Huge French Navy amphibious assault ship set to make a rare visit to Portsmouth this weekend

Amphibious assault ship FS Dixmude will be sailing into the Portsmouth Naval Base on Saturday morning.

The 16,500-tonne warship last visited the city in 2018 to loads troops and equipment for a military drill.

The French vessel is expected to begin her latest run into Portsmouth from 10.15am.

Commissioned in 2012, the warship is capable of embarking a number of helicopters and amphibious forces.

At 653ft in length, she is almost 100ft longer than the Spinnaker Tower is tall.

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But she is not as large as Britain’s two huge Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers which each weigh in at 65,000 tonnes and are about 920ft long.

In 2020 the Dixmude was supported by RFA Argus in the Caribbean as part of the international response to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Working at a combined French, British and Dutch task force, the ships worked from Fort de France in Martinique to support islands.

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