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January 1
The French Navy held an 'open ship' event today at the naval base of Toulon, allowing civilians to tour the aircraft carrier
Clemenceau. France's oldest carrier is scheduled for retirement soon as newer carriers have been constructed to take it's place. The ship has largely served as an aircraft transport, moving large aircraft between French outposts abroad.
January 3
The Armee de l'Aire has started to conduct an evaluation of Societie Dassault's performance as the managing partner of Atelier Industriel de l'Aéronautique d'Indochine (AIAI) and Atelier Industriel de l'Aéronautique d'Alger (AIAA). The evaluation, which will be completed on January 31st, will determine whether or not Societie Dassault will continue to manage the two companies, created to produce Air Force assets abroad. Dassault acquired the management of both firms last year when the company acquired all assets of Loire-Nieuport, the previous managing partner. Since the merger, Bloch has started to assemble MB.1052 fighters in AIAI's Saigon factory, using parts imported from France.
January 4
Foreign Minister Murail left Paris today, beginning a week-long state visit to meet with Syrian president Shukri al-Quatli in Damascus. Economic development issues are believed to be the primary topic of discussion.
January 5 -
Le Canard enchaîné
What the Bird Has to Say: in the editorial section, commenters supported plans put forward by the French leftist parties to spend 7.2 million francs to connect the railways of French West Afrique.
January 7 -
Science et Vie
The
Centre d'Essais en Vol has accepted for trials the new Dewoitine D.800
Flèche, the first French fighter aircraft designed to be powered by a turbojet engine. The Flèche, designed by Emil Dewoitine, is powered by a centrifugal Rateau A.62 turbojet, a heavily-modified version of the A.60 turbojet used in the Bloch MB.1000 Triton, which flew last year. ONERA intends to schedule the Flèche for a first flight sometime in February. Dewoitine hopes that the aircraft will achieve a speed of 850 km/hr. 1944 may prove to be a major year for French aviation, as the nation intends to host the second Les chevaliers du ciel event in August.
January 8
The cruisers
Duquesne and
Gloire departed the port of Brest to conduct exercises in the Atlantic Ocean, after which point they will make a call at the Iberian port of Cadiz.
January 11
Foreign Minister Murail returned today from Damascus, where he discussed economic development issues with Syrian president Shukri al-Quatli. The Foreign Minister and President al-Quatli signed an agreement paving the way for the formation of a joint oil exploration team.
January 12
In remarks made to a breakfast meeting of the French Railway Association, President Theisman commented on a proposal by the French leftist parties to spend 7.2 million francs to connect the railways of French West Afrique. "The proposal understates the ease of building such a railway across the proposed terrain," the president said. "The government is highly interested in investing in such a railway project and is developing its own proposal, which will be presented to Parliament in the next few months."
January 14
Cruisers
Duquesne and
Gloire arrived in the port of Cadiz, where they were welcomed by the Iberian Navy. The cruisers will depart on the 21st following a week-long port call.
January 15
Former French minister of national education Jules Bernard was charged today with accepting illegal campaign donations for his anticipated bid for the French presidency.
January 17
French Parliament has voted to establish the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile (BEA). This body will investigate aircraft accidents in France, if necessary working with other bodies elsewhere in the world.
January 18
Preparations for the turnover of Tchad to the British Empire, and France's acceptance of the Togo mandate and full ownership of the New Hebrides, are currently underway. Rumors indicate that President Theisman will travel to Lome for the transfer ceremonies, while Foreign Minister Murail will go to N'Djammena.
January 19 -
Le Canard enchaîné
What the Bird Has to Say: In this week's column with leaks from the French government, the paper discusses rumors that the French government intends to follow a plan similar to that currently used in Indochina in regards to the mandate of Togo and Leban.
January 21
The cruisers
Duquesne and
Gloire have left the port of Cadiz following a week-long port call. According to a spokesman for the Marine Nationale, the visit was highly successful in establishing new contacts and partnerships within the Iberian Navy.
January 22
Sailing today with the liner
Pasteur for South America are ten men delivering supplies, primarily medical gear, to the earthquake-hit Argentine city of San Juan.
