French cruiser Duquesne (1925)

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Duquesne.

Duquesne

Duquesne in 1943
History
France
Name	Duquesne
Namesake	Abraham Duquesne
Builder	Brest Dock Yard
Laid down	30 October 1924
Launched	17 December 1925
Commissioned	6 December 1928
Fate	Condemned 2 July 1955
General characteristics
Class and type	Template:Sclass-
Displacement	10,000 tonnes (standard) 12,200 tons (full load)
Length	191 m (627 ft) overall
Beam	19 m (62 ft)
Draught	6.32 m (20.7 ft)
Propulsion	4-shaft Rateau-Bretagne single-reduction geared turbines, 9 Guyot boilers, 120,000 shp (89,000 kW)
Speed	33.75 knots (62.51 km/h)
Range	4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement	605
Armament	8 × 203mm/50 Modèle 1924 guns (4 × 2) 8 × 75 mm (3 in) anti-aircraft guns (8 × 1) 8 × 37 mm (1.5 in) anti-aircraft guns (4 × 2) 12 × 13.2 mm (0.52 in) AA (4 × 3) 6 × 550 mm (22 in) torpedo tubes (2 × 3)
Armour	Magazine box 30 mm (1.2 in) Deck 30 mm (1.2 in) Turrets and conning tower 30 mm (1.2 in)
Aircraft carried	2 GL-812 (superseded by GL-832 then Loire-Nieuport 130, 1 catapult

Duquesne was a French heavy cruiser and name ship of her class that served during World War II.

Design and description

The design of the Duquesne class was derived from an enlarged version of the Template:Sclass- light cruiser armed with 203-millimetre (8 in) guns. The ships had an overall length of 191 meters (626 ft 8 in), a beam of 19 meters (62 ft 4 in), and a draft of 6.45 meters (21 ft 2 in). They displaced 10,160 metric tons (10,000 long tons) at standard load and 12,435 t (12,239 long tons) at deep load. Their crew normally consisted of 605 men and increased by 32 when serving as flagships.

Service history

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Duquesne was part of the Force X, under Vice Admiral Godfroy. In January 1940, she took part in the hunt for the Admiral Graf Spee, and later returned to Alexandria. On 3 July, the French squadron under Admiral René-Emile Godfroy in Alexandria was blockaded by the British executing Operation Catapult ; Godfroy avoided destruction by negotiating to disarm his fleet and stay in port until the end of the war. In June 1943, Duquesne was incorporated in the Free French Naval Forces and served in the Atlantic.

She undertook a refit in 1945, and served in French Indochina until 1947.

Bibliography

• Jordan, John; Moulin, Jean (2013). French Cruisers 1922–1956. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-133-5. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |lastauthoramp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)

External links

• Les bâtiments ayant porté le nom de Duquesne on NetMarine.net (in French)