French cruiser Émile Bertin

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Career

Built By:	A. C. de Saint Nazaire Panhoet
Laid down:	18 August 1931
Launched:	9 May 1933
Commissioned:	28 January, 1935
Fate:	Decommissioned October 1951 stricken 27 October 1959 scrapped 1961
General Characteristics
Type:	light cruiser
Displacement:	5886 tonnes (standard) 8480 tonnes (full load)
Length:	177 metres (overall)
Beam:	15.84 metres
Draught:	5.44 metres
Propulsion:	4 Parsons SR geared steam turbines 6 Penhoët boilers 102,000 shp
Speed:	34 knots (40 during trials)
Range:	3000 nautical miles @ 15 knots
Complement:	711
Armament (modified December 1943):	9x155/55 millimetre (6 inch) guns (3x3); 4x90/50 millimetre (3.5 inch) anti-aircraft guns (1x2 and 2x1; later 2x2); 8x37 millimetre (4x2) anti-aircraft guns, later 16x40 millimetre (4x4) 8x13.2 millimetre [4x2], later 20 x 20 millimetre [20x1) anti-aircraft guns; 6x550 millimetre torpedo tubes (2x3), later removed; 200 mines
Protection:	decks: 25 mm ammunition boxes: 30 mm tower: 20 mm
Aircraft:	2 seaplanes, 1 catapult

The 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 Galissonniere class of cruisers. This was the first French warship to use triple mountings.

[edit] Operational career

Before World War II, Émile Bertin served as flagship for a flotilla of twelve large destroyers of the Malin and Maillé Brézé classes in the Atlantic. At the start of 1939, she was transferred to Toulon.

In secrecy, she arrived in Lebanon on 23 September 1939, loaded 57 tons of gold - the Polish state gold reserves - and returned to Toulon. At the start of 1940, after a refit at Toulon, she carried out suveillance around the Canary Islands to ensure that there were no German forces there.

After further dockyard work at Brest, in early April 1940, she became the flagship of Group Z, the French squadron supporting the Allied Norwegian Campaign, with Admiral Derrien in command. As well as Émile Bertin, Group Z comprised the cruiser Montcalm and the 2400-tonne contre-torpilleurs (large destroyers) Tartu, Chevalier Paul, Maillé Brézé, Milan, Bison and Épervier, as well as the 1500-tonne Brestois, Boulonnais and Foudroyant. Off Namsos, she was attacked by the Luftwaffe and damaged by bombs on 19 April. She returned to Brest for repair and remained there until 21 May.

She made two trips to Halifax, Nova Scotia, with Jeanne d'Arc, carrying gold from the Bank of France. The French armistice was signed shortly after Émile Bertin had docked for the second time and she was ordered to Fort-de-France, Martinique with the gold. No effort was made to prevent this.

Once at Martinique and the gold safely unloaded, she made ready to defend the island against an expected British attack - which was abandoned through United States pressure. For the next two years or so the ship was inactive at anchor off Fort de France, until, on 16 May 1942 she was ordered by the Vichy authorities to be immobilised, after pressure from the United States.

She joined the Free French Forces in June 1943 and was modernised in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Émile Bertin later operated in the Mediterranean, took part in the Allied invasion of southern France (Operation Dragoon) in 1944 and later bombarded Axis positions along the Italian Riviera.

After various Mediterranean duties, she entered Toulon for a refit until October 1945. She was then deployed as flagship to Indochina until 2 July 1946 when she sailed for home with Tourville. Émile Bertin and served as a gunnery training ship until she was finally scrapped in October 1959.