January 24
The Syrian government announced today that they were seeking the purchase of twenty-five single-seat Soko Orao fighters from Yugoslavia, as well as five two-seat trainers.
January 25
The cruisers
Duquesne and
Gloire returned to the port of Brest today after a lengthy series of exercises and port calls along the Atlantic coast.
January 26 -
e Canard enchaîné
What the Bird Has to Say: "While French colonial officials play up the coming re-adjustment in the overseas territories, how many millions still abide in poverty, not only in those very colonies, but here in enlightened Europe?"
January 27
President Theisman departed today for Lome, Togo.
January 30
In official ceremonies held today in N'Djammena, Lome, and Port Vila, France and Britain transferred control of several territories, as agreed last year. The former French colony of Tchad is now transferred to the British Empire, while France takes up the Togoland Mandate as well as full control of the former
Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides.
President Theisman, speaking at the handover ceremony in Lome, announced that the French government intended to invest strongly in infrastructure and educational initiatives within Togo, based on the model practiced in Syria and Indochina.
February 1
The submarine tender
Jules Verne arrived today in the port of Mumbai, where she begins a week-long call in one of the premier Indian port cities.
February 2 -
Le Canard enchaîné
What the Bird Has to Say: In this week's editorials, writers express criticism of American 'dollar diplomacy' in regards to the massive US government donation extended in response to Argentina's San Juan earthquake.
February 3
Two more new
Fantassin-class infantry landing craft have been launched yesterday from La Rochelle. These cunningly-designed light craft continue to demonstrate the increasing scope and capacity of the modern French naval forces.
February 7
The weeklong
Concours général agricole opened today in Paris. Among the displays are a new breed of wheat being developed in Algeria by American scientists Norman Borlaug and John Niederhauser. Also on display is a fertilizer and pesticide application aircraft developed by a local French entrepreneur.
February 8
Lieutenant Wenceslas Voisin and Lieutenant Claude Nicolas Hennequin return to print in the second edition of
Voisin et Hennequin. In this second issue, Hennequin's MS.406 fighter is downed in the mountains due to sabotage, and he falls into the hands of the Galila el-Hakim's band of rebel tribesmen. As Hennequin tries to escape captivity, Voisin tries to find both his friend and the mysterious saboteur who is crippling the French war planes.
February 9
Managing Director A. R. Pechiney announced today that the
Société des Produits Chimiques d'Alais et de la Camargue will be investing in the development of several new bauxite mines and aluminium smelters in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The new mines and smelters will help to meet the rising demand for aluminium in South American industry, and may even produce aluminium for export by 1947.
February 10
The French sail-training ship
Belle Poule departed Port Vila in the Nouvelles-Hébrides islands today, bound for Suva in Fidji. The sail-training ship, with sixty cadets from the French naval academy aboard, was present in the Nouvelles-Hébrides for the ceremonies marking the end of the Franco-British condominium there.
February 11
The first purpose-designed French jet-powered fighter, the Dewoitine D.800 Flèche, had its first flight today at ONERA's CEV testing facilities.
February 14
The French Socialist Party, supported by centrist members of the Alliance Republicaine, passed a bill today calling for the creation of a League of Nations Humanitarian Air Service. In remarks to the press, President Theisman indicated he did not believe the proposal would be a good use of fiscal resources, but would probably sign the bill anyway.
February 15
With the creation of the French overseas territory of Togoland has come the creation of many new entities, including military and police forces to protect the territory, reunited for the first time since 1917. Ground was broken on the construction of the newly-planned University of Lomé, which expects to induct its first class of students in August or September of this year. The University of Lomé will focus on training a new generation of civic leaders, businessmen, and educators. Meanwhile, the French Army has created a new
Régiment de Tirailleurs Sénégalais du Togo for the land defense of the region. The Regiment will report to the governor in Lomé. Naval and Air Force protection is not yet arranged, but the Armee de l'Aire indicated a local patrol-counterinsurgency escadrille would be established before the end of the year.
