French cruiser Colbert (1928)

Colbert
History
France
Name	Colbert
Namesake	Jean Baptiste Colbert
Builder	Arsenal de Brest
Laid down	12 June 1927
Launched	20 April 1928
Completed	4 March 1931
Commissioned	11 November 1929
In service	1 April 1931
Out of service	scuttled at Toulon, 27 November 1942
Fate	Scrapped 1948
General characteristics
Class and type	Suffren-class cruiser
Type	Treaty Cruiser Marine National designation 1925 Light Cruiser 1931 1st Class Cruiser
Displacement	10,160 t (10,000 long tons) (standard) 11,769 t (11,583 long tons) (Normal) 13,135 t (12,928 long tons) (full load)
Length	194 m (636.48 ft) overall 185 m (606.96 ft) between perpendiculars
Beam	19.26 m (63.19 ft)
Draught	6.51 m (21.36 ft) at normal displacement
Propulsion	6 Guyot du Temple boilers, 20 kg/cm2 (215°) plus two small coal/oil fired boilers 3-shaft Rateau-Bretagne single-reduction geared steam turbines for 88,768.8 shp (66,194.9 kW)
Speed	32 knots (59 km/h) (designed)
Range	1,876 tons oil fuel and 500 tons coal radius 4,600 nautical miles (8,500 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h) 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km) at 11 knots (20 km/h) on cruise boilers 3,700 nautical miles (6,900 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h)
Complement	773
Armament	Initial[1] 8 × 203 mm (8.0 in)/50 guns (4 × 2) 8 × 90 mm (3.5 in)/50 AA guns (8 × 1) 8 × 37 mm (1.5 in) light AA guns (4 × 2) 12 × 13.2 mm (0.52 in) AA machine guns (4 × 3) 6 × 550 mm (22 in) torpedo tubes (2 × 3) 1941 refit[2] 8 × 203 mm (8.0 in)/50 guns (4 × 2) 8 × 90 mm (3.5 in)/50 AA guns (8 × 1) 14 × 37 mm (1.5 in) light AA guns (4 × 2, 6 × 1) 32 × 13.2 mm (0.52 in) AA machine guns (4 × 4, 4 × 3, 2 × 2) 4 × 8 mm (0.31 in) AA machine guns (4 × 1) 6 × 550 mm (22 in) torpedo tubes (2 × 3)
Armour	Belt: 50 mm (2.0 in) Deck: 25 mm (0.98 in) Turrets and conning tower: 30 mm (1.2 in) Magazine box 50 mm (2.0 in) sides with 20 mm (0.79 in) crowns
Aircraft carried	3 GL-810 then Loire-Nieuport 130
Aviation facilities	2 catapults

Colbert was the second of four Suffren class cruisers built for the French Navy. During the interwar period she served in the Mediterranean. In 1935 she underwent a major refit at Lorient before joining the International Patrol off the Spanish south coast during the Spanish Civil War. In 1939 she was in Oran moving to Toulon in January 1940. She partook in the bombardment of Genoa in mid-June. She was in Toulon at the time of the French Armistice. She underwent a refit in 1941 to augment her light anti-aircraft guns then was placed in care and maintenance at Toulon. She was scuttled at Toulon when the Germans attempted to seize the French Fleet at the end of November 1942. She was raised and scrapped post war in 1948.

She was named in honour of Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619–1683), the Controller General of Finances under King Louis XIV from 1665 to 1683. He was responsible for bringing France out of bankruptcy, restoring the financial health of the nation and laying the foundation of the French Navy, including bases and the training of the officers and men.^[3]