French cruiser La Galissonnière
Encyclopedia
La Galissonnière was the name-ship of a class
La Galissonnière class cruiser
The La Galissonnière cruiser class was a group of six warships admitted in active service in the French Navy in the 1930s. They were the last French cruisers completed after 1935, until the completion of De Grasse in 1956. They are considered as fast, reliable and successful ships...
of French light cruisers, named in honour of Roland-Michel Barrin de La Galissonière
Roland-Michel Barrin de La Galissonière
Roland-Michel Barrin de La Galissonière, Marquis de La Galissonière, sometimes spelled Galissonnière, was the French governor of New France from 1747 to 1749 and the victor in the Battle of Minorca in 1756.- New France :...
. During World War II, she served with Vichy France
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
.
La Galissonnière was at first assigned to the 2nd Light Squadron in the Mediterranean until October 1937, when she formed the 3rd Cruiser Division at Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
, together with sister ships Jean de Vienne
French cruiser Jean de Vienne
The Jean de Vienne was a French light cruiser of the La Galissonnière class. During World War II, she remained with the Vichy France. She was named for Jean de Vienne a 14th century French knight, general and admiral during the Hundred Years' War....
and Marseillaise.
At the outbreak of World War II, La Galissonnière carried out patrol duties off the Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
n coast until mid November 1939, when she started a major refit at Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
until end of February 1940. She then was based at Toulon until the French surrender.
From January 1941, she was part of the Vichy High Seas Force at Toulon, effectively disarmed and inactive. When the Germans occupied Vichy France
Case Anton
Operation Anton was the codename for the military occupation of Vichy France carried out by Germany and Italy in November 1942.- Background :...
, she was scuttled on 27 November 1942
Scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon
The French fleet in Toulon was scuttled on 27 November 1942 on the order of the Admiralty of Vichy France to avoid capture by Nazi German forces during Operation Lila of the Case Anton takeover of Vichy France.- Context :...
to prevent her capture by the Germans. The cruiser shared the drydock
Dry dock
A drydock is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform...
with Dunkerque
French battleship Dunkerque
The Dunkerque was the first unit of a new class of warships of the French Navy built in the 1930s, officially rated as battleships, or even «navires de ligne» , as Dunkerque and Strasbourg constituted, from the commissionig of Strasbourg to some days after Mers-el Kebir, the «1ère Division de Ligne»...
, and her captain moved her forward and opened the sea valves so that she would sink and block the gates.
Allocated to Italy after some political delays, she was subsequently raised by the Regia Marina
Regia Marina
The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...
on 3 March 1943, repaired and renamed FR 12. The intention to incorporate the former French ship into the Regia Marina was, however, undermined by Italy's chronic oil fuel shortages.
She was damaged by US bombers on 24 November 1943, after the Italian armistice. Although by now restored to French ownership, she was bombed and sunk on 18 August 1944 in an air raid by B-25
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
s of the 321st Bombardment Group, USAAF.
The hulk was raised and finally scrapped in 1952.