French cruiser Duquesne (1925)

Duquesne in 1943
History
France
Name	Duquesne
Namesake	Abraham Duquesne
Ordered	1 July 1924
Builder	Arsenal de Brest
Laid down	30 October 1924
Launched	17 December 1925
In service	25 Jan 1929
Out of service	2 July 1955
Fate	Listed for sale 27 July 1956
General characteristics
Class and type	Duquesne-class cruiser
Displacement	10,160 t (10,000 long tons) (standard) 11,404 t (11,224 long tons) (Normal) 12,435 t (12,239 long tons) (full load)
Length	191 m (627 ft) overall 185 m (607 ft) between perpendiculars
Beam	19 m (62 ft)
Draught	6.32 m (20.7 ft)
Propulsion	8 boilers 4-shaftsingle-reduction geared steam turbines for 118,358.4 shp (88,259.8 kW)
Speed	34 knots (63 km/h) (designed)
Range	5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement	605
Armament	Initial[1] 8 × 203 mm (8.0 in)/50 guns (4 × 2) 8 × 75 mm (3.0 in)/50 AA guns (8 × 1) 8 × 37 mm (1.5 in) light AA guns (4 × 2) 12 × 13.2 mm (0.52 in) AA machine guns (12 × 1) 12 × 550 mm (22 in) torpedo tubes (4 × 3) 1943 refit[2] 8 × 203 mm (8.0 in)/50 guns (4 × 2) 8 × 75 mm (3.0 in)/50 AA guns (8 × 1) 8 × 40 mm (1.6 in) AA guns (2 × 4) 16 × 20 mm (0.79 in) light AA guns (16 × 1)
Armour	Magazine box 30 mm (1.2 in) sides and 20 mm (0.79 in) crowns Deck 30 mm (1.2 in) Turrets and conning tower 30 mm (1.2 in)
Aircraft carried	2 2 FBA 17 and CAMS 37A (superseded by GL-810 then Loire-Nieuport 130
Aviation facilities	1 catapult

Duquesne was the first of two Duquesne class cruisers built for the French Navy. During the interwar period she served in the Mediterranean while taking periodic cruises to show the Flag. During the war she was on blockade duty in the mid Atlantic then the Mediterranean. She was interned for three years at Alexandria, rejoining the war effort in 1943. Again assigned to blockade duty in the Mid Atlantic at Dakar. Post war she aided in the restoration of French Colonial rule in French Indochina until placed in reserve in 1947. She remained in reserve until condemned for disposal in 1955.

She was named to honour Abraham Duquesne, Marquis du Bouchet (c. 1610 – 1688) who distinguished himself during the Third Dutch War.^[3] She was the seventh ship to bear this name since introduced in 1787 for a 74-gun ship captured by the British on 25 July 1803.^[4]