French cruiser Jeanne d'Arc (1930)

Last updated
Jeanne d'Arc School Cruiser at Vancouver 3.jpg
Jeanne d'Arc in 1935
Class overview
OperatorsCivil and Naval Ensign of France.svg  French Navy
Preceded by Duguay-Trouin class
Succeeded by Émile Bertin
Built1928–1931
In commission1931–1964
Completed1
Retired1
History
Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svgNaval Ensign of Free France.svgFrance
NameJeanne d'Arc
Namesake Joan of Arc
BuilderSaint-Nazaire
Laid downSeptember 1928
Launched1930
Christened14 February 1930
CommissionedOctober 1931
Decommissioned1964
Homeport Toulon
Nickname(s)"La Jeanne"
FateScrapped
General characteristics
TypeTraining cruiser
Displacement6,500  t (6,400 long tons)
Length170 m (557 ft 9 in)
Beam17.7 m (58 ft 1 in)
Draught6.5 m (21 ft 4 in)
Installed power
  • boilers
  • 32,500  shp (24,200  kW)
Propulsion2 shafts; 2 steam turbines
Speed25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) (27.8 on trials)
Range5,000  mi (4,300 nmi) at 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph)
Complement
  • 28 officers
  • 120 petty officers
  • 424 quarter-masters and sailors
  • 156 student officers
Armament
Armour
Aircraft carried2 CAMS reconnaissance airplanes (removed in 1943 refit)

Jeanne d'Arc was a training cruiser built for the Marine Nationale (French Navy) during the late 1920s. She was designed both as a school ship and a fully capable warship. She saw service through the Second World War, escaping to Halifax after the fall of France and eventually joining the Free French forces before the end of the war. Post war, the cruiser resumed her duties as a training ship, being retired in 1964.

Contents

Design and description

Jeanne d'Arc was designed specifically to serve as a cadet training ship. The ship had an overall length of 170 meters (557 ft 9 in), a beam of 17.5 meters (57 ft 5 in), and a draft of 5.7 meters (18 ft 8 in). She displaced 6,600 metric tons (6,496 long tons ) at standard load and 8,928 t (8,787 long tons) at deep load. The hull was divided by 16 bulkheads into 17 watertight compartments. Her crew consisted of 482 and 156 officer cadets. [3]

Service history

In 1931, Jeanne d'Arc departed for her first cruise under Capitaine de vaisseau André Marquis. As a prestige ship, she toured countries of South America where France wanted to increase her influence. The cruiser visited some of the Black Sea states in 1932. [4]

A log of the ship and the nautical calculation notebook from 1937 can both be found at the "Mircea cel Batran" Naval Academy Museum [5] in Constanța, Romania. During that time, the ship undertook a training voyage around the Earth, and the lieutenant kept a very rich log, illustrated with photographs.

During the Second World War, Jeanne d'Arc was assigned to the West Atlantic Naval Division, taking part in blockading German cargo ships in neutral harbours. In late May 1940, along with Émile Bertin, she departed from Brest for Canada with a cargo of gold from the Bank of France, under the command of Rear Admiral Rouyer. After an Atlantic rendezvous with the aircraft carrier Béarn, the flotilla reached Halifax safely. [6] Jeanne d'Arc then went to the French West Indies, where she remained in the Martinique until July 1943.

In 1943, Jeanne d'Arc joined the Free French. In December, she took part in operations in Corsica and in Operation Dragoon . She was mentioned in despatches at the order of the Army for services rendered during the war.

She later resumed her service as school cruiser with 27 cruises around the world, before being decommissioned on the 16th of July 1964.

Related Research Articles

French cruiser <i>Jeanne dArc</i> (R97) Helicopter cruiser of the French Navy

Jeanne d'Arc was a helicopter cruiser of the French Navy. She was the sixth vessel of the French Navy named after Joan of Arc, a national heroine of France and saint of the Catholic Church who distinguished herself in the Hundred Years' War by helping France turn the tide of the Lancastrian phase.

