French cruiser Colbert (1928)
 The Colbert | |
| Career (France) |  |
|---|---|
| Namesake: | Jean Baptiste Colbert |
| Builder: | Brest Naval Yard |
| Laid down: | 12 June 1927 |
| Launched: | 20 April 1928 |
| Commissioned: | 4 March 1931 |
| Fate: | scuttled at Toulon, 27 November 1942, Scrapped 1948 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Suffren class cruiser |
| Displacement: | 10,000 tonnes (standard) 12,780 tonnes (full load) |
| Length: | 196 m (643 ft) |
| Beam: | 20 m (66 ft) |
| Draught: | 7.3 m (24 ft) |
| Propulsion: | 3-shaft Rateau-Bretagne SR geared turbines, 9 Guyot boilers, 100,000 shp |
| Speed: | 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) |
| Range: | 4500 at 15 knots |
| Complement: | 773 |
| Armament: | 8 203mm/50 Modèle 1924 (4 × 2) 8 90 mm (3.5 inch) 55-calibre anti-aircraft guns (8 × 1) 8 37 mm anti-aircraft guns (4 × 2) 12 13.2 mm AA (4 × 3) 6 550 mm (21.7 inch) torpedo tubes (2 × 3); |
| Armour: | belt 60 millimetres; deck 25 millimetres; turrets and tower, 30 millimetres. |
| Aircraft carried: | 2 Loire-Nieuport 130, 2 catapults |
The Colbert was a French heavy cruiser of the Suffren class, that saw service in World War II. She was named for Jean Baptiste Colbert.
Colbert was part of the 1st Light Division of the 1st Squadron in the Mediterranean, which also included Algérie and Dupleix. In September 1939, at the start of World War II, Colbert was part of the 1st Cruiser Squadron, which also included Algérie, Dupleix, Foch, Duquesne and Tourville.
On 14 June 1940, the French navy executed Operation Samoyède. The 3rd French squadron, including cruisers Foch, Algérie, Dupleix and Colbert, bombarded Genoa, supported by the French Naval Air Arm.
Following the French surrender, Colbert and much of the French fleet was taken out of action and kept at Toulon. On 27 November 1942, she was successfully scuttled by her crew in the Scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon, despite the presence of German officers attempting to take control. She was blown apart when her magazine exploded. The rusted hull of Colbert remained there until 1948, when her remains were scrapped
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