After the Duguay Trouin “test”, the Duquesne and Tourville classes were homogenous heavy cruisers, but in 1931 it was realized protection was needed, and the Algérie was built, sole in her class as France was stopped by the London treaty whereas Italy had the time to complete its four Zara. Indeed, the planned construction of new cruisers dated from 1912, was never realized (see later). The tonnage cap and subsequent treaties was dissuasive: At first, France started a serie of light cruisers to test superfiring twin turrets, after a gap of 15 years (since 1908). WW2 modernization would be the occasion to improve on that, based on US standards. In a general way, they also had a relatively poor AA, relying on machine guns and dual purpose ones without much in between. They remained largely untested in combat, due to the early capitulation and a limited use by the FNFL (Free French Naval Forces) for coastal bombardment and patrols. Compared to the global tonnage of other countries, they were relatively modern (no ww1 cruiser in service) and had some innovative features like the La Galissonière class transom stern or the Mack on the Saint Louis.Īn overview of individual French cruisers with various liveries. They were part of the “tin-clad cruisers” generation. Like their Italian counterparts, the accent was placed on armament and speed, not protection. The topic of French cruisers could be summup in a few points: It was framed by the Washington treaty limitations, a situation causing a de facto rivalry with Mussolini’s Italy.
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