''La Galissonnière'' was the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...

of her class of six

light cruisers A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

built for the (

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

) during the 1930s. She was named in honour of

Roland-Michel Barrin de La Galissonière Roland-Michel Barrin de La Galissonière, Marquis de La Galissonière, sometimes spelled Galissonnière (; 10 November 1693 – 6 October 1756), was the French governor of New France from 1747 to 1749 and the victor in the Battle of Minorca ...

. During World War II, she served with

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

Design and description

The ''La Galissonnière'' class was designed as an enlarged and improved version of the preceding . The ships had an

overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...

of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

of , and a

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

of . They displaced at

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object ...

load and at

deep load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into weig ...

. Their crew consisted of 557 men in peacetime and 612 in wartime.

History

''La Galissonnière'' was at first assigned to the 2nd Light Squadron in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

until October 1937, when she formed the 3rd Cruiser Division at

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

, together with her sister ships ''Jean de Vienne'' and ''Marseillaise''. At the outbreak of World War II, ''La Galissonnière'' carried out patrol duties off the

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

n coast until mid-November 1939, when she started a major refit at Brest until the end of February 1940. She then was based at Toulon until the French surrender in June. From January 1941, she was part of the Vichy "High Seas Force" at Toulon. Two of the three cruisers from the 3rd Cruisers Division – she and ''Marseillaise'' – never went to high sea due to lack of fuel, except in November 1940, to cover the return to Toulon of the battleship ''Provence'', severely damaged by British gunfire in July 1940 during

Operation Catapult Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

. However, ''La Galissonnière'' was effectively disarmed and inactive. When the Germans occupied Vichy France, she was scuttled on 27 November 1942 to prevent her capture by the Germans and Italians. The cruiser shared the

drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) 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. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

with ''Dunkerque'', and her captain moved her forward and opened the sea valves so that she would sink and block the gates.

Italian ''FR 12''

Allocated to the Kingdom of Italy after some political delays, she was subsequently raised by the ''

Regia Marina The , ) (RM) or Royal Italian Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy () from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the changed its name to '' Marina Militare'' ("Military Navy"). Origin ...

'' (Italian Royal Navy) on 3 March 1943, repaired and renamed ''FR 12''. Besides ''La Galissonnière'', Italy also obtained two light cruisers, 11 destroyers, 11 escort ships, nine submarines, and 10 minesweepers.Foreign-built ships of Regia Marina
/ref> A refit began, but this had not finished at time of the

Italian armistice The Armistice of Cassibile ( Italian: ''Armistizio di Cassibile'') was an armistice that was signed on 3 September 1943 by Italy and the Allies, marking the end of hostilities between Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was made public ...

(nearly 60% of the ship was rebuilt). The intention to incorporate the former French ship into the ''Regia Marina'' was, however, undermined by Italy's chronic oil fuel shortages. While in German hands, she was damaged by U.S. bombers on 24 November 1943, after the

. ''La Galissonière'' eventually sank on 18 August 1944 in an air raid by

B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served ...

s of the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

′

321st Bombardment Group The 321st Air Expeditionary Wing was a United States Air Force unit assigned United States Air Forces Central, the USAF component command of United States Central Command. The unit was reestablished on 1 November 2008 and was a nexus of all Coa ...

. The hulk was raised and finally scrapped in 1952.

Notes

Bibliography

* * *

External links

La Galissoniere ラ･ガリソニエール
Photographs

* ttps://www.marina.difesa.it/noi-siamo-la-marina/mezzi/mezzi-storici/Pagine/EFGHI/fr12.aspx FR.12Marina Militare website {{DEFAULTSORT:La Galissonniere La Galissonnière-class cruisers World War II cruisers of France Naval ships of France captured by Italy during World War II Cruisers sunk by aircraft 1933 ships World War II warships scuttled at Toulon Ships sunk by US aircraft Maritime incidents in November 1942 Maritime incidents in August 1944