History
of the Ship
Unlike "Galissonnière"
class cruisers, for example, Suffren class cruisers are not really
sister ships. Indeed, the Suffren, Colbert, Foch and Dupleix, of
the same class, however present all four of the peculiarities. They
are distinguished in particular by the armament or the protection.
- The Suffren was launched on May 3, 1927.
- The Colbert was launched on April 20, 1928.
- The Foch is launched on April 24, 1929
- and finally Le Dupleix was launched on October 9, 1930
The Dupleix entered
service on July 20, 1932. In 1933, he was assigned to the 1st light
cruiser division (DLC) based in Toulon, which included the cruisers
"Tourville", "Colbert", "Foch" and
"Algeria". Within this unit, he will mainly sail in the
Mediterranean
The cruiser "Dupleix" entered a fairing from February
1 to September 3, 1937.
On August 28, 1939,
in order to prepare for the impending conflict, the Mediterranean
fleet became the FHM (forces of the high seas). In October 1939,
"Le Dupleix" joined the Force X responsible for tracking
down the German pocket battleship, the "Graf-Spee".
On June 14, 1940, after the late declaration of war by the Italians,
"Le Dupleix" and the "Colbert" cannonade the
Italian coasts, in the region of VADO, in reprisal for the bombing
of Toulon by the Italians.
After the Armistice, the lack of fuel for ships severely limits
sea trips.
On November 8, 1942,
the Allies landed in North Africa (Operation Torch). The reaction
of the Germans is immediate: they invade the free zone on November
11, 1942. To avoid that the French Fleet present in Toulon, does
not fall into the hands of the Germans, order is given by the Vichy
authorities to scuttle the ships present in the port . On November
27, the Dupleix was set on fire; deemed to be irreparable, the superstructures
are cut and the steel recovered by the occupants. The hull was bailed
out in July 1943, but was damaged on March 11, 1944 by American
bombing. What remains of the "Dupleix" sinks, and the
ship will be definitively demolished in 1951
