The Duquesne was a French Duquesne class

Duquesne class cruiser

The Duquesne Class were the first class of post Washington Treaty heavy cruisers built for the French Navy. They have been criticised by naval architects for having very little armour and being lightly built...

 heavy cruiser

Heavy cruiser

The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...

 that served during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

After her launch, she was used on prestige missions.

In January 1940, she took part in the hunt for the Admiral Graf Spee, and later returned to Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

. On 3 July, the French squadron under Admiral René-Emile Godfroy

René-Emile Godfroy

René-Emile Godfroy was a French admiral.Godfroy was born at Paris. In June 1940, he commanded French naval forces at Alexandria, where he negotiated, with British Admiral Andrew Cunningham, the peaceful internment of his ships.The French squadron consisted of the battleship Lorraine, 4 cruisers, 3...

 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, she was incorporated in the Free French Naval Forces

Free French Naval Forces

Les Forces Navales Françaises Libres were the naval arm of the Free French Forces during the Second World War. They were commanded by Admiral Emile Muselier.- History :...

 and served in the Atlantic.

She undertook a refit in 1945, and served in French Indochina

French Indochina

French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....

until 1947.

External links

• Les bâtiments ayant porté le nom de Duquesne on NetMarine.net