French cruiser Primauguet
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 The Lamotte-Piquet, sister-ship of the Primauguet |
|
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Built By: | Arsenal de Brest |
| Laid down: | 16 August 1923 |
| Launched: | 21 May 1924 |
| Commissioned: | 1 April 1927 |
| Fate: | Destroyed in harbour, 8 November 1942 |
| Penant: | |
| General Characteristics | |
| Type: | light cruiser |
| Displacement: | 7,249 tons (standard) 9350 tons (full load) |
| Length: | 595 feet (overall) |
| Beam: | 56.5 feet |
| Draught: | 17 feet |
| Propulsion: | 4-shaft Parsons single-reduction geared turbines; 8 Guyot boilers; 102,000 shp |
| Speed: | 33 knots |
| Range: | 3000 nautical miles at 15 knots |
| Complement: | 578 |
| Armament: | 8 × 155 mm (6.1in) (4 × 2) 4 × 75 mm anti-aircraft (4 × 1) 12 × 550 mm torpedo tubes (4 × 3) |
| Armour: | deck: 20 millimetres magazine box 30 millimetres turrets and tower: 30 millimetres. |
| Aircraft: | 2 Gourdou-Leseurre GL-812, later GL-832, later 1 Loire-Nieuport 130 1 catapult |
The Primauguet was a French Duguay-Trouin class light cruiser, built after World War I, and destroyed by US naval gunfire from the US battleship USS Massachusetts during Operation Torch. She was named after the XVth Century Breton captain Hervé de Portzmoguer, nick-named "Primauguet".
She was commissioned in April 1927 and immediately commenced a seven month world cruise, returning in mid December. The pattern of extended cruises was maintained until April 1932, when she was stationed in the Far East until a refit in January 1936. The Far East posting was resumed in November 1937 until she was relieved by the Suffren and returned to France.
The first months of World War II were spent on Atlantic patrols, convoy escort and surveillance of Axis shipping. On 1 April 1940 she sailed for Fort-de-France in the West Indies, to replace the Jeanne d'Arc. She operated in Dutch West Indies waters, intercepting merchant ships. On 6 May 1940, Primauguet relieved HMS Dundee off Aruba and, at the Dutch surrender, she landed forces to secure the oil installations. Primauguet returned to Dakar on 12 June 1940, after the French surrender.
Primauguet remained with the Vichy French Navy after the French surrender in 1940. She was at Dakar on 7th July 1940 during the final attack by the Royal Navy to destroy the French Fleet.
She was sent to escort an oiler in support of three La Galissonniere class cruisers of the 4th Squadron. They were on an operation to Libreville, in French Equatorial Africa, to counter Free French activity. In the Bight of Benin the French force was intercepted by the British cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Delhi. After negotiations, Primauguet was ordered to turn back to Casablanca by Amiral Bourague, aboard Georges Leygues.
On 8 November 1942, she was under refit and not fully operational when shelled by the USS Massachusetts at Casablanca, but she returned fire, nonetheless. The ship was out-gunned and badly damaged and suffered many casualties with 45 crew dead and more then 200 wounded. She burnt out overnight, and was beached; the wreck was abandoned and became a total loss.
