipped as a seaplane tender with the aft gun removed and replaced by a crane to handle aircraft, the vessel also served in Cherbourg and, from 10 July 1936, in Boulogne.^[14][15] The vessel supported Bréguet 521 Bizerte seaplanes that took part in the unsuccessful search for survivors of the Guernsey Airways Saro Cloud lost on 31 July.^[16] Subsequently, Belfort was also equipped to be a submarine tender as well.^[17] In May 1938, the ship was an aircraft support and recovery vessel based at Cherbourg.^[18]

During the Second World War, Belfort, after assisting in the evacuations of Dunkirk and Le Havre, arrived in Plymouth on 17 June 1940. The ship was transferred by the British to the Free French Naval Forces.^[19] The aviso served as an accommodation ship.^[20] During October 1942, the ship was transferred to Greenock, the centre for the French naval fleet, to act as a floating base for the French forces based there.^[21] At the end of the war, the ship was retired. Belfort was sold to be broken up on 26 November 1946.^[20]

• Allaz, Camille (2004). History of Air Cargo and Airmail from the 18th Century. London: Christopher Foyle Publishing. ISBN 978-1-90257-982-5.
• Bertrand, Michel (1982). La marine française au combat, 1939-1945: Des combats de l'Atlantique aux F.N.F.L. [The French Navy in Combat, 1939-1945: From the Atlantic Battles to the F.N.F.L.] (in French). Paris: Charles-Lavauzelle. ISBN 978-2-70250-002-6.
• Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One: Guns, Torpedoes, Mines and ASW Weapons of All Nations; An Illustrated Directory. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
• Layman, Richard D. (1989). Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1849-1922. London: Conway Maritime. ISBN 978-0-85177-516-6.
• Le Conte, Pierre (1932). Répertoire des Navires de Guerre Français [Directory of French Warships] (in French). Cherbourg: Pierre Le Conte, La Villarion, rue des Bastions. OCLC 1400324432.
• Labayle Couhat, Jean (1974). French Warships of World War I. Shepperton: Ian Allen. ISBN 978-0-71100-445-0.
• Smigielski, Adam (1985). "France". In Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.