'' Langley '' was taken out of " mothballs " early in 1951 , refurbished and transferred to France under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program . Based in Toulon , '' La Fayette '' carried out many missions in the Far East until June 1953 . During this action , her airgroup included Grumman F6F Hellcats and Curtiss SB2C Helldivers . Modernized in 1953-1954 , she served in the Mediterranean and on the African coasts . In early 1956 she returned to Indo-China ( which had been partitioned after the cease fire ) equipped with Vought F4U Corsairs and Grumman TBF Avengers . She was involved in the Suez Crisis air and landing operations along with and British carriers beginning in October 1956 . In March 1960 , '' La Fayette '' participated in the rescue operations in the Moroccan city of Agadir , damaged by an earthquake . It then took part in the repatriation of the first refugees from Algeria . After more than a decade of French Navy service , she was returned to the United States in March 1963 and was sold for scrap a year later
earthquake
1960 Agadir earthquake
French aircraft carrier La Fayette