French cruiser <i>Primauguet</i> (1924)

Primauguet was a French Duguay-Trouin-class light cruiser built after World War I. During the Anglo-American invasion of French North Africa in 1942, she was burnt out and abandoned, having been subject to gunfire from a fleet led by the battleship Massachusetts, and repeated aerial attacks by SBD Dauntless dive bombers. She was named after the 15th century Breton captain Hervé de Portzmoguer, nicknamed "Primauguet".

Béarn was an aircraft carrier converted from an incomplete Normandie-class battleship for the Marine nationale during the 1920s. Entering service in 1928, the navy intended to use her to develop tactics and techniques for carrier aviation. The only aircraft carrier France produced until after World War II, the ship played a minor role in early stages of the war, training in home waters and conducting pilot training.

French cruiser <i>Duguay-Trouin</i> (1923)

Duguay-Trouin was the lead ship of her class of French light cruisers, launched in the early 1920s. She was named after René Duguay-Trouin. She patrolled the Mediterranean during the Spanish Civil War, and after the outbreak of the Second World War, she hunted Nazi pocket battleships before being interned after the Fall of France and until 1943. She then took part in Allied operations in the Mediterranean, supporting the Provence Landings and shelling Nazi and Fascist troops on the coasts of Italy until the end of the war. Duguay-Trouin then took part in the decolonisation wars in Algeria, and in Indochina.

<i>Suffren</i>-class cruiser French Navy ship class

The Suffren class was an interwar treaty cruiser built by France for the French Navy. The design was based on the preceding Duquesne-class cruiser and traded speed for protection while retaining the same armament. The first ship, Suffren, was completed to this design. The following ships, Colbert, Foch, Dupleix, were completed to a modified design with heavier secondary armament and rearranged topside. The ships entered service from 1930 to 1933, with Suffren being the sole survivor of the Second World War.

French cruiser <i>Suffren</i>

Suffren was the first vessel of the second group of 8-inch gunned, 10,000 ton Treaty Cruisers built for La Marine Nationale. She spent the interwar period with the two Duquesne-class cruisers until she was sent to French Indochina. Upon her return to the Mediterranean she rejoined the Duquesnes at Alexandria. She was interned there with the other units of the French Navy. She returned to the War in 1943 spending her time based at Dakar on blockade patrol. Post war she aided in the return of the French to Indochina until placed in reserve in 1947. In reserve she was used as a training hulk and barracks ship at Brest. She was renamed Océan in 1963 and finally stricken in 1972.

French cruiser <i>La Galissonnière</i>

La Galissonnière was the lead ship of her class of six light cruisers built for the Marine Nationale during the 1930s. She was named in honour of Roland-Michel Barrin de La Galissonière. During World War II, she served with Vichy France.

French cruiser <i>Georges Leygues</i>

Georges Leygues was a French light cruiser of the La Galissonnière class. During World War II, she served with both Vichy France and Allies. She was named for the prominent 19th and 20th-century French politician Georges Leygues.

French cruiser <i>Jean de Vienne</i> French light cruiser launched in 1935, scuttled in 1942

Jean de Vienne was a French light cruiser of the La Galissonnière class. During World War II, she remained with Vichy France. She was named for Jean de Vienne, a 14th-century French knight, general and admiral during the Hundred Years' War.

French cruiser <i>Marseillaise</i> (1935)

Marseillaise was a French light cruiser of the La Galissonnière class. During the Second World War, she remained with Vichy France.

French cruiser <i>Gloire</i> (1935)

Gloire was a French light cruiser of the La Galissonnière class.

<i>Duquesne</i>-class cruiser Group of French Navy heavy cruisers

The Duquesne-class cruiser was a group of two heavy cruisers built for the French Navy in the mid 1920s, the first such vessels built for the French fleet. The two ships in the class were the Duquesne and Tourville.

French destroyer <i>Le Terrible</i> French Le Fantasque-class destroyer

Le Terrible was one of six Le Fantasque-class large destroyers built for the Marine Nationale during the 1930s. The ship entered service in 1936 and participated in the Second World War. When war was declared in September 1939, all of the Le Fantasques were assigned to the Force de Raid which was tasked to hunt down German commerce raiders and blockade runners. Le Terrible and two of her sister ships were based in Dakar, French West Africa, to patrol the Central Atlantic for several months in late 1939. They returned to Metropolitan France before the end of the year and were transferred to French Algeria in late April 1940 in case Italy decided to enter the war. She screened French cruisers once as they unsuccessfully hunted for Italian ships after Italy declared war in June.

