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Île Longue (French for “Long Island”) is an island of the roadstead of Brest. The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale ( National Navy) and often called La Royale ( The Royal Navy) is the maritime arm A motto (from the Italian word motto, meaning witticism sentence is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group One of France 's Secretaries of State under the Ancien régime was entrusted with control of the French Navy ( Secretary of State of the Navy (France The Préfet Maritime is a servant of the French State who exercises authority over the sea in one particular region (a Préfecture maritime) The Force d'action navale (FAN Naval Action Force is the 12000-man and about 100-ship strong backbone of the French Navy. The Force océanique stratégique (FOST Strategic Oceanic Force is the Ballistic missile submarine force of the French Navy. The Aviation navale ( Naval aviation) of the French Navy includes 162 airplanes (138 of them combat-capable and 6800 men both civilians and military personnel The Naval Commandos (Commandos marine are the Special forces of the French Navy. The Fusiliers Marins (Navy riflemen are units specialised in the protection and defence of key sites of the French Navy on land The Maritime Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Maritime is a component of French gendarmerie under operational control of the chief of staff of the French Navy. This is a (non exhaustive list of currently operating ships of the French Navy. Standing French Navy Deployments is a list of current deployments by the French Navy: Caribbean Fort-de-France, The rank Insignia of the French Navy ( French: Marine Nationale) are worn on shoulder straps of shirts and white jackets Although the History of the French Navy goes back to the Middle Ages when it was defeated by the English at the Battle of Sluys and with Castilian help managed The French Navy is undertaking a significant reinforcement both in modernising and in number under the Projet de loi de programmation militaire 2003-2008 ("Military programme A French ensign is the flag flown at sea to identify a vessel as French. This is a list of traditional French Navy ship names, along with notices for notable units This is a list of French Battleships of the period 1859-1970 Note that the dates given are the ships' launch date cruisers Armorique (1862 Circé (1860 Flore (1869 Cosmao class Cosmao (1861 Dupleix (1861 This is a list of French broadside battleships of the period 1640-1861 Sections stating the ruler in power are provided as chronological references This is a list of French sail frigates from the start of the 1740s Chinese Fleets Beiyang Fleet Nanyang Fleet East Sea Fleet North Sea Fleet South The Croix de Guerre (sometimes lowercase in French Croix de guerre, meaning "Cross of War" is a military decoration of both France and The Médaille militaire (Military Medal is a decoration of the French Republic which was first instituted in 1852. Here stands a list of the ribbons of the French military and civil awards The French Order of Chivalry The principal French military awards French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people A roadstead is a place outside a Harbor where a Ship can lie at Anchor. Brest (bʁɛst in French, in Breton) is a city in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France. It is the base of the SNLE, the French ballistic missile submarines, and as such one of the most secretive and heavily defended places in France. A ballistic missile submarine is a Submarine equipped to launch Ballistic missiles ( SLBMs)
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Geography
Île Longue is a peninsula on the commune of Crozon, attached to the Crozon peninsula. A peninsula is a piece of land that is nearly surrounded by Water but connected to Mainland via an Isthmus. Crozon ( Kraozon in Breton) is a commune in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France Crozon ( Kraozon in Breton) is a commune in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France its altitude is 42 metres.
Originally the isthmus was a mere sand bank, and crossing was only possible at low tide. During the 19th century, it was improved with a stone pathway. During the construction of the strategic base (1967-1972), it was widened, made insubmersible, and changed into a parking space.
The peninsula is a stone plateau surrounded by cliffs. It harbours several water springs, which made human habitat possible. In the 19th century, three villages were built on the peninsula: Kernalleguen (less than a kilometre of the isthmus), Kermeur (1. 5 km of the isthmus) and Bothuelc'h, slightly North.
History
Careers
Exploitation of porphyry started in the 18th century. Porphyry is a variety of Igneous rock consisting of large-grained Crystals such as Feldspar or Quartz, dispersed in a fine-grained By the end of the 19th century, half a million cobblestones were produced each year. Up to eleven careers were exploited around the peninsula. The largest, Vengleuz Braz, was located West from Kermeur.