February 16 -
Le Canard enchaîné
What the Bird Has to Say: In this week's editorials, leftist author Georges Bertrand de la Sarre criticizes President Theisman's administration for not speaking out on the Dalmatia-Slovenia issue. "The Italians desire to buy off the people of those territories with citizenship, but Rome has yet to offer what Dalmatians and Slovenians may truly want - a referendum."
February 17
The colonial administration has approved plans for the construction of a hydroelectric dam on Côte d'Ivoire's Bandama River, near Yamoussoukro. The dam will create a body of water to be named Lake Kossou. Construction will begin in September and complete in September of 1947. This dam will provide electrical power to the city of Yamoussoukro, which even ten years ago was a small village with a low population. Now Yamoussoukro is growing, having doubled in population every single year since 1938, rivalling Niamey as one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.
February 18
The Armee de l'Aire published their report on Societie Dassault's operation of the government-owned Atelier Industriel de l'Aéronautique d'Indochine (AIAI) and Atelier Industriel de l'Aéronautique d'Alger (AIAA) aircraft plants. According to the report, Dassault has earned a 'satisfactory' grade, resulting in their operation contract to be extended until the end of 1945, when the contract will be re-negotiated following the Indochina Plebiscite. According to the report, over the course of 1943 AIAI constructed fifty-six Épouvantail counter-insurgency aircraft, seventy-nine Dassault MB.1050 Milan fighters, and eighteen LN.180 biplane trainers. AIAA constructed onlu thirty-two Épouvantails during the same period, but conducted extensive maintenance work on over nine hundred aircraft of the Armee de l'Aire.
February 20 -
Shortwave Radio
*A calm female voice speaks.*
"Dix-neuf, douze, six, quatre, douze, quatre, neuf, quatre, quatre, cinq, douze, dix-neuf."
*Frère Jacques plays.*
February 21
Airship
Méditerranée, once part of the
Le Dirigeable française Tranportation Entreprise fleet, was retired today following an extended period of falling traffic and fiscal uncertainty. The French airship line, once six dirigibles strong, was virtually put out of business by Air France with the introduction of transatlantic passenger service to New York and Cleito. The last stronghold of DFTE is the Paris-to-Saigon route, flown with two dirigibles via Djibouti, which no airliner yet has mastered. With the fading of the company, the
Méditerranée has been turned over to the Aeronavale to settle debts.
February 22 -
Le Temps
Breguet-Nord acknowledged today that it was engaged in the design of a single-seat, twin-engine fighter-bomber, to be powered by turbojet engines. The aircraft is expected to fly before May 1945.
February 24
Noted French cinema director Aimé Clariond began filming the movie
Napoléon today. It will be one of the largest movies of its type produced in France.
February 25
Construction began today on the first of a series of breakwaters designed to turn the small port of Tema, Côte-de-l'Or, into the largest manmade harbor in Africa. The project will take approximately seven years to complete in its entirety, although an initial stage shall be finished in 1947.
February 28
The submarine
Calypso was launched today in La Rochelle.
February 29
A construction accident at the site of the Hoa Binh hydroelectric dam in the Hoa Binh province of Indochina resulted in the uncontrolled release of several thousand cubic meters of water stored behind a temporary retaining dam. Three construction workers were critically injured and several dozen others suffered milder injuries. The construction company was unavailable for comment at press time, but local government spokesmen stated that the construction of the rockfill dam itself would not be strongly affected.
March 1
The new destroyer
Duperré was laid down today in La Rochelle. The eighth ship in the
Forbin or T43 destroyer class,
Duperré commemorates one of the greatest, but also one of the least well-known, naval commanders of French history.
March 2
The
Institut des hautes études cinématographiques was officially established today in Paris. Filmmaker Marcel L'Herbier will be the institute's first president.
March 3
The
Manufacture de Machines du Haut-Rhin (Manurhin) company has announced the purchase of a license for the German Mauser G-11 rifle. The weapon, to be produced in 6.5mmx51 FAR, will equip the French paratroops and the Legion Etranger.
March 4
The Paris-Nice "Race to the Sun" bicycle race opened today in Paris.
