French cruiser Foch
 The Foch | |
| Career (France) |  |
|---|---|
| Namesake: | Ferdinand Foch |
| Builder: | Arsenal de Brest |
| Laid down: | 21 June 1928 |
| Launched: | 24 April 1929 |
| Commissioned: | 15 August 1931 |
| Fate: | scuttled at Toulon, 27 November 1942, scrapped 1943-44 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Suffren class cruiser |
| Displacement: | 10,000 tonnes (standard) 12,780 tonnes (full load) |
| Length: | 196 m (643.04 ft) |
| Beam: | 20 m (65.62 ft) |
| Draught: | 7.3 m (23.95 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 guns (4 × 2) 8 90 mm (3.5 inch) 55-calibre anti-aircraft guns (8 × 1) |
| Armour: | belt 60 millimetres; deck 25 millimetres; turrets and tower, 30 millimetres. |
| Aircraft carried: | 2 Loire-Nieuport 130, 2 catapults |
The Foch was a French heavy cruiser of the Suffren class, that saw service in World War II. She was the first French warship named for the French Marshall Ferdinand Foch.
In the early part of World War II, the Foch and her sister, Dupleix, formed Force M, based at Dakar.
On 14 June 1940, the French 1st cruiser division with Algérie, Foch and escorting destroyers bombarded Vado near Genoa.
She was scuttled on 27 November 1942 in the scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon, with open sea valves, plus charges to her main armament, to prevent her capture by the Germans, but was relatively undamaged and repair (possibly as an aircraft carrier) was contemplated by the Italians, who refloated her on 16 April 1943. However, she was instead towed to La Seyne where she was broken up during 1943-44.
References
- Jordan, John; Moulin, Jean (2013). French Cruisers 1922-1956. Seaforth Publications.
- Saibène, Marc (n.d.). Toulon et la Marine 1942-1944. Bourg en Bresse: Marines Editions at Realisations.
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