French cruiser Colbert (1928)

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

Colbert

300px Colbert
History
France
Name:	Colbert
Namesake:	Jean Baptiste Colbert
Builder:	Brest Naval Yard
Laid down:	12 June 1927
Launched:	20 April 1928
Commissioned:	4 March 1931
Fate:	scuttled at Toulon, 27 November 1942, Scrapped 1948
General characteristics
Class & type:	Suffren-class cruiser
Displacement:	10,000 tonnes (standard) 12,780 tonnes (full load)
Length:	196 m (643 ft 1 in)
Beam:	20 m (65 ft 7 in)
Draught:	7.3 m (23 ft 11 in)
Propulsion:	3-shaft Rateau-Bretagne SR geared turbines, 9 Guyot boilers, 100,000 shp (75,000 kW)
Speed:	32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Range:	4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement:	773
Armament:	8 × 203 mm (8.0 in)/50 Modèle 1924 guns (4 × 2) 8 × 90 mm (3.5 in) 55-calibre 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:	Belt: 60 mm (2.4 in) Deck: 25 mm (0.98 in) Turrets and conning tower: 30 mm (1.2 in)
Aircraft carried:	2 Loire-Nieuport 130, 2 catapults

Colbert was a French heavy cruiser of the Suffren class, that saw service in World War II. She was named for Jean Baptiste Colbert.

Service history

Colbert was part of the 2nd Cruiser Division of the 1st Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean, which also included Duquesne and Tourville. In September 1939, at the start of World War II, Colbert was part of the 1st Cruiser Squadron, which also included Algérie, Dupleix, Foch, Duquesne and Tourville.

On 14 June 1940, the French navy executed Operation Samoyède. The 3rd French squadron, including cruisers Foch, Algérie, Dupleix and Colbert, bombarded Genoa, supported by the French Naval Air Arm.

Following the French surrender, Colbert and much of the French fleet was taken out of action and kept at Toulon. On 27 November 1942, she was successfully scuttled by her crew, despite the presence of German officers attempting to take control. She was blown apart when her magazine exploded. The rusted hull of Colbert remained there until 1948, when her remains were scrapped.

External links

Media related to French cruiser Colbert at Wikimedia Commons