March 6
Sous-Lieutenant Gustave Remy and his survey expedition has returned from the Mount Nimba region of Guinea. The sous-lieutenant was conducting extensive surveys of the region, which is under consideration by the French parliament for the creation of a nature preserve.
March 7
Lioré et Olivier has received a contract from the French military to design and construct an unspecified number of models of a new ramjet testbed, to be dubbed the LeO-620, in conjunction with Fonderie de Ruelle. This research project is intended to help assess the use of ramjet-powered vehicles in the interception of high-flying bombers.
March 8 -
Le Canard enchaîné
What the Bird Has to Say: In this week's satirical cartoons, the French leftists challenge the center-right government to offer further support to Yugoslavian Unionists.
March 9
Construction on the Kossou Dam on the Bandara River in Cote d'Ivoire began today.
March 10
The Marine Nationale confirmed an order for four more
Forbin-class contre-torpilleurs, to be named
Indomptable,
Tonnant,
Infatigable, and
Inébranlable. The first of this quartet of ships will be laid down in May. In other naval news, the Marine Nationale is debating whether or not to rebuild or dispose of the nine remaining
Audaciaux-class destroyers, currently in the port of Brest in reserve.
March 13
The cruiser
Temeraire and the frigate
Tran Nhat Duat departed today for a port visit to Japan, followed by Vladivostok.
March 14
Three tank prototypes were paraded today before the staff of the
Arme blindée cavalerie (Armoured Cavalry Branch) at Saumer.
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March 15 -
Le Canard enchaîné
What the Bird Has to Say: in the editorial section, authors commented on the recently confirmed plans by the German Army for a draw-down of forces.
March 17
The Société d'Exploitation Minière de Fidji was established today to open copper mining in the Namosi Province of the Viti Levu island of Fidji. The company plans to build a mine at Waisoi, which is believed to have significant copper deposits.
March 18
The cruiser
Temeraire and the Indochinese training frigate
Tran Nhat Duat arrived at Edo, Japan today for the start of a port visit.
March 20
President Theisman unveiled a proposal today to construct a new meter-gauge railway connection between Bamako, the easternmost point of the Dakar-Niger Railway, and Bobo-Dioulasso, a town on the Abidjan-Ouagadougou Railway; a second line will link Kankan and Bamako. If approved, the 7.9 million franc project will link the three meter-gauge railways of French West Africa by 1948.
March 21
The Azalai, the great Tuareg salt caravan, started today from Taoudenni, bound for Timbuktu and the river ports of French Soudan (Mali). With an estimated four thousand camels, this azalai is one of the largest spring caravans organized within the last five years. Last year, a combination of both nomadic raiders and infighting resulted in the deaths of nearly a dozen Toureg nomads. This year, the French Army has dispatched three Panhard armoured cars and several platoons of infantry to help deal with desert raiders.
March 23
Following the transfer of Tchad to Great Britain, the French Navy has received several comments from Parliamentary sources about the French cruiser
Chari, which is named after the largest river in Tchad. The French Navy has determined to rename the vessel
Bruix, after a noted historical admiral.
March 24
François de Grossouvre, founder of the
Générale Sucrière, has acquired the exclusive rights to bottle and distribute the Coca-Cola brand in Europe, in conjunction with partners Gilbert Beaujolin and Alexandre Patty. The popular American drink will be distributed by
Société parisienne de boissons gazeuses and the
Glacières de Paris.
March 25
Moviemaker Charles André Boyer released today a new one and a half hour documentary,
Des Deux Mers, about the construction of the Canal du Midi in the 1600s.
March 27
Alsthom-SACM announced that they have received an order for the construction of thirty-five new 1000hp diesel-electric locomotives for use on the Algerian railway system. These will be license-built versions of the ALCo RS-1 diesel-electric locomotive, albeit powered by Alsthom's own MD.12/108 diesel engine.
March 28
The Arsenal VG.640 Graoully jet fighter began taxi trials at CEV today. Henri Ziegler, the CEV's assistant director, revealed that the aircraft would begin flight testing sometime in the next few weeks.
March 30
The heavy cruisers
Jean Bart and
Jeanne d'Arc were completed today and handed over to the Navy for acceptance trials.