Name Duguay-Trouin Laid down 4 August 1922 Decommissioned 19 March 1952 Launched 14 August 1923 Beam 18 m | Namesake René Duguay-Trouin Commissioned 2 November 1926 Construction started 4 August 1922 Length 181 m Builder Brest Arsenal | |
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Class and type Duguay-Trouin-class cruiser | ||
Duguay-Trouin was the lead ship of a class of French light cruisers, launched in the early 1920s. She was named after René Duguay-Trouin, Sieur du Gué, French privateer, admiral and Commander in the Order of Saint-Louis.
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Pre-war
After completion, Duguay-Trouin was assigned to the 2nd Squadron and based at Brest. In 1929, she became flagship of the 3rd Light Division in the Mediterranean and, in 1931, she undertook an extended cruise to Indo-China, then a French colony. Duguay-Trouin returned to the 2nd Squadron at Brest in 1932, this time as flagship, remaining there until 1935. In 1936, she became a gunnery training ship until June 1939, when she joined the 6th Cruiser Division.
World War II
France declared war on 3 September 1939 and Duguay-Trouin, with other French ships commenced Atlantic patrols to intercept German shipping. On 16 October 1939 Duguay-Trouin intercepted the German merchant ship Halle 200 miles (320 km) south-west of Dakar. Halle was scuttled to prevent its capture.
In early May, 1940, she was transferred to the eastern Mediterranean, based at Beirut, for operations in the Adriatic and Dodecanese.
After the French surrender, she joined Admiral Rene-Emile Godfroy's Force X at Alexandria, Egypt where she was, with other French warships, disarmed by agreement and interned by the British from 22 June 1940. Axis forces occupied Vichy France in November 1942. Duguay-Trouin rejoined the Allies on 30 May 1943 and was re-armed in July.
Her first Allied employment was as a troop transport in early 1944. She supported the landings in southern France in August 1944 and subsequently undertook bombardments along the Italian coast until April 1945.
Post-war
In May 1945 Duguay-Trouin bombarded villages in Algeria during the Sétif and Guelma massacre. The ship was later sent to Indo-China and supported army operations against the Viet Minh.
She was decommissioned on 19 March 1952.