The farewell to a French naval aviator on his last takeoff at the 'Charles de Gaulle'

For many years, naval aviators have risked their lives with every flight they make from an aircraft carrier.

The joint deployment of the Spanish Navy and the French National Navy in Brittany
A spectacular image of two Spanish frigates and three French aircraft

Landing on a ship is always a challenge, but on CATOBAR (Catapult-Assisted Takeoff with Arrested Recovery) aircraft carriers, currently used only by the United States and France (China's communist dictatorship is on the way to having its own), taking off and landing is especially risky, since takeoff is done by means of steam catapults (magnetic, on the most modern aircraft carriers), which accelerate the aircraft from zero to flying speed in a few seconds, and landing is done by means of hooks and arresting cables, something only suitable for that elite within aviation.

This week, the French Navy released a series of photos (click on them to enlarge and enjoy the details) that were taken by Marie Bailly. The images show a nice tradition of the French Navy: "During the last launch of a naval pilot aboard the Charles de Gaulle, tradition dictates that all aviators on board line up next to the catapult and form a guard of honor." Here they are, each with their initials (apparently, the French Navy doesn't allow their pilots to decorate their helmets in a more cheerful way).

The French Navy adds: "The carrier commander signals the launch, saber in hand, and the pilots salute their comrade-in-arms." The commander is wearing a yellow vest and helmet, the color that identifies the directors of aircraft movement on the flight deck on all aircraft carriers and ships with flight decks of NATO countries. We can see the jet blast deflector raised behind the aircraft (to prevent the jet blast from the fighter's two jets from affecting the entire flight deck), and next to it the small yellow catapult control cabin, raised above the flight deck.

Finally, the aircraft carrier's commander lowers his saber to give the launch signal. We see him here next to a Dassault Rafale M, the naval version of this French fighter, located at the start of one of the "Charles de Gaulle's" two C13 catapults, specifically the one located next to the ship's island. Behind the aviator's Rafale M making its last launch is another Rafale M waiting to be launched from the catapult on the oblique runway. Jutting out from the port side of the island, in the center of the image, we see primary flight control, from where air operations are controlled on the aircraft carrier's flight deck.

The series of photos ends with the launch of this Rafale M. However, this photo is not of the fighter piloted by the aviator who was making his last takeoff from the "Charles de Gaulle", but of the plane that was waiting on the catapult of the oblique runway.