Fortifications
With its cliffs, local water resources, isthmus crossable only at low tide and its location defending Brest harbour, Île Longue is an easily defendable, strategic location. It was fortified by Vauban and Dajot as to render the roadstead impossible to hold by an enemy fleet and to allow a counter-attack against an enemy landing party attempting to seize Quélern. Sébastien Le Prestre Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban ( May 15, 1633 – March 30, 1707) commonly referred to
Dajot had a fort constructed at the top of the peninsula around 1776. It featured a hemicircular lower battery with small buildings protected by a ditch, with a bastion and a drawbridge. A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the main enclosure of a Fortification, situated in both corners of a straight wall (termed curtain with the shape A drawbridge is a type of Movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a Castle.
In 1879, a wall was built South of the peninsula, as to defend it against the land. It featured a drawbridge defended by a casemate and two bastions. Remains of the main gate and of the casemate still exist, but are enclosed in the military area, and not accessible to the general public.
First World War
From 1914 to 1919, Île Longue was used as an internment camp for German citizens captured after the seizure of the ship Nieuw Amsterdam, intercepted by the French 2nd Light Squadron on the 2 September 1914.
From the 3 September to the 23, the 1500 passengers were interned at Crozon fort and in Brest; from the 4 November, they were transferred to a camp built on Île Longue for the occasion. The last prisoners were released on the 31st December 1919.
Second World War
During the Occupation, the German used Île Longue as an anti-air battery, which remained active until 1944. The German occupation of France in World War II occurred during the period between May 1940 to December 1944 Megalithic monuments were destroyed by the construction of bunkers.
Île Longue strategic submarine base
In 1965, general De Gaulle chose Île Longue as home for the sea-based component of the Force de frappe. Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French The force de frappe (literally Strike Force; meant for dissuasion, i The place was chosen because it was close to a large harbour, yet distant enough to stay out of the public's eye, and was easily controlled and defended.
Work began in 1967 and took 5 years. The peninsula was completely changed, as the isthmus was widened and consolidated, and the peninsula itself gained 30 hectares. Explanation The hectare is commonly used in most countries around the world especially in domains concerned with land planning and management such as Agriculture, Two dry docks were built, as well as numerous habitation, engineering and defence buildings.
In 1972, the base was made operational and Le Redoutable departed for her first patrol. Île Longue has been the base of the SNLE of the Force Océanique Stratégique ever since [1]. A ballistic missile submarine is a Submarine equipped to launch Ballistic missiles ( SLBMs) The Force océanique stratégique (FOST Strategic Oceanic Force is the Ballistic missile submarine force of the French Navy.
Maintenance of the submarines is done at Île Longue, as well as storage of the nuclear components (warheads and fuel bars). Chemical pyrotechnics for the missiles and conventional warheads are stored in Guenvénez, 4 km away.
Since 2006, work has been undertaken at Île Longue to prepare the base for the new M51 SLBM. The M51 SLBM is the French Navy 's future Submarine launched ballistic missile, designed to replace the M45 SLBM (In French terminology the MSBS
Google Earth
In 2005, a small scandal broke out when it was noticed that Google Earth hosts relatively high-quality images of the site, where a docked submarine can be clearly seen. Google Earth is a Virtual globe program that was originally called Earth Viewer and was created by Keyhole Inc, a company acquired by Google in 2004 This sharply contrasts with prefectoral regulations which forbid any form of photographs or even drawings of the site [2].
 A general view of Île Longue in Google Earth |
 A detailed view where a submarine can be seen near the entrance of a dry dock |
Notes and references
- ^ The attack submarines (SNA) are based in Toulon
- ^ Arrêté n°04/70 portant interdiction de photographier l'Île Longue ("decree forbidding photography of Île Longue"), by the préfet maritime of the 2nd Maritime region
External links
- (French) French Mnistry of Defence
- (French) Satellite photographs on Google Maps. Toulon ( Provençal Occitan: Tolon in classical norm or Touloun in Mistralian norm is a city in southern France and a large The Préfet Maritime is a servant of the French State who exercises authority over the sea in one particular region (a Préfecture maritime) Google Maps (for a time named Google Local) is a free Web mapping service application and technology provided by Google that powers many map-based services
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