French cruiser <i>Jeanne dArc</i> (1899) French armoured cruiser of the early 20th century

Jeanne d'Arc was an armoured cruiser built for the French Navy at the end of the 19th century, the sole ship of her class. Completed in 1903, she was initially assigned to the Northern Squadron, although she was transferred to the reserve fleet before the end of the year. The ship was recommissioned for a few months in mid-1905 and was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in mid-1906 and served as a flagship for the next several years. Jeanne d'Arc was assigned to the reserve in mid-1908 and modified to serve as a training ship for naval cadets of the Naval Academy. In 1912, she made the first of two lengthy training cruises.

French ironclad <i>Jeanne dArc</i> French Navys Alma-class ironclad

Jeanne d'Arc was a wooden-hulled armored corvette built for the French Navy in the late 1860s. She was named for Joan of Arc, a Roman Catholic saint and heroine of the Hundred Years War. Jeanne d'Arc participated in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871 and remained in commission afterwards, unlike many of her sisters. The ship was condemned in 1883, but nothing further is known as to her disposition.

French cruiser <i>Émile Bertin</i> French fast light cruiser

Émile Bertin was a French fast light cruiser named after Louis-Émile Bertin, a 19th-century naval architect. She was designed to operate both as a minelayer and as a destroyer flotilla leader. The design was the basis for later light and heavy French cruisers, particularly the slightly larger La Galissonnière class of cruisers. This was the first French warship to use triple mountings for guns.

German torpedo boat <i>T26</i> German torpedo boat

The German torpedo boat T26 was one of fifteen Type 39 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in early 1943, the boat was transferred to France in August. T26 helped to lay a minefield in the English Channel the following month, and later escorted a blockade runner through the Bay of Biscay. She participated in the Battle of Sept-Îles in October and was sunk two months later by a British light cruiser during the Battle of the Bay of Biscay.

French destroyer <i>Typhon</i> Destroyer of the French Navy

Typhon was a Bourrasque-class destroyer built for the French Navy during the 1920s.

German torpedo boat <i>T15</i> German torpedo boat

The German torpedo boat T15 was one of nine Type 37 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in mid-1941, the ship was transferred to Occupied France in December. She helped to escort a pair of battleships and a heavy cruiser through the English Channel back to Germany in February 1942 in the Channel Dash and then was ordered to Norway for escort work. T15 returned to Germany in August where she was assigned to the Torpedo School and U-boat Flotillas as a training ship. The ship was sunk by American bombers in December 1943.

German torpedo boat <i>T16</i> German torpedo boat

The German torpedo boat T16 was one of nine Type 37 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in mid-1941, the ship arrived in France in January 1942. She helped to escort a pair of battleships and a heavy cruiser through the English Channel back to Germany in February in the Channel Dash and then was ordered to Norway for escort work. T16 returned to Germany in May to begin a lengthy refit and briefly returned to Norway in May 1943 before going back to Germany. She was assigned to a U-boat Flotilla as a training ship in September. The ship was damaged by a mine in February 1944 and completed her repairs in August. T16 was then assigned to the Baltic Sea where she screened German ships as they bombarded Soviet positions for the rest of the year. The torpedo boat was assigned convoy escort duties in the Skagerrak around the beginning of 1945. During one such mission in April, T16 was badly damaged by British bombers and was deemed a constructive total loss. The ship was scrapped in Denmark beginning in September 1946.

References

  1. Whitley, p. 34
  2. Whitley, p. 35
  3. Jordan & Moulin, pp. 92–93
  4. Чонев, Чони. Корабите, том V, София 1997, с. 152 (Chonev, Choni. The ships, vol. 5, Sofia 1997, p. 152)
  5. "Museum". Archived from the original on 2014-10-21. Retrieved 2014-10-21.
  6. Fish, pp. 174–178

Bibliography